[The Epoch Times, July 11, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Xu Yiyang interviewed and reported) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang recently convened the heads of the five southeastern coastal provinces and cities and chaired a symposium on the economic situation, emphasizing the need to stabilize the economy and revealing China’s current economic situation “Very easy”. Previously, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, once again emphasized the need to adhere to the “dynamic clearing” policy, saying that this would rather affect economic development. The dispute between Xi and Li has become the focus again.
On July 7, Li Keqiang convened a symposium in Fujian Province with the main officials of the government of the province and Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong to analyze the economic situation.
Li Keqiang said at the meeting that since the beginning of this year, China’s economic operation has gone through a very unusual process. “Generally speaking, the current economy is recovering, which is very difficult,” “but the foundation for recovery is not stable, and arduous efforts are still needed to stabilize the economy.”
Li Keqiang said that the five provinces and cities along the southeast coast account for more than one-third of the country’s economic volume and nearly 40% of their fiscal revenue, making a huge contribution to the central government’s finances. He asked these provinces and cities to continue to “stabilize the economy” and “further break through the blockages in the industrial chain and supply chain, and promote economic operations to return to normal as soon as possible.”
He said that the economy in the southeast coastal areas is full of vitality, and it is necessary to help market players, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households, to restore vitality. He said that 70% of the country’s inter-provincial migrant workers were employed in the five provinces, and he emphasized that “we must do everything possible to stabilize jobs” and “work hard to stabilize the employment of local and migrant workers.”
Li Keqiang also said that the developed coastal regions are more deeply integrated into the world economy. The import and export of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta account for nearly 60% of the country. It is necessary to speed up the level of collection and distribution of ports and other foreign hubs to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment.
Previously, on June 29, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping once again emphasized the need to adhere to the “dynamic clearing” policy when he inspected Wuhan City, Hubei Province, saying that the implementation of this policy “would rather temporarily affect economic development.” He also said that if the general ledger is calculated, this “epidemic prevention measure is the most economical and effective.”
The dispute over the CCP’s epidemic prevention line has become public. In his public speeches, Li Keqiang never mentioned dynamic clearing, and advocated “stabilizing the economy”; while Xi Jinping continued to emphasize the need to adhere to “dynamic clearing” without wavering, and would rather suffer economic damage.
Analysis: The current conflict between Xi and Li cannot be reconciled
In an interview with the Epoch Times reporter on July 9, Lu Tianming, a Chinese current affairs observer in the United States, said that China’s economy is very bad now, especially this year’s data in all aspects are declining. The main reason is the extreme situation under the dynamic clearing policy. The closure and control measures have led to poor logistics, sluggish domestic demand, and a decline in exports, which finally led to the transfer of the industrial chain, and enterprises could not get foreign trade orders, so the whole formed a vicious circle.
“In China, the Premier of the State Council is mainly responsible for economic problems.” Lu Tianming said, “but the dynamic reset policy is not what he approves and promotes, so he is definitely unwilling to take responsibility for the continuous economic downturn caused by the policy. So this This is also the main reason why he never mentions dynamic clearing in public. He does not want to take responsibility for the poor economic situation. Of course he hopes to stabilize the economy, stabilize employment, and realize opening up, but this is precisely in contradiction with the policy that Xi Jinping adheres to. , causing conflict.”
He also said that for Xi Jinping, he has made the policy of sticking to zero as his political achievement and tied himself to the policy, so it is impossible for him to give up this road. “If he gives up now, he is tantamount to admitting that his policy is wrong, which will give his political enemies a chance to attack him, so he can only go down this road.”
“Power will be redistributed before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and now the Beidaihe Conference is about to take place. This is a critical moment to decide whether Xi Jinping can be re-elected.” Criticized within the party, so the only opportunity he can seize now is the so-called epidemic control, which is what he insists on using it as his bargaining chip, so naturally it has caused contradictions and conflicts with Li Keqiang’s approach. Rather than problems, Xi Jinping is more concerned with creating a politically favorable situation for him.”
“In short, Li Keqiang and Xi Jinping have formed a natural confrontation.” Lu Tianming said, “It is impossible for Li Keqiang to support Xi Jinping’s extreme zero policy and let the economy collapse. There is no way to reconcile their current contradictions, and no one can take a step back. “
He also said that from Li Keqiang’s words, it can be seen that these five provinces and cities along the southeast coast have made huge contributions to China’s economy. They are the main force for small and micro enterprises and the employment of migrant workers. The closure and control will lead to a surge in unemployment. “And if the corporate efficiency is not good, the government tax revenue will also drop sharply. The CCP’s treasury is already very empty. Li Keqiang also mentioned in the previous meeting that provinces and cities cannot rely on the central government, which shows that the central treasury is empty. So from Li Keqiang’s point of view Look, China’s economy has reached a very dangerous state.”
The disagreement between Xi and Li has been completely made public
With the strong implementation of Xi Jinping’s zero policy across the country, China’s economy has shown a sharp downward trend.
On May 25 this year, Li Keqiang urgently convened a meeting of about 100,000 CCP officials at all levels, emphasizing the need to “stabilize the economic market.” Li Keqiang did not mention the dynamic zero policy at the meeting, publicly acknowledging the danger of China’s economy slipping out of a reasonable range.
On the same day, the People’s Daily published an article titled “China’s Economic Development Prospects Will Be Brighter”, touting Xi Jinping, claiming that under Xi Jinping’s leadership, China has made so-called major achievements in dealing with the Ukraine crisis and dynamic clearing. is leading China to a renaissance.
On May 23, Li Keqiang frankly admitted that the downside risks of China’s economy were expanding and deployed 33 measures to stabilize the economy.
On May 18, Xi Jinping mentioned in his video speech at the 70th Anniversary Conference of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit that the epidemic has caused economic globalization to face adverse currents, but did not mention China’s economic downturn.
On the same day, Xi Jinping mentioned in his speech at the opening ceremony of the video conference of the 73rd World Health Assembly that “it is necessary to strengthen the coordination of international macroeconomic policies, maintain the stability and smoothness of the global industrial chain and supply chain, and try our best to restore the world economy.” But he did not mention the CCP economy. Glide pressure. Xi also pledged to provide US$2 billion in international aid within two years to support developing countries in their fight against the epidemic.
Responsible editor: Lian Shuhua #