China’s rise in the international system as the second most important player has hinged on its economic rise. However, the ‘new normal’ for the Chinese economy which once registered double-digit growth rates, is a slowed growth rate along a host of problems. The roughly $19 trillion economy continues to face a real estate market crisis, after an almost unbroken 20-year boom, which the government had encouraged and facilitated. At about a quarter of the total gross domestic product (GDP), housing now faces rapid shrinkage, as it is faced with chronic oversupply and lower household formation. Local governments. State enterprises as well as property developers all face high levels of debt. There is a total absence of inflation, reflecting inadequate aggregate demand. Productivity growth has stalled, with heightened politicisation of the business environment, along with associated problems of rapid aging, inequality, and high youth unemployment. United States (US) rating agency Moody downgraded China’s credit rating outlook in December last year from stable to negative. China is yet to announce a specific growth target for 2024, which can be expected to be around 4.6%.