China’s Communist Party urges ‘orderly’ capital development after year of regulatory crackdown
- A People’s Daily commentary suggests that the management of capital will remain a central national goal this year
- The government is urged to establish ‘traffic lights’ to prevent the ‘barbaric’ growth of capital
The Chinese Communist Party is escalating its call for the “orderly development of capital” after a year of intense regulatory crackdown on multiple sectors, as Beijing sharpens its focus on stability in this year’s economic plan.
China should “support and guide” the healthy development of capital, and prevent the “barbaric growth of capital”, an opinion piece in the party mouthpiece People’s Daily said on Tuesday.
The commentary aimed to explain ideas brought forward by the country’s top leadership during the annual Central Economic Work Conference in December, according to the newspaper.
At the event, officials declared stability a national priority, and discussed the “correct understanding” of the characteristics and behavioural patterns of capital, among other topics.
The article reflects the overriding concern of China’s leaders, who initially directed government bodies to check the disorderly expansion of capital during the same economic meeting in 2020. The following year, regulators took a wide range of actions to rein in the technology, off-campus tutoring, property, and entertainment sectors, wiping out more than US$1 trillion of market value from Chinese company stocks.
The People’s Daily said that efforts to prevent the disorderly expansion of capital have seen initial results, and the order of market competition is improving. The article added that preventing the “barbaric growth of capital” does not mean that China is against capital.