In today’s Chinese society, the trend of internal collapse is becoming more prominent, and the CCP has put forward the idea of rectifying this collapse. However, the fundamental reason for this internal collapse is the continuous deprivation of economic opportunities for the people by the authorities under Xi Jinping’s rule, as well as the continual proliferation and expansion of the privileged class, which now monopolizes all profitable industries.
Since 2020, the term “internal collapse” has been circulating on the mainland internet, referring to a senseless over-competition. People are exhausted from competing endlessly, regardless of how hard they work or how much they sacrifice, the overall benefits do not increase significantly.
In 2023, there were reports from various places indicating that the online ride-hailing market was becoming saturated, with drivers feeling the impact of oversaturation. A ride-hailing driver in Foshan mentioned that in 2023, the biggest change was an increase of two to three hours in working time, while income decreased by 35%.
Similarly, the food delivery industry was also highly saturated, plunging into internal collapse. In 2023, the number of college graduates in the Guangzhou Meituan food delivery team reached 30% for the first time, turning food delivery into a knowledge-intensive industry. Some young people who just escaped the 996 working schedule found themselves working 996 even in food delivery.
In 2023, there was a wave of closures in the restaurant industry due to internal collapse. Critics pointed out the truth behind the collapse of the restaurant industry: it’s not that there’s no customer demand, but there are too many restaurants competing in every niche within limited customer traffic.
This process of internal collapse starting in 2020 aligns well with the Chinese authorities’ strengthened economic control measures. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, under the CCP’s policies where political power overrides economic considerations, private enterprises and foreign investments have been targeted in the name of security, leading to a shrinking economic space for the Chinese people. The number of traditional white-collar positions in real estate, education, and internet technology companies is drastically decreasing.
Previously considered as fallback jobs, positions in blue-collar industries like ride-hailing, food delivery, and restaurants are now flooded with a large number of displaced middle-class individuals and job-seeking graduates.
According to reports, in recent years major internet companies in China have experienced a wave of unemployment, leading many to view venturing into the restaurant industry as a last career resort. Fu Peng, Chief Economist of Northeast Securities, mentioned that the sudden appearance of 20 million ride-hailing drivers in 2024 mostly consisted of individuals from the middle class previously.
Entrepreneur Wang Yingguo from Shenzhen told Dajiyuan that the construction industry thrived in economic prosperity, but the Communist Party of China destroyed many businesses, leading to the collapse of numerous real estate properties across the country.
“The common people have no rights or resources, so their only lifeline is through wage labor. Currently, their options are limited to ride-hailing or food delivery, without which they cannot survive,” Wang stated.
Starting from early April this year, in order to counter the rising tariffs imposed by the United States, the CCP has pushed the export industry along the coastal regions into a precarious situation. Goldman Sachs estimates that as many as 20 million people could be affected by the disappearance of American orders, further exacerbating the internal collapse in the mentioned industries. If foreign trade businesses shift to the domestic market, it will undoubtedly accelerate the existing high level of internal collapse in industries like e-commerce.
Researcher from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and consulting member of a Taiwan think tank, Wu Se, authored an article stating that the fundamental issue behind China’s internal collapse lies in its governing structure. The CCP system has accelerated the internal collapse.
“Xi Jinping’s ruling ideology has predetermined China’s path towards internal collapse,” he added.
In response to the ongoing internal collapse in Chinese society, the CCP’s proposal during the annual meetings is to deal with the internal collapse by “eliminating regional protections and market segmentation.” However, netizens often hold a different perspective.
“Everyone is collapsing internally, but it’s the government called the Communist Party that has created the most internal collapse in society,” one netizen commented.
Some netizens believe that the root cause of internal collapse lies in the continuous proliferation and expansion of the privileged class, which has occupied all high-quality resources and monopolized all profitable industries, resulting in fewer opportunities for the general public to obtain desirable positions.
This is a problem with the CCP system, as all essential resources in society have been monopolized, with opportunities essentially pre-allocated to those in power.
“The tobacco industry, the petroleum industry, have they ever recruited people externally? Even janitors have never recruited externally, and even hiring a security guard is a competition,” stated Wang Yingguo.
Economist Li Hengqing, currently residing in the United States, told Dajiyuan that during the early period of China’s reform and opening up, people initially operated small restaurants and shops, but soon they realized that the government had monopolized all profitable opportunities, leaving them with only low-profit, labor-intensive industries to survive on. This phenomenon is becoming increasingly apparent.
Li mentioned a friend who returned from Heilongjiang Province, stating that in 2022, the Ice and Snow World in Heilongjiang made a profit. However, from 2023 to 2024, all stalls were essentially taken over by individuals related to the government. Opportunities became irrelevant to the ordinary people.
“In this situation, it’s extremely challenging for the people to live a better life.”
Li described how the Chinese society has become distorted and completely unfair, with limited economic opportunities available to ordinary citizens, making survival difficult and leading to internal collapse.
With the severe wealth imbalance in China, where about 4% of the population control 70% of the national wealth, the country is witnessing a high level of internal collapse.
“The current extreme polarization in China is not a result of natural market economic development. The current political and economic system under the CCP is a plunderous structural system,” he highlighted.
Wang expressed that traditional wealth distribution in society is shaped like a pyramid, while in China, it forms a top-heavy T shape, where a small portion holds the vast majority of the wealth, leaving the rest to deal with internal collapse.
Dissident from Jiangsu, Le Kai’an, highlighted to Dajiyuan that the core issue in China is the “red privileged dictatorship.” The real problem lies in the existence of these privileges, where those who make the cake end up with the smallest pieces. The CCP relies on these ordinary people to create economic value through intense labor, while the lower strata can only make ends meet through continuous internal collapse.
Since the mid-1990s, monopolistic sectors in China, such as real estate, mining, finance, telecommunications, transportation, energy, and areas requiring government-granted operating licenses, have all been monopolized by CCP red families.
In May 2020, Premier Li Keqiang stated that about 600 million people in China have an average monthly income of around 1,000 Chinese Yuan.
Regarding internal collapse, CCP propaganda promotes it as “wolf-like culture” or “spirit of struggle,” filling the media with stories like those of people born in the 1990s who earned millions laying bricks or made 1.02 million Yuan in three years as a food delivery worker, ignoring the need for basic social security.
This implies that people at the grassroots level have poor risk resistance, forcing them to work even harder to earn money, even in low-return, high-intensity positions, exacerbating the internal collapse in the lower strata of society.
Wang Yingguo pointed out that in the West, workers have welfare and social security benefits, and they work to build a life, get married, and have children—a cycle of human resources flowing reasonably and gaining returns.
“However, in China now, under Xi Jinping, more reference is made to the North Korean governance model, treating everyone as slaves. Once the CCP monopolized all resources, workers are no longer working to live but to ensure their own and their families’ survival.”
Li Hengqing noted that in actuality, the CCP has invested more funds in weapons systems, constructing numerous warships for the potential reunification with Taiwan. A considerable amount of money is spent in the name of stability and regime control, investments that a democratically elected government wouldn’t require.
The regressive decisions by the CCP have made it increasingly unbearable for the people, leading to continuous protests. Not long ago, banners appeared on an overpass in Chengdu, saying “The people don’t need an unconstrained party in power.”
Li mentioned that China’s society is in an extremely abnormal state, brewing a societal backlash. The higher the pressure, the more intense the backlash will become, accumulating energy for a potential eruption.
He noted that last year, the CCP established a specialized social affairs department to handle the dissenting voices within society.
“In fact, the community workers, neighborhood committee members, and street volunteers formed during the three-year pandemic are among those people. They are now being reorganized, becoming a specialized organization to maintain social stability.”
Li pointed out that the government’s starting point is wrong, as it has failed to fundamentally address China’s issues. It should be focused on serving the citizens, but if the government exists solely to protect its own interests, it has lost its purpose and is headed towards being overthrown.
“China—that is, communist China—has already entered this state and is now inevitably on the path of being overturned,” he concluded.