China's GDP plunge is 20 years in the making

Xi has missed chance to reform, open up and strengthen economy

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20200417 Wuhan Iron And Steel.JPG

A statue of Mao Zedong is seen in front of smoking chimneys at state-owned Wuhan Iron And Steel Corp.: China lost much of its tolerance for disruption. © Reuters

William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."

The most important thing to keep in mind about China's 6.8% contraction in first-quarter gross domestic product is that the bad news is only beginning.

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