China Is Acting More Like a Scrooge Than a Champion of Socialism
Beijing is short-sighted to focus only on investment to boost its ailing economy while refusing to spend on its citizens.
The economic merits are dubious.
Source: Bloomberg
Top Chinese leaders usually go to Beidaihe, a seaside resort 170 miles east of Beijing, to get a brief break from the capital’s stifling mid-August heat — and make some key decisions in a more casual setting. Dominating this year’s retreat will be talk of how to breathe some life into the world’s second largest economy, after a spate of recent data revealed weaknesses across the board: slumping exports, deflation, a bursting real estate bubble, and high youth unemployment.
First held in 1953, the “Beidaihe Conference” is shrouded in secrecy. Even though some of China’s most important policies are made at the gathering (Mao Zedong decided to launch the disastrous Great Leap Forward there in 1958), its dates and participants are never made public. The only sign that it is underway is when senior officials pop up in the coastal resort town, as news reports indicated they did last week.