"Despite growing anger among retail investors and a strong sense of economic decline, a major shakeup is unlikely, given the rigidity of the political system, the leadership's need to exude calm and the idea that changes could be perceived as signs of weakness or error. Having accumulated more power than any Chinese leader in 20 years, President Xi Jinping is expected to stay the course in hopes that the market will correct itself and the economy returns to an even keel. The longer that takes, the greater the risks for the Communist Party, which has managed to keep a tight grip on power in part because of its ability to deliver economic growth," The New York Time reports. 

Reuters writes, "China has sacked the head of its work safety regulator for suspected corruption, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday, following blasts that killed more than 100 people in the port city of Tianjin this month. The ruling Communist Party's graft watchdog began an investigation into Yang Dongliang last week following the massive explosions in a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals. A total of 139 people are now confirmed to have died, while 34 remain missing. A brief statement carried by Xinhua, citing the party's organization department which is responsible for personnel decisions, said Yang had been stripped of his position as chief of the State Administration of Work Safety."

"The slowdown deepening this year is part of a bumpy transition away from an era when smokestack industries, huge exports and massive infrastructure spending-underpinned by trillions in state-backed debt-powered China's seemingly unstoppable rise. Today, debt has swelled to more than twice the size of the economy, and some of those industries, such as construction and steel, are reeling. Instead of them, China is pushing services, consumer spending and private entrepreneurship as new drivers of growth that rely less on debt and more on the stock market for funding. Reorienting China's massive economy, however, is proving challenging, and the difficulties are testing Chinese leaders with something they have been unaccustomed to in recent decades: a troubled economy that undermines their reputation for strong management," The Wall Street Journal reports.