The Coronavirus pandemic has led to many problems in China including the decline of the VC industry and the inability of founders to raise money. With one person at the top making decisions, the long term implications could be costly.
Friedberg and the host discuss the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Zero COVID policy, which appears to be having a significant impact on China's economy. They suggest that Xi is the driving force behind the policy because the CCP's credibility is tied to their ability to stop COVID entirely.
With China's venture capital industry in flux, startups are struggling to raise money and even questioning whether their meetings with VCs are genuine. Local bank scandals and mortgage boycotts add to the industry's instability.