China’s wealthy activate escape plans as Xi Jinping extends rule
Wealthy Chinese are pulling the trigger on exit plans from their homeland as pessimism builds over the future of the world’s second-largest economy under Xi Jinping and the ruling Chinese Communist party.
At the weekend, Xi cemented his position as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, staying on as head of the Chinese Communist party and its powerful central military commission for another five years. Following the quinquennial CCP congress, the 69-year-old now has an ironclad grip on power and the potential to rule for the rest of his life.
David Lesperance, a Europe-based lawyer who has worked with wealthy families in Hong Kong and China, says Xi extending his rule beyond two terms is a tipping point for China’s business elite, who thrived for decades as China’s economy boomed.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Eleanor Olcott
