The 20th Plenum of the Communist Party of China concluded on Thursday, July 18th, with the release of the “Conference Communique.” Observers noted that the communique lacked specific measures and clear direction, leading analysts to believe that it was filled with empty words and phrases that could have been suitable five years ago. It seems that the authors are complacent.
The communique, consisting of five thousand words, set the direction of “comprehensively deepening reforms and advancing China’s modernization.”
Analysis of the communique revealed that the name “Xi Jinping” appeared six times, fewer than the nine times in last year’s 19th Plenum Communique. This contrasted with the pre-communique propaganda that praised Xi Jinping as a “reformer.”
However, yesterday (17th), the article praising Xi Jinping as a “reformer” was virtually absent from Baidu.
In response, Du Wen, the former legal adviser to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government, told Radio Free Asia, “This plenum focused more on the Party and mentioned Xi Jinping less, indicating a balance of certain dissenting views, both directly and indirectly.”
The expression “adherence to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Important Thought of ‘Three Represents,’ and the Scientific Outlook on Development” that had disappeared from the 19th Plenum Communique resurfaced in this year’s conference communique.
Du Wen further commented, “Upon reviewing the communique, it seems to offer nothing new or distinctive from what we had expected. It lacks any highlights, concrete measures, and clear direction.”
The communique emphasized openness, people, the rule of law, environmental protection, addressing real estate crises, local debt issues, and a broad range of topics, yet it is filled with empty promises and lacks tangible measures and specific guidance. It fails to provide effective solutions.
The document mentions “boosting domestic demand, ensuring social security, improving healthcare, and wealth distribution,” among other reform goals that have been recurrent in official Beijing documents over the past few years, lacking innovation.
China’s economy currently faces challenges such as regional debt, real estate crises, an aging population, youth unemployment, geopolitical tensions, and other complex issues, leading to a lack of confidence among many Chinese people about the future.
The measures that the 20th Plenum of the Communist Party of China would introduce to revitalize the economy and address these challenges had garnered wide attention.
However, Professor She Ling from Monash University Australia’s Business School expressed disappointment to Voice of America, stating that the communique was overall “disappointing.” It failed to provide solutions to boost Chinese consumer confidence or address external challenges such as capital flight, let alone reveal new economic strategies or directions.
According to She Ling, the writers seem to be passive and lack any creative thinking. The document could have been fitting even five years ago, as it fundamentally ignores the current economic issues facing China and fails to make macroeconomic adjustments. It reads like a philosophical article, offering nothing substantial.
She Ling commented, “Although Xi Jinping proclaimed a new vision of ‘Chinese-style modernization’ to highlight differences from previous CCP leaders, its content remains hollow; the so-called ‘modernization’ should involve improving people’s lives and freedom, yet the communique lacks any concrete and assessable definitions.”
Despite the communique’s more than five thousand words, the word “reform” appears 52 times, while “openness” is mentioned only 12 times. The document also pledges to “complete the reform tasks proposed in this decision” by the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2029.
Regarding this, She Ling remarked that it might be seen as a new milestone, but it also lacks specific implementation plans.
Messages from a WeChat group of Chinese investors obtained by Voice of America show feelings of indifference towards the communique. One investor commented, “After reading the document, I still don’t know what to do,” while another sarcastically remarked, “After reading it, all one can do is applaud. That’s the only thing.”
The communique also stresses the need to “adhere to the Party Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership for further comprehensive deepening of reform,” with many analysts interpreting this as broadening Xi’s power.
Du Wen stated, “What’s more practical is that it confirms a direction to further strengthen the Party’s leadership, granting Xi Jinping and the Communist Party more power.”
However, such a “direction” may not salvage the economy. Ye Yaoyuan, an international studies lecturer at the University of St. Thomas in the United States, analyzed for Voice of America that within the context of “Xi Jinping Thought,” the economic discourse in the communique lacks novelty. Even though it repeatedly praises the “socialist market economy system,” it may not rescue China’s economic downturn.
Ye Yaoyuan bluntly stated that Xi Jinping’s economic reforms are a “backward step,” with policies like i…
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