The National Propaganda Ministers’ Conference of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing on the 5th. Cai Qi, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee, spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of placing “economic propaganda” in a prominent position and strengthening response to public opinion and guidance. Observers have noted that in the past two years, the authorities have quietly stopped promoting the “bright economic narrative.”
According to the official announcement released by Xinhua News Agency, the content mainly consists of four sections, three of which focus on Cai Qi’s speech, while one section covers the content of Li Shulei, the Minister of the Propaganda Department, who “presided over the meeting and made work arrangements.”
During his speech, Cai Qi mentioned political terms such as “Xi Jinping Thought,” “Two Establishments,” “Four Consciousnesses,” “Four Confidences,” and “Two Upholds.” He specifically highlighted the need to “do a good job in news and public opinion work, prioritize economic propaganda, strengthen response to public opinion and guidance, and consolidate the responsibility system for ideological work.”
Commentator Li Lin analyzed for Epoch Times, pointing out that compared to previous propaganda minister conferences since Cai Qi took office, the content of the announcements has remained consistent. However, the most significant change is the abandonment of the “bright economic narrative” since last year.
The 2025 conference emphasized “adhering to the correct orientation of public opinion, strengthening economic propaganda and expectation guidance, enhancing the ability to respond to public opinions, and creating a mainstream public opinion of unity and progress.” In contrast, the 2024 conference stated the need to continue strengthening positive propaganda and opinion guidance, singing the praises of the “bright economic narrative.”
In 2023, at his first attendance at the CCP Propaganda Ministers’ Conference, Cai Qi highlighted the importance of “vigorously promoting the leading social tune of confidence, singing the praises of the bright economic narrative of China, and enhancing propaganda and guidance on the new stage of epidemic prevention and control.”
Li Lin pointed out that the authorities’ silence on the “bright economic narrative” is due to the fact that China’s economy has not emerged from its difficulties in recent years. Regardless of the authorities’ efforts, the economy remains stagnant, people’s livelihoods are difficult, and the government’s propaganda has stirred public discontent. By now relinquishing the “bright economic narrative” and shifting rhetoric, it also suggests a dim outlook.
Li Lin mentioned that the conference’s emphasis on “placing economic propaganda in a prominent position” is merely playing with words. Essentially, the authorities are still attempting to whitewash the situation, and criticisms revealing the true economic circumstances will continue to be tightly controlled.
In recent years, the CCP has been suppressing outspoken scholars who expose the true state of the economy. Gao Shanwen, Chief Economist of Guotou Securities, recently resigned from the company. His view at the end of last year suggested that China’s GDP growth figures over the past two to three years might be around 2% (official numbers are close to 5%).
While the CCP continues to praise China’s sustained economic growth, the general populace is experiencing a decline in living standards and downgrading in consumption.
Zhao Jian, director of the Mainland West Capital Research Institute, published an article titled “The Puzzle of Economic Discrepancy” on Caixin’s website at the end of December last year. The article pointed out the extreme disparity in China’s economy, where GDP growth is prominent on the production end, major projects, large enterprises, and the supply side. However, the majority of ordinary people are feeling the chill brought by the contraction of the real estate market. People generally feel uneasy, facing challenges in business, job scarcity, and an 80% loss rate for individual investors in the stock market, amounting to an average loss of 20,000 yuan per person.
The article further notes that the 200 trillion RMB total increase in China’s national output cannot compensate for the 200 trillion RMB total wealth shrinkage caused by three consecutive years of housing price adjustments. While wealth is shrinking, debt is increasing, further reducing disposable income. This is a significant factor contributing to the large disparity in people’s experiences, and it indirectly criticizes the authorities for still clinging to outdated economic thinking.
The article sparked discussions among netizens, who resonated with the concept of the economic disparity; however, the article was swiftly deleted.
Mainland economic analyst Wen Li told NTD Television that the CCP is a dictatorial regime, and this article exposed the CCP’s vulnerabilities by highlighting the existing problems in the Chinese economy. Unable to tolerate such criticisms, the authorities inevitably resorted to censorship.
Wen Li pointed out that based on the official data released by the CCP, China’s economy has been facing severe challenges throughout last year, reaching a critical state in October. For instance, fixed asset investment decreased, overall fiscal revenue declined, and total fiscal expenditure sharply compressed in October. At the same time, major banks experienced negative cash flows, numerous small banks went bankrupt, foreign capital withdrew, the real estate market languished, domestic companies shifted production lines overseas, and more.