'Maximum Xi Jinping' will be costly for China and its people

Lack of constraints will be felt in economy, public health and foreign policy

Ian Bremmer

January 18, 2023 05:00 JST

20230113 Xi Jinping opening ceremony.jpg

Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2022: Xi's power has become a global problem. © Xinhua/AP

Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media and author of "The Power of Crisis."

Xi Jinping's ability to make arbitrary decisions that impact the lives of billions of people is now unrivaled, following his emergence from last year's Communist Party national congress with tighter control over both the ruling party and China than any leader since Mao Zedong.