Maximum Xi

Xi Jinping emerged from October's 20th Party Congress with tighter control over the ruling Communist Party - and, therefore, over China - than any leader since Mao Zedong. He can now continue his state-centric approach to China's economy and an overtly nationalist foreign policy with even less internal resistance than he has encountered since beginning his consolidation of power a decade ago.

As a result, Xi's ability to make arbitrary decisions that impact the lives of billions of people is also unrivaled. And because China is exponentially more important for the stability of the global economy and the balance of geopolitical power than during Mao's reign, Xi's power has become a global problem.

Consider a few of his recent decisions. His refusal, up to now, to import foreign-made mRNA vaccines has left China's 1.4 billion people far more vulnerable to Covid-19 than...