What exactly is Xi Jinping doing? This question is top of mind for nearly all foreign investors, companies, government officials, and analysts who have been watching — with a mixture of concern and fascination — the blitzkrieg of regulatory measures Beijing unleashed beginning this summer. What started with a data security investigation of the ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing has expanded into video games, education, fintech, food delivery, crypto currency, and most recently, real estate. As if this wasn’t enough, Xi unveiled a new slogan — “common prosperity” — that portended further government actions to blunt the country’s growing levels of income inequality and other social maladies that are the byproduct of decades of rampant economic growth. It will take time before a clear perspective on Xi’s end game emerges, given that the regulatory campaign is ongoing. But there is a related puzzle that can be addressed immediately: why is all of this happening now?