Unprecedented year for China creates uncertain future: Anti-lockdown protests, Pelosi's Taiwan trip, and more

Chinese President Xi Jinping's unprecedented third term kicked off with rising COVID-19 infections and a slowing economy as nationwide protests forced him to change policy.

With high inflation and significant slowdown due to its COVID-19 policies - prompting the party to even consider $700 stimulus checks - and tensions over a potential Taiwan invasion simmering but not yet at a boiling point, as well as a new spike in COVID-19 infections, the future for China is entering surprisingly unknown territory.  Supporters await the arrival of Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City Hotel in Universal City, California, on January 25, 2022. (Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, left, speaks with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she prepares to leave in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Pelosi left Taiwan after a visit that heightened tensions with China, saying Wednesday that she and other members of Congress in her delegation showed they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island. (Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP) Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), center, receives the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon, Taiwan’s highest civilian honor, from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, right, at the president's office on Aug. 3, 2022 in Taipei, Taiwan. Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday as part of a tour of Asia aimed at reassuring allies in the region, as China made it clear that her visit to Taiwan would be seen in a negative light. (Handout/Getty Images) Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news. 

However, that is only possible due to the unprecedented year that China has experienced.