"Common prosperity." It's not a new phrase, but it's one we're hearing more and more in China. After Xi declared victory over absolute poverty, expect the focus to turn to reducing inequality and boosting social mobility as growth slows. @QiZHAI@yifanxieon.wsj.com/3stA2rv
@QiZHAI@yifanxie By reducing income gaps, says @BBikales, “Xi Jinping is seeking to rebrand the Communist Party’s image domestically and internationally…He wants this to demonstrate that socialism is better than Western capitalism in caring for all the population.” on.wsj.com/3stA2rv
@QiZHAI@yifanxie@BBikales How wealth is distributed has always preoccupied the Communist Party, but its views have evolved. Mao branded capitalists as enemies of the people. Deng said it was OK to “let some people get rich first.” Now, unequal wealth distribution is a big concern. on.wsj.com/3stA2rv
@QiZHAI@yifanxie@BBikales When Jack Ma made his first public appearance after authorities shut down Ant’s planned IPO, he said it was entrepreneurs’ responsibility to “work hard for rural revitalization and common prosperity.” on.wsj.com/3stA2rv
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Behind Jack Ma's fall: A failure to keep pace with a fast-changing business landscape—and to appreciate the risks of falling out of step. He tuned out warnings for years and behaved too much like an American entrepreneur. @QiZHAI@Lingling_Wei@jingyanghk on.wsj.com/3gkbqN7
@QiZHAI@Lingling_Wei@jingyanghk Ma has exchanged a wall-to-wall schedule of business travel for golf and the reading of Taoist texts. He hired a teacher to learn oil painting, starting out with images of birds and flowers and then shifting to an abstract style. on.wsj.com/3gkbqN7
@QiZHAI@Lingling_Wei@jingyanghk Initially, officials hailed Ma's work, including Xi Jinping, then the top leader of Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is based. After Xi became Shanghai’s top official in 2007, he asked: “Can you come to Shanghai and help us develop?” state media reported. on.wsj.com/3gkbqN7
Beijing has shut down a U.S. labor auditor’s local China partner, escalating a campaign to counter forced-labor allegations in Xinjiang and complicating efforts by multinationals to certify supply chains in the country. @Lingling_Wei@wsjeva@Trefor1 on.wsj.com/3z6U9yf
@Lingling_Wei@wsjeva@Trefor1 Though Verite was small, Disney and Apple have hired it to consult on labor issues at Chinese factories. Now, the closing of Verite's Shenzhen-based partner after an April raid on its offices deprives companies of a channel to conduct audits in China. on.wsj.com/3z6U9yf
@Lingling_Wei@wsjeva@Trefor1 For weeks, Chinese law-enforcement regularly interrogated roughly eight Chinese staffers of Verite’s Shenzhen partner, who were required to report to the police at 9 a.m. every day and not allowed to leave until around 5 p.m. on.wsj.com/3z6U9yf
"For the Chinese Communist Party, history is legitimacy…To make sure that history really appears to be on its side, the party spends an inordinate amount of time writing and rewriting it and preventing others from wielding their pens." @iandenisjohnsonbit.ly/3ghOtdO
@iandenisjohnson "Xi has many goals, such as battling corruption, fostering innovation, and projecting power abroad through his Belt and Road Initiative, but controlling history underlies them all." @iandenisjohnsonbit.ly/3ghOtdO
@iandenisjohnson "In theory, members are allowed to say what they want inside the party as long as they accept final decisions…In practice, the ever-shifting correct line means that…a statement that seems innocent now will become compromising later." @iandenisjohnson bit.ly/3ghOtdO
Important story by @Lingling_Wei on what is quickly emerging as the latest fault line between Beijing and China's tech giants—and by extension, the U.S. Namely, all that user data being stockpiled by Tencent, Alibaba and Bytedance, among others. on.wsj.com/2TqiJdj
@Lingling_Wei Beijing’s newest five-year plan stresses the need for government sway over private firms’ data—the first five-year plan to do so. Two new laws, including one passed Thursday, subjects almost all data-related activities to government scrutiny. @Lingling_Weion.wsj.com/2TqiJdj
@Lingling_Wei One proposed law would limit data collection rules for private firms—but not for the government. “Less invasive…data collection…is a good thing…But China’s push for data privacy strikes me as yet another move to strengthen…the party.” @Lingling_Weion.wsj.com/2TqiJdj
Wuhan's lockdown last year stopped people from leaving. But it didn't stop our colleague Chao from getting into the city, and offering an eyewitness account from inside the pandemic's first epicenter. We're really proud of Chao's work and we hope you read it. A short thread…
Feb. 7: "Patients packed the waiting room at Wuhan’s Tongji Hospital on Friday, intravenous drips in their arms. Medical staff wheeled patients…through the crowd. In the hallways, the sick lay curled up on cots, hooked to oxygen tanks." @Chao_Deng@stuwoo on.wsj.com/2Ox97by
@Chao_Deng@stuwoo Feb. 11: "Coughing badly, Zhu Chunxia sat on a sidewalk in the rain on Monday, awaiting transport to a facility where…she could be treated for the new coronavirus sweeping through this central Chinese city. The ride never came." @Chao_Dengon.wsj.com/2HcajgB
A thousand years ago, when money meant coins, China invented paper currency. Now the Chinese government is minting cash digitally, in a re-imagination of money that could shake a pillar of American power. @jamestareddy@TByGraceZhuon.wsj.com/31MnHlB
@jamestareddy@TByGraceZhu It may seem money is already virtual, as credit cards and payment apps like Apple Pay and WeChat eliminate the need for bills or coins. But those just move money around electronically. China is turning legal tender itself into computer code. @jamestareddyon.wsj.com/31MnHlB
@jamestareddy@TByGraceZhu China’s digital currency is controlled by its central bank, which will issue the new money, giving it new tools to monitor the economy and its people. By design, the digital yuan will negate one of bitcoin’s major draws: anonymity for the user. on.wsj.com/31MnHlB