China Facing Greater Potential For Public Unrest In 2019

• Fitch expects that China will experience slowly growing pressures in terms of social stability over the coming years, driven in part by weakening growth and rising income inequality, a trend that is expected to become increasingly entrenched as the economy slows.

 

• A challenging job market outlook, combined with several politically sensitive anniversaries in 2019, could see small pockets of social protests emerge.

 

• Fitch expects Beijing, which has signaled that it will exercise even greater control over traditional and social media, will be able to contain any social unrest, even if the frequency and scale of demonstrations increase relative to less politically sensitive years.

 

(Source: Fitch)