On October 9, 2024, the press conference held by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the Chinese Communist Party left the market disappointed, leading to a sharp decline in the Hong Kong stock market and loss of rebound momentum in the mainland stock market. During the conference, NDRC Deputy Director Zhao Chenxin unexpectedly became the “focus” with his rhetoric sparking heated discussions among the Chinese people.
At 10 am on October 8, Chinese NDRC Director Zheng Zhanjie and four deputies, Liu Sushe, Zhao Chenxin, Li Chunlin, and Zheng Beitong, appeared together on stage to hold a press conference on “systematically implementing the ‘comprehensive incremental’ policy”.
Prior to this, the Chinese Communist Party had announced a series of loose monetary policies that stimulated the rise of A-shares. However, this conference did not introduce any substantial positive news but reiterated previous policies, disappointing market expectations and causing A-shares to first rise and then fall back, with the Hong Kong stock market plummeting by 2000 points.
During the conference, NDRC Deputy Director Zhao Chenxin unexpectedly became the “focus”.
A Reuters reporter asked Zheng Zhanjie: “Is there an approximate scale for this comprehensive policy this time? Can the economic growth target of about 5% this year be achieved? Will the deflationary pressures currently faced by the economy be relieved?”
Zheng Zhanjie asked Zhao Chenxin to respond.
Zhao Chenxin replied, “Sure, Director,” “Actually, I feel that the questions you are concerned about can all be found in the content that Director Zheng just explained earlier. For example, the research and formulation of this comprehensive incremental policy mentioned by Director Zheng embodies the ‘three more emphases’ and ‘four insistence’,” “There are many key points in Director Zheng’s briefing,” “Director Zheng has provided detailed explanations on these contents. As long as you grasp these core contents Director Zheng mentioned, it will definitely help in understanding and grasping the comprehensive incremental policy. I believe the message conveyed by Director Zheng is very clear…”
Apart from repeatedly calling out “Director Zheng”, Zhao Chenxin’s remarks were devoid of substance.
Commentator Ji Xiaohua’s article believed that Zhao Chenxin’s approach more vividly reflected the “orderliness of respect and status” in the Chinese Communist Party’s officialdom.
Chinese netizens joked that Zhao Chenxin’s response left foreign journalists blank, as if they had heard nothing. Everyone is learning the rhetoric of NDRC officials.
One netizen sarcastically said, “Everyone should learn how to speak from Deputy Director Zhao, once you master it, you can deliver a speech that sounds logically clear, well-articulated, but ultimately lacking in substance anytime, anywhere. This skill is too useful in the officialdom.”
Regarding this press conference, the outside world had hoped for further measures to boost the economy. However, mainland netizens stated that after watching the NDRC press conference, there was no new content, and everyone’s hopes were dashed. “This is definitely not a wholehearted effort. The prior fiscal policies were not sufficient to bring about a larger rebound in the stock market.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the NDRC press conference dashed market hopes for additional fiscal stimulus from the government, raising doubts about whether the Chinese Communist Party could introduce more policies to bolster the weak economy.
October 8 marked the first trading day after the National Day holiday in mainland China, and investors had expected the market to rise further, but instead witnessed a roller-coaster market fluctuation.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plummeted by more than 2300 points during the NDRC press conference. It closed sharply down by 9.4%, with many large Chinese companies in its component stocks. This decline wiped out all the gains of 9.3% that the Hang Seng Index had achieved in the previous four trading days during the mainland market closure.