Xi and Li fight over the "land stall economy"? Foreign media : Fools can see

Reporter : Liu Minghuan

Editor : Zhu Xinrui

Publisher : New Tang Dynasty Television

Ref : https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2020/06/09/a102866503.html

Extract translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan

                                          / KUCINTA SETIA

Recently, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council of the Communist Party of China launched the “land stall economy”. Scholar Zhou Duo holds the view that there are differences of opinion in the Red Wall of Zhongnanhai, even fools can see.

According to comprehensive media reports, on 28 May 2020, Li Keqiang emphasized "stabilizing employment and protecting people's livelihood" at the closing press conference of the National People's Congress, and praised the "land stall economy" initiated by Chengdu, Sichuan Province, for promoting employment. When Li Keqiang went to Yantai, Shandong for inspection on 1 June, he also stated that the stall economy and the small shop economy are important sources of employment, and vitality for China.

Li Keqiang praised the “land stall economy”, broke through Xi Jinping’s dream of “poverty eradication”, and exposed the poverty problem in China. Local authorities and the mainland media immediately launched the first wave of propaganda and momentum as a “policy”, and local governments quickly introduced various land stall economies and urban city management policies invited citizens to set up stalls.

But less than a week later, Xi Jinping launched a counterattack, from catching street vendors in Beijing to media reports banned by the Central Propaganda Department. Only after propagating the hype and street vendors as rich land media, all of them panicked, and the grassroots urban management became even more chaotic. Many wonder if they should be caught or they should be merchants.

Many Western media have analyzed the "land stall economy" and have included Xi Li battle in their observations. "Voice of America" ​​points directly to the apparent disagreement of the CCP's high-level opinions.

The report pointed out that Wang Huning was ranked fifth in the Communist Party of China, and even used his cultural propaganda to boycott the policy of the second person. "Except for the pre-Cultural Revolution and the June 4th incident, it was very rare." 

Zhou Duo, a Chinese scholar on transition issues, said that there are differences of opinion in the Red Wall of Zhongnanhai, "This can be seen even by a fool."

Yang Fan, an economist at China University of Political Science and Law, believes that Li Keqiang’s economic assessment of the market not only shocked China and the international public opinion, but also increased “Li Keqiang’s reputation as a pragmatic and weak prime minister”.

Beijing independent scholar Rong Jian believes that "Xi's suppression of Li can be affirmed, but it is not necessary for Li to dare to fight Xi. Li is at most passively resisting or not cooperating." He believes that the final allocation of the economy may be impossible.

In an interview with Apple, Liu Ruishao, a senior commentator on current affairs, pointed out that this time the CCP Central Committee suddenly wanted to "cool down the economy" and "Xi Li battle" was involved behind it. In particular, after the Chinese Communist Party’s pneumonia epidemic was relatively stable, the two had some differences on how to restore the economy. Xi expected to resume economic production activities as soon as possible, while Li believed that the people’s livelihood should be guaranteed.

However, Xi Jinping has always been shy about Li Keqiang. He has deliberately overruled the other party’s power for a long time, so as not to give him any chance to win public opinion or popular support, or to wear a political aura by promoting relevant policies. Li Keqiang is not stupid. In the past, he has always been "negative." This time, he first disclosed that the monthly income of 600 million people in the country was only 1,000 yuan, and then vigorously promoted the "land stall economy."

Liu Ruishao said that the so-called land stall economy has always existed on the mainland. This is a non-governmental activity, and the central government cannot control it. Suppressing it will only cause public outrage and even become a source of unrest. The key to the incident is actually Xi Jinping’s demon. At present, no one can challenge his status, but he is still not at ease. He wants to treat Li Keqiang as an imaginary "political enemy" and completely exclude his personal influence.

In a telephone interview with Apple, Wu Qiang, a mainland independent political scholar, pointed out that Li Keqiang has been promoting economic freedom, reducing permit approvals and loosening the market since taking office, but the CPC Central Committee and Xi Jinping have been intervening to strengthen the economy with contradiction seriously, antagonistically, and intensely in the past 8 years, and this finally broke out on the ground.

Wu Qiang pointed out that at the closing press conference of the two sessions of the Communist Party of China, Li revealed that the monthly income of China’s 600 million people is only 1,000 yuan. “In fact, it is also deconstructing the failure of the poverty alleviation policy of the past eight years.” The existence of income earners and the plague caused potentially serious large-scale unemployment, and then used to encourage the spread of the economy and the development of economic populism to fight against Xi Jinping’s political populism, “behind the isolated Chinese Communist Party’s State Council.”