BEIJING -- Despite the economic successes highlighted in an address to key Communist Party members, Chinese President Xi Jinping faces a daunting set of issues, ranging from soaring property prices to industrial overcapacity, as he leads the country in the next five years.
Xi's work report to the party's twice-a-decade National Congress on Wednesday painted a rosy picture of the economy. Over the past five years, he noted, China's gross domestic product has become second in the world; the country has experienced a digital economic revolution; and the Belt and Road initiative to build an economic sphere of influence throughout Asia has taken off.