Xi apes Bo Xilai

Xi plays with dynamite reviving Bo Xilai's housing policy

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said that "houses are for living in, not speculation." His disdain for individuals getting rich by owning multiple houses and selling them off for a profit was on display at the recent Communist Party Central Economic Work Conference, where the importance of affordable housing for low- and middle-income households came before commercial housing.

 

The emphasis on providing affordable housing to regular folk departs from Deng Xiaoping's "Let some get rich first" philosophy, which Xi believes to have driven inequality. The current leader has tilted toward the socialism of Mao Zedong, the father of Communist China.

 

Xi's affordable housing policy is notably similar to the "red" economic policies undertaken by his rival Bo Xilai as Chongqing party secretary a decade ago. Under what came to be known as the Chongqing model, Bo subsidized infrastructure, housing and public works projects. He also spearheaded a campaign to sing "red songs," highly conscious of Mao.

 

This all means a somewhat awkward shift of gears for incumbent Chongqing chief Chen Min'er. One of Xi's closest aides, Chen has been busy trying to wipe away all footprints left by Bo since assuming the post in 2017. Now Chen is doing a 180, embracing Xi's affordable housing path, which was also the centerpiece of Bo's politics.