Chinas Centralized Approach to Economics Is the Countrys Greatest Weakness

A general view of buildings in the abandoned Qingquan Steel plant, which closed in 2014 and became one of several so-called zombie factories, in Tangshan, China, on Jan. 26, 2016. Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesCommentaryMany Western journalists, commentators, and politicians express fear of the ability of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to exert complete political and economic control. They see it as a competitive edge China has over the seemingly chaotic, market-oriented approaches of the Western democracies. But they could not be more wrong. Beijing’s insistence on centralized control is, in fact, a source of economic weakness, and that is already clearly evident.