Singapore: The warning was stark. After months of doomsaying about China’s economic future, its Ministry of State Security said it had enough of people talking down the economy.
There were just three months to prepare for the country’s signature political event, Tuesday’s National People’s Congress in Beijing, and authorities were determined to reset the narrative: China was turning a corner.
The opening session of China’s National People’s Congress last year.Credit: AP
“Various cliches intended to denigrate China’s economy continue to appear,” the ministry said in December.
“Their essence is to use various false narratives to construct a ‘discourse trap’ and ‘cognitive trap’ of China’s decline. The real purpose of these contradictions is to disrupt market expectations and order and block the positive momentum of our country’s economy.”
Then it issued a threat.
“We will crack down on and punish illegal and criminal activities that endanger national security in the economic security field in accordance with the law.”
People prepare for a festival in China, where the government wants economists to talk up its economy. Credit: Sanghee Liu
Economists and experts based in China are already weary of giving on-the-record quotes. Many are now being muted through a campaign of intimidation. High youth unemployment, deflation, foreign investment and the property market are all being pushed past the boundaries of Beijing’s red lines.
The speculation around the National People’s Congress, a historically secretive week-long affair that lays out the government’s priorities and economic growth targets for the year ahead, has gone almost silent.
Talk down China’s economy at your peril – security figures are watching
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03.03.2024
Singapore: The warning was stark. After months of doomsaying about China’s economic future, its Ministry of State Security said it had enough of people talking down the economy.
There were just three months to prepare for the country’s signature political event, Tuesday’s National People’s Congress in Beijing, and authorities were determined to reset the narrative: China was turning a corner.
The opening........
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