In honor of the upcoming 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, I will highlight some of the significant hurdles the Communist Party faces that often go under appreciated in the western media. Like in many states - the largest risks to government rule are not external threats, but festering internal divisions. The challenges range from the financial system to geography and regional inequality. What is largely missed in the endless discussion over the global financial crisis and its aftermath, is that it was Chinese credit expansion that fueled the global economic recovery. In the face of a cratering global financial system, and the devastation to aggregate demand that would ensue, China unleashed fiscal stimulus - especially in its housing sector. Commodities prices and emerging markets soared in the years after the crisis, providing ballast for the world. In the exuberance, many industrial sectors became plagued with overcapacity, a problem China and the world must ...