Chairman Xi Jinping possibly thought China would continue its upward trajectory indefinitely. After all, he muses in the socialist ideology that bears his immortal name, the West is in decline and China is on the rise. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is facing all sorts of unexpected setbacks and challenges that threaten to derail its narrative of inevitable pre-eminence. Even if China continues to push the boundaries of belligerence – with excessive territorial claims in the South China Sea, taunting Japan in the East China Sea, testing Indian limits along their shared border, dispatching high-altitude balloons around the globe…