To be sure, Chinese leaders would prefer balanced high growth to low growth. However, the current leadership is aware of the enormous risks of allowing highly distorted growth to continue. Since 2008, Beijing has maintained growth with a massive injection of credit, much of it invested in speculative real estate, excessive industrial capacity, and infrastructure with dubious financial viability. Continuing this disastrous policy would imperil the political future of new Chinese leaders, particularly Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, who will be up for reappointment in 2017.