The Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political Bureau held a meeting today (July 30th) where they unusually described the economic situation as “diverging”. They also emphasized the need to promote the “bright economic theory” and reviewed a document regarding combatting formalism. The recent Third Plenum of the Communist Party was criticized for not being helpful in addressing economic and livelihood issues. Phrases like “historical garbage time” and “Xi’s depression” have gained popularity online, seen as evidence of the Communist Party’s failure.
According to the official Chinese media Xinhua, Xi Jinping presided over the political bureau meeting to “analyze and study the current economic situation and deploy economic work for the second half of the year.”
Officials stated that the overall economic operations are stable, showing progress, and continuing the trend of improvement. On the other hand, they blamed increasing adverse impacts from changes in the external environment, mentioned insufficient domestic demand, economic disparities, and numerous risks in key areas. They attributed these issues to a “transitional phase” while claiming the necessity to promote the “bright economic theory.”
The government did not clarify what exactly they meant by the “divergence” in economic operations, but the promotion of the bright economic theory has been repeatedly emphasized by the Communist Party’s higher-ups since last year. Many Chinese economic scholars have been silenced for expressing views contradicting the official stance.
Economist Li Linyi stated that the authorities are now forced to acknowledge some crises but are also shifting blame onto external factors, claiming the difficulties are temporary. The vague term “economic divergence” has made it challenging to promote the bright economic theory as the public can clearly see the economic downturn.
The meeting news release mentioned various measures, mostly reiterating official statements from previous events, including the recently concluded Third Plenum of the Twentieth Central Committee of the Communist Party, which was criticized for lacking effective solutions to address the economic challenges. The term “Xi’s depression” emerged online denoting dissatisfaction with the government’s economic rescue efforts.
Following the Third Plenum, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped for four consecutive trading days, breaking below the 2,900-point mark. On July 30th, the three main A-share indexes showed fluctuations with the Shanghai Composite Index down by 0.43%, the Shenzhen Component Index down by 0.54%, and the Growth Enterprise Index down by 0.29%. The Shanghai 50 Index shifted from a 9-day uptrend to a 7-day downtrend.
Statistics show that around 7,000 well-known brands and large shopping malls have closed down. Once crowded popular spots like Shenzhen and Dongmen Street now face a downturn. Landmarks like the Meilong Town Square in Shanghai have announced closure starting August 1st. Meilong Town Isetan department store in Shanghai shut its doors after 27 years of operation.
The cumulative despair among workers has led to a surge in discontinuing social insurance payments. Online posts in mainland China directly link the halt in social insurance payments to a wave of unemployment.
With ten million recent young graduates in China, the official claim of a 14% unemployment rate among 16 to 24-year-olds, excluding students, contradicts estimates by Chinese scholars last year, suggesting an unemployment rate exceeding 46% among the youth.
Despite the recent Third Plenum emphasizing past policies, the focus on how central and local authorities should divide interests, granting more tax powers to localities, and almost no substantial measures addressing China’s real estate bubble, unfinished projects, and livelihood issues have been highlighted.
On July 21st, official media announced the introduction of 60 measures with 300 items in the name of reform during the Third Plenum. However, many mainland Chinese citizens expressed to the Epoch Times that these reforms are a mere facade, aimed at maintaining the Communist Party’s grip on power. People also complained about central authorities being preoccupied with meetings while neglecting local calamities and fearing a food shortage.
After the rise of the phrase “lying flat” as a form of protest, the term “historical garbage time” began circulating on Chinese social media before and after the Third Plenum. This phrase depicts a countdown stage for regime change, symbolizing a time of collapse, downfall, the explosion of lies, and the shattering of myths. The use of “historical garbage time” criticizes the regime’s current failures.
The recent political events in China have prompted many to suggest that the country is in a state of decline, as seen by Beijing abandoning the term “historical garbage time” and mocking netizens’ views.
Wan Runnan, the founder of the Beijing “Situong Company,” who was forced into exile in France for supporting the 1989 democracy movement, told Radio Free Asia that “the entire Chinese economy cannot overcome its current predicament; China is in a state of decline, and the tide has turned.”
The meeting also discussed the regulations to reduce formalism at the grassroots level, focusing on streamlining meetings, regulating inspections, solving redundant issues, clearing formalism, and bureaucracy.
However, various sources indicate that the origins of bureaucratic practices lie within Zhongnanhai, with the “Xi Thought” campaign initiated by Xi’s confidant Cai Qi being heavily criticized.
Recently, two former high-ranking Chinese officials who have just left the country told the Epoch Times that many within the system are fed up with political indoctrination. They expressed that due to intense competition within the system, intelligent individuals aspire to go abroad.
An official told the Epoch Times that civil servants are tired of the mandatory indoctrination with “Xi Jinping Thought.” Daily meetings involve studying Xi’s ideas, and after work, staff are expected to work overtime, leading to widespread complaints. Even non-Party members are compelled to write various ideological reports.
Allegedly, the turn towards leftism within the Communist Party’s top echelons has inflicted a sense of crisis among many. Besides intensifying “ideological studies,” traveling abroad is now restricted. Party workers have essentially become spies implanted by the Communist Party in various areas.
Professor Lv Dewen from Wuhan University’s Sociology Department released a report early this year titled “Grassroots Research on the Other Side of the Economy,” which revealed issues like officials abandoning their duties. Many town and village governments are struggling to pay salaries, causing numerous local officials to resign. In order to appease superiors, local governments resort to various forms of deception. This article was later censored.