
BEIJING Despite the economic successes highlighted in his address to key Communist Party members, Chinese President Xi Jinping faces a daunting set of challenges -- ranging from soaring property prices to industrial overcapacity -- as he begins his next five years at the country's helm.
Xi's work report to the party's twice-a-decade National Congress on Oct. 18 painted a rosy picture of the economy. 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.