‘Xiconomics’: the one word set to define China’s long-term agenda
China wrapped up its most important economic meeting of the year with a blueprint that put Xi Jinping firmly at the centre of national development for years to come
“Xiconomics” is set to become the long-term guiding principles of the world’s second-biggest economy, with Beijing branding a national blueprint with the Chinese president’s name.
The Communist Party and the State Council wrapped up their most important economic meeting of the year – the central economic work conference – on Wednesday, defining a set of economic and social policies as “Xi Jinping Economic Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”.
The branding of the policies institutionalises so-called Xiconomics, formally recognising the president’s leading role in setting the country’s economic agenda, a responsibility he took over from Premier Li Keqiang.
Christopher Balding, an associate professor at the HSBC Business School in Shenzhen, said the inclusion of the president’s name in the document could be seen as a step to entrench Xi’s decision-making role in China’s economic affairs.
“It’s quite clear for a while that Xi has been the driving force of economic policies, a role typically reserved for the premier,” Balding said. “This is formalising what’s been apparent for quite some time.”
The move comes just two months after Xi’s political philosophy was enshrined with his name in the party’s constitution, making him the most powerful Chinese leader since late chairman Mao Zedong.
