Ministries compete to show economic loyalty to Xi Jinping

 

 Ministries compete to show economic loyalty to Xi Jinping

This week's China Up Close analyzes the relationship between President Xi Jinping and high-ranking government and party officials. At its meeting in September, the party's powerful Politburo told relevant ministries and institutions to halt the economic downturn and fix the real estate market. The heads of several government bodies, including the central bank, then took turns announcing new measures to make China's economy zoom again. On Monday, it became apparent that these officials were also motivated by fear. On that day, the Politburo convened once again and this time brandished President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.
 
 

China's economic situation is grave, with local governments struggling under heavy debt burdens. The Chinese dream, meanwhile, has been shattered, with homeowners and others no longer believing that housing prices will always keep rising. The mess has been handed to ministerial-level economic officials. Succeed in cleaning it up, they have been told, and they will have demonstrated their loyalty to Xi. Fail to clean it up, the implication is, and they might find themselves answering to the dreaded anti-corruption commission.