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Commentary
It was supposed to be a crowning moment for Chinese Communist Party boss Xi Jinping. The once-every-five-years national congress of party poohbahs would formally extend his tenure beyond two five-years terms—a coronation set in motion at the last congress in 2017 when party leaders ditched the custom of identifying an eventual successor. Xi would claim stature in China's history not seen since murderous tyrant Mao Zedong ruled and China would continue its ascent to paramount world power, surmounting the United States.
But only one of those things has happened. Xi has in fact extended his tenure beyond the 10-year custom established after the dark days of Mao. With no successor identified and the party seemingly drained of rivals, he could be dictator for life. However, the greatness for China that Xi anticipated throughout the congress was called further into doubt. In the following week, some $6 trillion in Chinese stock market value has evaporated....