"A regulatory clampdown has mired the main driver of Chinese economic growth [the private sector] since 1978 in uncertainty and jeopardy. It is now clear that policies instigated in 2021 by Xi are having negative effects. In an effort to shore up regime stability and protect strategic industries, Beijing has ironically found itself in a position in which its economy is instead weakened and its strategic sectors hamstrung by external controls from the United States and allied countries. It is unclear how this will play out in the long-term, but what is unambiguous — and has been for a long time — is the policy direction of Xi’s government, and its deleterious effect on the private sector."

"There is a fundamental contradiction between Xi Jinping’s desire for modern governance and his need for authoritarian control. He wishes ...[to] constrain his government, but [not] him. This system of “socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” has a form of limited governance, individual rights (in the ability to vote), and juridical legitimacy. [14] But Xi’s ability to set the legislative agenda, to use the security apparatus to eliminate any perceived threat, to violate the rights of citizens en masse...and to stifle any mention of violation of rights, all without legal recourse, demonstrate that the true potential power of the PRC state is unlimited by law."