Socially, economically, diplomatically, politically...
The past few years have been extremely difficult for China.
That's not to say I sympathize, of course.
I don't.
Because pretty much all of its travails are the country's own doing.
China's economy has been flagging for the past decade.
Once lauded for its double-digit growth rates and hailed an "economic miracle," China's economy expanded by just 3% last year.
That waning growth is part of a larger trend that dates back to 2007, but the pandemic has obviously taken a toll as well.
Of course, that pandemic began in China, and now it seems we're openly acknowledging it came from a state-run lab rather than a wet market.
That's bad enough, but China's response to the pandemic it unleashed upon the world was just as bad.
Excessively harsh lockdowns completely eviscerated China's domestic economy and even resulted in civil protests rarely seen and hardly tolerated in the communist country.
Those restrictions have since been softened, but China's economy is still only expected to grow 5% this year, beset by weak trade, anemic domestic consumption, a real estate crisis, and regulatory crackdowns.
Russia hasn't helped matters, either.
Vladimir Putin's blundering invasion of Ukraine has put even more economic and political pressure on Beijing.
China has been supporting its ally by buying up Russian energy resources and selling back industrial goods and tech components to compensate for Western sanctions.