Each year, governments around the world monitor the Two Sessions to see what China has planned for the coming year. This year is of particular interest because China is in the worst state economically and diplomatically that it has been in for several decades.

Over the past decades, the Chinese economy has been growing, at breakneck speed, largely fueled by tremendous export volumes, massive debt, and over-reliance on the real-estate sector. Now, manufacturing is suffering under ongoing coronavirus lockdowns, energy shortages, and supply-chain disruptions. The debt bubble seems about to burst, and the real-estate industry will be the first casualty, with ripples eventually being felt throughout China and the rest of the world.