Illustration: Chau Luong for Bloomberg
China’s AI Nightmare Is an Out-of-Control Welfare State
As artificial intelligence threatens jobs and deflation strains growth, Xi Jinping may finally be forced to expand the nation’s social safety net.
Xi Jinping has long resisted putting cash directly into the hands of Chinese households. When world leaders raced to unleash stimulus to help citizens cope with the Covid-19 pandemic, Beijing recoiled.
It wasn’t just that China was still saddled with debt from the 2008 global financial crisis, when it poured money into infrastructure and upgrading factories. The Chinese leader feared that direct cash handouts would set a precedent that could ultimately backfire on the Communist Party — and himself.