In recent news from December 17, 2025, China’s economy is on a downward trend, leading to financial difficulties in various regions. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials have been frequently emphasizing the need to “tighten the belt” to cope with the economic challenges. However, the state media recently criticized some units for misinterpreting “tightening the belt” as enduring “hardship”, which has sparked complaints among officials. Chinese netizens have mocked the official rhetoric as playing word games, suggesting that the CCP is using semantics to avoid addressing the underlying issues.
According to the CCP’s People’s Daily on December 16th, during interviews at grassroots levels, it was observed that in one unit, there was an old yellowed printer with a pile of A4 papers, filled with errors and deemed unusable, scattered haphazardly next to it. An official expressed frustration over the requirement for all documents to be double-sided printed, as the equipment was outdated and manual flipping of pages led to errors, making the task time-consuming and laborious. Despite requests for a new printer, the response was to make do with the existing one.
In May of this year, the CCP authorities released the revised “Anti-Waste Regulations,” stressing the need to “strictly implement frugality and lead by example in tightening the belt.” The People’s Daily stated that since the implementation of these regulations, some units have misunderstood the concept of “tightening the belt” as enduring “hardship”.
Reports highlighted instances where office supplies and outdated equipment hampered work efficiency, but replacements were delayed. Some units covertly reduced reasonable welfare benefits, while others tightened spending on services for the public, leading to a distorted sense of priorities and unsustainable practices.
The article emphasized that “tightening the belt” is a long-term strategy aimed at curbing extravagance and improving work efficiency. It clarified that the focus should be on reducing excessive burden on grassroots levels rather than cutting essential welfare benefits.
The CCP media’s coverage sparked mockery among mainland Chinese netizens. Some remarked, “Tight but not suffering – the endless joy of playing word games.” Others pointed out the irony in the official narrative and raised concerns about the impact on welfare benefits and public services.
According to a commentator, the continuous emphasis from the CCP media on the distinction between “tightening the belt” and enduring “hardship” reflects the deepening economic crisis and financial difficulties within the CCP. The inability to effectively implement directives at the local level suggests internal contradictions and governance issues within the Party hierarchy.
Official data from the CCP indicates that in 2024, major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen were running deficits in their finances. Provinces such as Yunnan and Heilongjiang saw general public budget expenditures exceeding income by three times.
Reports from financial sources reveal that local government expenditures in China consistently surpass their revenue, requiring transfers from the central government and debt income to bridge the gap. In the first ten months of this year, local general public budget revenue amounted to around 10.5 trillion yuan, while expenditures reached approximately 19.1 trillion yuan.
Since the beginning of this year, all 31 provinces have pledged to adhere to the practice of “tightening the belt” in 2025 for Party and government organs.
During last week’s CCP Central Economic Work Conference, it was declared that tackling local financial difficulties was a top priority. This marked the first time in such a meeting that addressing local financial challenges was explicitly emphasized.