Month in focus

disorderly expansion of capital 资本无序扩张 zīběn wú xù kuòzhāng

Typically targeting monopoly behaviour, this buzz-phrase was flagged at a December 2020 Politburo meeting, then listed by the Central Economic Work Conference among eight key tasks for 2021. A euphemism for ‘high-risk’, firms are deemed ‘disorderly’ when their scale stifles innovation, harms consumer interests and swings public opinion via social media subsidiaries.

Warnings against 'disorderly expansion' were reiterated by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission at the 20th National Party Congress (October 2022). There was a marked switch in focus from entrepreneurs (e.g. Alibaba's Jack Ma) to senior Party cadres. The illustration depicts an unidentified capitalist driving unruly horses labelled 'investment', 'consumption' and 'exports' (of capital).

loyalty 忠诚 zhōngchéng

Political loyalty is even more of a refrain for the Xi administration than its predecessors. With the crucial 20th National Party Congress mere weeks away, the credo of boundless 'absolute' loyalty was by October 2022 aired at ever larger mass performances. Some sceptics invoke Confucian tradition, for which loyalty was ideally to a set of institutions, not to individual rulers. The illustration, which is recent, recalls the stiff, militaristic poses that symbolised loyalty to the Party in the early years of the PRC.

game of interest 利益博弈 lìyì bóyì

'Game of interest' is a widely-used descriptor—a byword for disguised political conflict linked both to rent-seeking and outright corruption. Mao Zedong introduced the term 'contradictions among the people' to explain why conflict persisted, despite classical Communist Party claims to have ended class, etc., division. Under the socialist state, all interests would be resolved by the Party. The 'game' motif borrowed from game theory has a connotation of divided agendas lingering in the background. In the illustration, masked figures cut mercenary deals oblivious of, and injurious to, public interest.

rotten tail 烂尾 làn wěi

‘Rotten tail’ is slang for a project falling short in its final phase. A mortgage boycott movement in spring and summer 2022, potentially ruinous for the housing sector, was triggered by ‘unfinished’ residential apartments. In the cartoon, the homebuyer stretches to take possession of his unit, located in a toppling ‘rotten tail housing’ project. The developer, meanwhile, slinks out of the back of the building with a bag of ‘pre-sales funds’ which he is intent on ‘embezzling’.

hukou 户口 hùkǒu

Official document entitling residence in a given locality, with the accompanying benefits of housing, education, and medical services. Traditionally a statistical term for registered permanent residents (hu referred to households, kou to individuals), it now indicates the control system tying both rural and urban people to their mother’s place of birth, preventing them accessing social services when they ‘migrate’ to work in larger, more developed cities. ‘The city welcomes you’, says the sign in the picture. The approaching migrant family (and any ambitious talent) must, however, cross a chasm over a plank marked ‘accumulate points to gain hukou entitlement’ in the city.

counties 县 xiàn

Third level of the PRC’s four administrative divisions (provincial, prefectural, county, township) counties typically contain a county seat or town (a 'county-level' small city, or big town with administrative functions) plus satellite townships. Along with a higher military unit, the commandery (郡 jùn), counties (縣 or 县 xiàn) appear in history from 800 BC. They were for centuries the end-point of state power. A classic saying goes 'imperial power goes no lower than the county' (皇权不下县): the state-appointed magistrate (zhīxiàn 知县) had to rule via self-governed kinship groups or other forces. The highest de facto authority of a county today is its Party Secretary (中共县委书记). Policies are rolled out by its People's Government, whose head retains the traditional title of xiànzhǎng. The illustration reflects excessive concentration of powers of the Party Secretary, often a delegate of local kinship groups and hence a weakening of imperial-era governance. Waiting for the starting gun are rivals for the top job, only one of whom can win.

five strategic favourable conditions 五个战略性有利条件 wǔ gě zhànlüèxìng yǒulì tiáojiàn

Addressing the 2022 Two Sessions, General Secretary Xi identified five essential conditions for the PRC’s development, including

Party leadership
advantages due to Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
material base built up by extended rapid development
long term social stability
the strength of confidence

At the height of Shanghai’s COVID outbreak, highlighting long-term social stability ‘Party thought’ vehicle Qiushi reiterated Xi’s point that development presupposes security. The base of stability, moreover, is people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security. Beijing’s triumph over COVID-19 is featured in the article as a social stability dividend, in stark contrast to ‘Western chaos’. Beijing’s zero-tolerance policy thus figures as a guarantee of long-term development and popular well-being—and is not to be relaxed.