Topic of the day:-“The life of Xi”
When Xi Jinping was elected the leader of China and the Communist Party five years ago, many had predicted that he would become the most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the country’s economic rise. They may be wrong. With the 19th party congress, which concluded on Tuesday and has written his name and ideas into the party constitution, Mr. Xi now appears to be the strongest leader since Mao Zedong. This amassing of Mao-like powers could also allow Mr. Xi to stay in power beyond the usual two terms. Two of Mr. Xi’s predecessors had stepped down after two terms to ensure an orderly transition in the party and the government, where there is no dearth of talented and ambitious leaders. The practice has been for the mid-term party congress to choose the likely successor of the incumbent and groom him over five years to eventually take over the reins. However, the party doesn’t seem to have chosen anyone this time. All five new faces in the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the highest decision-making body in China, are in their 60s, which lends credence to speculation that Mr. Xi is not planning to step down when his second term ends in 2022. Even if he does step down from the government, given the stature he has already achieved within the party, he could retain a Deng-like sway over policy matters. In Mr. Xi’s world view, China has passed two eras — the revolutionary era launched by Mao and the economic reforms spearheaded by Deng. The “Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era” that has been written into the party charter marks “a new era”. This one is about making China economically stronger and geopolitically more influential. In his three-and-a-half-hour speech at the congress, Mr. Xi placed great emphasis on strengthening the military and resisting “the whole range of erroneous viewpoints”. The message is that the era of “peaceful rise” is over. The more combative foreign policy Mr. Xi’s administration is pursuing will continue, perhaps more aggressively, while at home he will consolidate more power. But this doesn’t mean it will be a cakewalk. If China takes a more aggressive, militaristic view of its neighbourhood, it could trigger an aggressive response from neighbours such as India and Japan. North Korea remains as much a foreign policy problem for Mr. Xi as for President Donald Trump. China’s export-oriented economy is still not free from the global economic whirlwinds. Mr. Xi will have to factor in global market concerns while taking key economic decisions at home. Besides, though the transition in the Communist Party has been orderly at least in the last 30 years, it was not free from troubles. Mr. Xi would be mindful of how he projects his own power, lest it triggers a backlash. The challenge before him is to find a balance between his ambitions and the realities that China confronts today.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Saddled
Meaning: Burden (someone) with an onerous responsibility or task.
Example: He’s saddled with debts of $12 million.
Synonym: Burden, Encumber
2) Wary
Meaning: Feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems.
Example: Dogs which have been mistreated often remain very wary of strangers.
Synonym: Cautious, Careful
Antonym: Incautious, Careless
3) Slipping
Meaning: Be behaving in a way that is not up to one’s usual level of performance.
Example: Oh, Daddy, I don’t understand why my common sense is slipping.
Synonym: Decline, Deteriorate
Antonym: Remain, Prefect
4) Seized
Meaning: Take hold of suddenly and forcibly.
Example: She jumped up and seized his arm.
Synonym: Grab, Grasp
5) Over-leveraged
Meaning: (of a company) having taken on too much debt.
Example: Thus the strain of the adjustment forced on its overleveraged UK operations falls directly on the Tata group in India.
6) Afresh
Meaning: In a new or different way.
Example: She left the job to start afresh.
Synonym: Anew, Again
7) Bankruptcy
Meaning: The state of being bankrupt.
Example: Many companies were facing bankruptcy.
Synonym: Insolvency, Liquidation
Antonym: Richness, Wealth
8) Invoke
Meaning: Cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an authority for an action or in support of an argument.
Example: The antiquated defence of insanity is rarely invoked in England.
Synonym: Cite, Refer to
9) Insolvency
Meaning: The state of being insolvent.
Example: The club was facing insolvency.
Synonym: Bankruptcy, Liquidation
Antonym: Rise, Win
10) Elusive
Meaning: Difficult to find, catch, or achieve.
Example: Success will become ever more elusive.
Synonym: Difficult to catch, Difficult to find
Antonym: Confronting, Enticing
11) Prospect
Meaning: The possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring.
Example: There was no prospect of a reconciliation.
Synonym: Likelihood, Hope
Antonym: Hopelessness, Unlikelihood
12) Haircuts
Meaning: A reduction in the stated value of an asset.
Example: The banks would probably be willing to take a haircut on the rest.
13) Residual
Meaning: Remaining after the greater part or quantity has gone.
Example: The withdrawal of residual occupying forces.
Synonym: Remaining, Leftover
Antonym: Base, Core
14) Comply
Meaning: Act in accordance with a wish or command.
Example: We are unable to comply with your request.
Synonym: Abide by, Act in accordance with
Antonym: Deny, Dissuade
15) Dilute
Meaning: Make (something) weaker in force, content, or value by modification or the addition of other elements.
Example: The reforms have been diluted.
Synonym: Diminish, Reduce
Antonym: Grow, Develop
16) Recapitalisation
Meaning: Provide (a business) with more capital, especially by replacing debt with stock.
Example: A plan to recapitalize the state-owned airline.
17) Deficit
Meaning: The amount by which something, especially a sum of money, is too small.
Example: An annual operating deficit.
Synonym: Shortfall, Deficiency
Antonym: Enough, Abundance
18) Instance
Meaning: An example or single occurrence of something.
Example: A serious instance of corruption.
Synonym: Example, Occasion
19) Front-load
Meaning: Distribute or allocate (costs, effort, etc.) unevenly, with the greater proportion at the beginning of the enterprise or process.
Example: What we need, they say, is front-loaded temporary tax cuts.
20) Infusion
Meaning: The introduction of a new element or quality into something.
Example: The infusion of $6.3 million for improvements.
Synonym: Introduction, Instilling
