May 21, 2024 06:00 PM
(This post was last modified: May 21, 2024 09:23 PM by C C.)
https://youtu.be/hVzN05E-3d4
AUDIO EXCERPTS: Xi Jinping is becoming more and more controlling in every area of government policy, including the economy. So he has curbed the real estate sector, and the growth and the speculation. He has also curbed the private sector. He is making an example out of the biggest and most successful entrepreneurs in the country, some of them have ended up in jail.
Imprisoning for corruption is usually the pretext for other motives. In this case, it was to send a message: "I am in charge, the state is in control, and the Communist Party is in control of the state. The private sector should knuckle down and do what you are told. You're getting too cheeky, you're getting too ambitious, and you're getting too much freedom, moving too much capital around."
[...] Foreign executives, foreign businesses, have got the hint. Many have left, others have scaled back their plans for investment in China.
What is the bigger picture, why is he doing all this stuff?
Partly it's because of the impulse for control, that is inherent in all autocrats. But he is particularly prone to that because he is anticipating a war or major security crisis in the near future.
He talks about this pretty openly. When he visits military bases, he routinely tells the troops to prepare to fight and win wars. He tells them to put all your efforts into preparation for war.
Don't worry about all the business enterprises you guys have been enjoying and running little corruption scams for. This is about war.
He talks in public speeches about extreme circumstances that are heading China's way. He talks in prophetic terms about a clash with the global hegemon -- meaning of course, the US. He has talked about extreme storms that China is going to have to confront.
The thinking is that if China has economic problems, if there are vulnerabilities in the system, he wants to address them now in a controlled way. So that when they have the crisis, they have the war, then China won't have uncontrolled crises that distract and create problems, and open vulnerabilities.
It's what Xi Jinping wanted Western investors to look at and go: "Oh, it's terrible, you know. We can't put up with that. There's got to be massive investment, and new stimulus coming, and China's going to bounce back to their old 9% growth rate."
But no. There has been no traditional mass stimulus. There is no plan for that. Because Xi Jinping wants it tidy. He wants it controlled. He wants it battened down for a crisis that he is expecting, and may even help precipitate...
Peter Hartcher on why China is tanking its economy on purpose
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hVzN05E-3d4
AUDIO EXCERPTS: Xi Jinping is becoming more and more controlling in every area of government policy, including the economy. So he has curbed the real estate sector, and the growth and the speculation. He has also curbed the private sector. He is making an example out of the biggest and most successful entrepreneurs in the country, some of them have ended up in jail.
Imprisoning for corruption is usually the pretext for other motives. In this case, it was to send a message: "I am in charge, the state is in control, and the Communist Party is in control of the state. The private sector should knuckle down and do what you are told. You're getting too cheeky, you're getting too ambitious, and you're getting too much freedom, moving too much capital around."
[...] Foreign executives, foreign businesses, have got the hint. Many have left, others have scaled back their plans for investment in China.
What is the bigger picture, why is he doing all this stuff?
Partly it's because of the impulse for control, that is inherent in all autocrats. But he is particularly prone to that because he is anticipating a war or major security crisis in the near future.
He talks about this pretty openly. When he visits military bases, he routinely tells the troops to prepare to fight and win wars. He tells them to put all your efforts into preparation for war.
Don't worry about all the business enterprises you guys have been enjoying and running little corruption scams for. This is about war.
He talks in public speeches about extreme circumstances that are heading China's way. He talks in prophetic terms about a clash with the global hegemon -- meaning of course, the US. He has talked about extreme storms that China is going to have to confront.
The thinking is that if China has economic problems, if there are vulnerabilities in the system, he wants to address them now in a controlled way. So that when they have the crisis, they have the war, then China won't have uncontrolled crises that distract and create problems, and open vulnerabilities.
It's what Xi Jinping wanted Western investors to look at and go: "Oh, it's terrible, you know. We can't put up with that. There's got to be massive investment, and new stimulus coming, and China's going to bounce back to their old 9% growth rate."
But no. There has been no traditional mass stimulus. There is no plan for that. Because Xi Jinping wants it tidy. He wants it controlled. He wants it battened down for a crisis that he is expecting, and may even help precipitate...
Peter Hartcher on why China is tanking its economy on purpose
