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| Presented By Bank of America |
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| Axios AM |
| By Mike Allen · Oct 16, 2022 |
| Happy Sunday. Smart Brevity™ count: 993 words ... 4 minutes. Edited by Donica Phifer. |
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| 1 big thing: Xi eyes 5 more years |
| Xi Jinping leaves after delivering his speech today at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters President Xi Jinping today opened a historic China Party Congress that's expected to cement his rule with a precedent-defying third term as Communist Party leader. - Why it matters: That means Xi's authoritarianism and assertive foreign policies are likely to continue for at least another five years, writes Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, author of Axios China.
The past few months have seen China's economic growth plummet due to Xi's strict zero-COVID policies — which he reiterated today. - "We have adhered to the supremacy of the people and the supremacy of life, adhered to dynamic zero-COVID ... and achieved major positive results," Xi said.
In a rare protest that went viral online and was swiftly censored, someone hung a banner from a bridge in Beijing, demanding an end to COVID lockdowns and even calling for Xi to be removed. 👀 What to watch: The congress is expected to pass a revision to the Party's constitution that's likely to further enshrine Xi's status as the country's paramount leader — perhaps even as "party chairman," a term not used since Mao Zedong ruled China as dictator. |
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| 2. 🇨🇳 Charted: China after 10 years of Xi |
 Data: World Bank. Chart: Tory Lysik/Axios Over his 10-year tenure, Xi has turned the world's second-largest economy into a tool to project geopolitical power, reports Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, author of Axios China. - Why it matters: Some Western observers believed global trade would help spread liberal democratic values to China. But Xi's rise shows authoritarianism can also spread through economic ties.
What's happening: Xi has made foreign access to the massive Chinese economy contingent upon toeing Chinese Communist Party lines. - That has pressured companies and governments around the world to support Beijing's goals — while the Chinese government continues to commit human rights abuses.
🧮 By the numbers: Since Xi first assumed power in late 2012, China's economy has more than doubled, from $8.5 trillion to $17.7 trillion in 2021.  Data: China National Bureau of Statistics. Chart: Tory Lysik/Axios The number of births in China now only slightly outpaces the number of deaths: Births fell from about 16 million in 2012 to 10.6 million in 2021. - Why it matters: China's low birth rate will mean a shrinking working-age population to grow the economy and support the elderly.
Story continues in next item. |
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| 3. 🇨🇳 Part 2: Xi @ 10 |
 Reproduced from CSIS ChinaPower. Chart: Axios Visuals China is rapidly modernizing its military by investing in high-tech weaponry, shrinking its army and improving combat readiness. - Why it matters: Xi has committed to building "world-class forces" for a country that is already considered a "pacing threat" to the U.S., according to the Pentagon.
 Reproduced from Pew Research Center. Chart: Axios Visuals People in many advanced economies have increasingly viewed China in an unfavorable light over the last decade, according to a recent report from Pew Research Center. - Why it matters: China has long touted its "peaceful rise" policy. But the rise of aggressive diplomacy, the growth of global media influence, and the impacts of its opaque overseas lending practices have cast doubts about China's stated approach to becoming a superpower.
Human rights in China have continued to deteriorate, as Xi "doubled down" on repression. |
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| A message from Bank of America |
| The latest Insights on small business owners |
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| Bank of America's Women & Minority Business Owner Spotlight finds that despite challenges of inflation, supply chain and labor shortages, business owners' confidence in the economy increased significantly. Nearly 40% of business owners plan to hire over the next year. |
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| 4. 📷 1,000 words |
| Photo: Kent Nishimura/L.A. Times via Getty Images Vice President Harris speaks yesterday at a voter-education event with students at Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology, about 15 miles outside Detroit in Southfield, Mich. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Adam Laxalt — Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Nevada, who's in a tossup race against Sen. Catherine Marie Cortez (D-Nev.) — rallies supporters Thursday at the RNC's Hispanic Community Center in Vegas. |
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| 5. 📊 New danger for Dems |
| Graphic: CBS News 23 days from midterms, CBS News polling shows Democratic momentum stalling amid economic worries. But the abortion issue is still a strength for Dems, who control both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. - "By double digits, Democrats are still losing independents who report their personal financial situation is bad, and those for whom high prices have made their lives worse or more difficult," CBS notes.
"All this despite the fact that the job market is seen as good, and fewer are worried about their job situation than their ability to save money or about rising prices." Graphic: CBS News The CBS News/YouGov Battleground Tracker polled 2,068 registered voters from Oct. 12-14. Margin of error: ±2.4 points. |
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| 6. 📚 Bestselling "Smart Brevity" |
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| Cover: Workman |
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| "Smart Brevity" — which is modernizing communications for organizations of all sizes — just hit The Wall Street Journal's business bestseller list for the third week in a row. - Why it matters: In the past two weeks, I've traveled to New York, California, Colorado and Tennessee. My conversations, with everyone from teachers to moguls, show they're finding Smart Brevity to be an indispensable way to communicate more clearly and effectively.
If your organization wants to join the hundreds of companies vastly improving their communications using this style, hit "reply" on this email or shoot me a note: mike@axios.com. |
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| 7. ⚾ 18-inning, 6-hour game |
| Photo: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images Scoreless inning after scoreless inning, day turned into night in front of a frenzied crowd in Seattle: - The Astros' Jeremy Peña homered in the 18th, beating the Mariners 1-0 for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series — and putting Houston in the AL Championship Series for the sixth straight year,
⏰ The 18 innings matched the most innings in playoff history, per AP. - The game — which lasted 6 hours, 22 minutes — clocked in as the third-longest playoff game.
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| 8. 🍞 1 fun thing: Pan Solo |
| Photo: Chris Riley/(Vallejo, Calif.) Times-Herald via AP A Bay Area bakery made a 6-foot bread sculpture of Han Solo, as the "Star Wars" character appeared after being frozen in carbonite in "The Empire Strikes Back." - Hanalee Pervan and her mother, Catherine Pervan (above), co-owners of One House Bakery in Benicia, Calif., spent weeks molding, baking and assembling the life-sized sculpture, AP reports.
The two used wood and two types of dough — including a yeastless dough with a higher sugar content, so it lasts longer. - They worked at night, lovingly crafting the details: Solo's anguished face, and his hands straining to reach out.
🔮 What's next: The dough will be composted, not eaten. |
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| A message from Bank of America |
| Entrepreneurs' view on accessing capital |
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| Bank of America's new report finds that access to capital remains a key issue for women and minority business owners, with half of AAPI, Black and Hispanic-Latino business owners experiencing challenges. Read the Women & Minority Business Owner Spotlight. |
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| 📬 Invite your friends to sign up to get their daily essentials — Axios AM, PM and Finish Line. |
 | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | |
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