For much of the past year since China reopened to the world following the Covid-19 pandemic, a pall has hung over large swathes of the country as its economy struggles to regain momentum.

More than three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of China retains a firm grip on power. The powerful and feared organization has ruled the nation — home to close to one-fifth of the world’s population — for 75 years, surpassing the 74-year Soviet era in Russia.