Interesting article in QS where Xi explains reasons behind the "common prosperity" drive: 1. Taking the promotion of common prosperity for all people as the focus of seeking happiness for the people, and constantly consolidating the foundation of the party’s long-term governance;
2. High-quality development requires high-quality workers. Only by promoting common prosperity, increasing the income of urban and rural residents, and enhancing human capital, can we increase total factor productivity and consolidate the foundation for high-quality development.
3. The problem of global income inequality is prominent. Some countries are divided between the rich and the poor, ...leading to social tearing, political polarization & populism. China must resolutely prevent polarization, & achieve social harmony & stability.
so how to achieve this? Xi laid down the following principles: 1. everyone has to take part in, avoiding "involution" and "laying flat".
2. Adhere to the basic economic system. Public ownership is the mainstay & plays important role in promoting common prosperity, at the same time promote the healthy development of the non-public economy and the healthy growth of people from the non-public economy.
"healthy"...
3. Don't try to raise your appetite & make promises that cannot be fulfilled. The government can't pay everything. Don't fall into the trap of "welfare states" and raise lazy people.
4. "Common prosperity" can't be achieved overnight. It will be with us for a long time.
& now some practical advice: 1. "Coordinated development of finance and real estate with the real economy". So the days of big profits for big banks and developers are over?
2. "Attract more high-quality talents to join the team of skilled workers". Good news for college graduates!
3. "Adhere to the positioning that the house is used for living, not for speculation, rent and purchase at the same time, implement policies in accordance with the city, and improve the long-term rental policy".
More bad news for the developers?
4. "Strengthen the regulation and adjustment of high income".
How? income tax, capital tax, property tax, consumption tax.
So what exactly constitutes "excessively high income"? I tweeted this 2 months ago:
& this part is so loaded:
"We have a complete solution to the problem of poverty, but we still need to explore and accumulate experience on how to get rich. It is necessary to protect property rights and intellectual property rights, and protect legal wealth".
"We must resolutely oppose the disorderly expansion of capital, draw a negative list for access to sensitive areas, strengthen anti-monopoly supervision. At the same time, we must mobilize enthusiasm of entrepreneurs to promote the healthy development of various types of capital"
5. "Promote the common prosperity of the people's spiritual life", in line with the drive for “online civilization" that I discussed in @china_neican earlier this month. neican.org/p/civilizing-c…
6. "Accelerate the industrialization of agriculture" and "revitalize rural assets", which is coded language for lifting the restrictions on sale of rural land.
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A close reading of MOFCOM’s press conference today revealed more than the ministry likely intended to admit.
In response to a @Reuters question, the spokesperson stated:
“After the Madrid Talks, despite China’s repeated dissuasion, in just over 20 days the US intensively
introduced 20 repressive measures against China, seriously damaging China’s interests and undermining the atmosphere of the talks. In particular, at the end of September, the US issued a ‘penetrating rule’ for the export control entity list, effectively expanding it to thousands
of Chinese enterprises. At the same time, despite China’s sincere consultations, the US insisted on launching the Section 301 investigation on port fees related to China Shipbuilding on October 14, causing serious harm to China’s interests. The negative impact is extremely bad.”
I’m tired of people claiming that China and US reached an agreement in Madrid last month to refrain from introducing new restrictions.
That is simply not true — even by China’s own account.
1. People’s Daily editorial published the day after the talks quoted He Lifeng saying
“China HOPES US and China would go hand in hand, cancel the relevant restrictions on China as soon as possible, jointly safeguard the hard-won results of the talks with practical actions, and continue to create a good atmosphere for stability of economic and trade relations.”
2. The next day, another People’s Daily editorial made it even clearer:
“It must be pointed out that after a series of economic and trade consultations, the wrong practice of the US to unilaterally impose economic and trade restrictions on China has not stopped. The US has
Why the sudden wave of retaliations and escalations from Beijing?
The answer lies in the eight editorials published in the People’s Daily over the past few days.
Written under the pen name 钟才文, these pieces are widely understood to represent the views of the Office of the
Central Financial and Economic Commission, headed by He Lifeng — China’s economic tsar.
The Oct 4 editorial proclaimed that China has become “the main contributor to global economic growth and an anchor of stability,” attributing this to the “certainty” of China’s development
strategy - a pointed contrast to the “back-and-forth” policies of “some Western countries.” It went on to mock US inconsistencies: “In the past, they championed globalization; now they turn inward. In the past, they vowed to fight climate change; now they withdraw from Paris Agr”
Xi’s Feb speech to private firms is finally published—and it confirms everything I predicted before the meeting:
Private firms must fully align with China’s strategic competition vs the US.
Xi says private firms’ problems stem from external shocks (tech revolutions, trade restrictions) or internal missteps (over-diversification).
To Xi, the Party is not the problem, it is the solution.
Thus, firms must “unify their thoughts and actions with the Central Committee.”
Xi was even more explicit on measures to boost private firms: they should lead national science & tech projects, access major research infrastructure, and join state-led initiatives.
Exactly what I predicted 3 years ago in my @CIGI essay: private firms must be integrated into
What’s the biggest threat to China’s economy in the 2nd half of 2025?
It’s not the trade war, nor any new government policy. It’s a judicial interpretation from the Supreme Court.
On July 31, the Court issued Interpretation on Applicable Law in Trying Labour Dispute Cases (II).
Article 19 states:
“If the employer agrees with the employee, or the employee promises the employer, that there is no need to pay social security premiums, the people’s court shall find the agreement or promise invalid. If the employer fails to pay social security premiums in
accordance with the law, and the employee requests the termination of the labour contract in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 38 of the Labour Contract Law and demands economic compensation, the people’s court shall support the claim.”