China is closing out the year 2022 with the most dismal economic and social welfare performance in recent decades. President Xi Jinping entered the Year of the Tiger last February full of promise, pride, and prospects for an unprecedented third term in office. Now with his abrupt and chaotic exit from the zero-COVID policy, he and China’s other leaders have effectively acknowledged that the widespread testing, lockdowns, and long quarantines exacted an intolerable burden on China’s economy and its citizens. And the latest data from the Chinese statistical authority show still further slowdown…
