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Xi Warns Officials Against Superficial Economic Gains
Accountability Urged for Wasteful Investment and Fake Projects
Key Takeaways:
- Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized inflated growth figures and 鈥渞eckless鈥 projects at a Central Economic Work Conference, calling for fact-based planning and accountability, People鈥檚 Daily reported Dec. 14.
- The unusually blunt remarks underscore concern about growth quality and resource use as local debt rises and fixed-asset investment fell 2.6% in the first 11 months.
- Xi said officials should be judged on long-term stability and public well-being, signaling tighter scrutiny of investment choices and policy implementation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping lashed out at inflated growth numbers and vowed to crack down on the pursuit of 鈥渞eckless鈥 projects that have no purpose except showing superficial results.
鈥淎ll plans must be based on facts, aiming for solid, genuine growth without exaggeration, and promoting high-quality, sustainable development,鈥 Xi said the week of Dec. 8 according to a听听on Dec. 14 in the People鈥檚 Daily, the Communist Party鈥檚 official newspaper.
鈥淭hose who act recklessly and aggressively without regard for reality, impose excessive demands, or deploy resources without careful consideration must be held strictly accountable,鈥 he said at the Central Economic Work Conference. The rare stark language urged aiming for quality in economic gains and listed examples of wrongdoing such as unnecessarily huge industrial parks, disorderly expansion of local exhibitions and forums, inflated statistics and 鈥渇ake construction kickoffs.鈥
The surprisingly direct and specific comments highlight the Chinese leader鈥檚 concern over the quality of economic growth and the use of financial resources, particularly as rising local debt is constraining the government鈥檚 ability to spend to spur activity. Access to data in China can be sensitive and controlled, making it hard for observers to assess the health of the economy.听
Xi said officials should not only be assessed by the economic growth rate, but also their achievements in ensuring people鈥檚 well-being and maintaining stability. What they do to lay a solid foundation for the economy in the long run is as important as what they do to stimulate growth now, he added.
He warned that 鈥渋nefficient鈥 investment where projects are abandoned as soon as they are completed must be prevented and also said that officials should pay close attention to the recent slump in capital investment but deal with it calmly. Fixed-asset investment fell 2.6% in the first 11 months of this year, putting it on track for the first annual decline since at least 1998, when comparable data begins.
The comments are听similar听to remarks Xi made earlier this year, when he rebuked local officials for all crowding investment into the same emerging industries, and may indicate a growing frustration at the top with how policies are actually implemented.听
鈥淲hen it comes to launching new projects, it鈥檚 always the same few things: artificial intelligence, computing power, new-energy vehicles,鈥 Xi said in July, according to a People鈥檚 Daily article then. 鈥淪hould every province in the country be developing industries in these areas?鈥
