That's what happened when local government sold all the agricultural lands to property developers during the Hu-Wen and early Xi decades. Also, many farmers who became migrant workers simply left their lands empty.
Chinese Economics Thread
- Thread starter Norfolk
- Start date
Not necessarily property developers. A lot of land was appropriated during HSR/highway constructions.
Adding on to that is the issue of the Party's total control of all final decisions and prevention of so-called Chinese liberals from establishing alternative power base. In fact, some of the most anti-CCP Chinese citizens are CEOs from these successful private firms and their families with overseas properties and residential permits. The last thing these successful entrepreneurs want is for any government (not just the CCP) to raise their taxes and force them to redistribute their wealth. Since the United States known for its small regulatory government, relatively low corporate tax, and protection of private properties (especially for the rich), it is only natural for these folks to not just move their assets/family members to the US, but also become the loudest neoliberal economic and political voices in China. The Clinton Administration was not wrong when he said that as the Chinese grew richer, they would demand bigger say in politics to protect their property rights, so potentially kick-start the process of demanding greater checks and balance against the CCP's monopoly of political power. After the death of the Tiananmen generation (intellectuals and urban workers), the loudest neoliberal voices today are the rich folks who earned their wealth outside of the CCP's institutions. Just think of Jack Ma daring to call for less financial regulations right in front of Wang Qishan and criticized the Party's regulations before the CCP got ticked off and killed ANT's IPO. And then look at the rich Chinese families desperate to send their kids and wives overseas (especially the US).
Therefore the dilemma for Xi and the CCP is that while they need successful Chinese bourgeoisie (successful private businesses, especially in the tech and finance sectors) outside of Party system to create enough job opportunities and continue to innovate for the country as a whole. Yet, these very successful people - as they grow richer - would demand more political power and better protection against redistribution of their wealth, while having their family members becoming the citizens of adversarial nations as another source of protection and leverage for themselves. As of today, Xi appears to be willing to take some short-term punishment in employment and innovation in order to solidify political control and prevent these wealthy private entrepreneurs from forming alternative power base (backed by the US) that challenges the CCP. In fact, these wealthy private entrepreneurs are also likely to have connections with other factions within the CCP, so for Xi, it is also a matter of taming political infighting in addition to maintaining control and monopoly of the Party's power.
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
With this jack up oil rig China can explore large swath of offshore oil in shallow water. A big win for oil self sufficiency
Oil exploration has bright future now that domestic industry can produce cheaper platform. From primitives "iron man Wang" to sophisticated off shore oil prospective. China journey in oil self sufficiency has come a long way.
714 views
Aug 27, 2021
Oil exploration has bright future now that domestic industry can produce cheaper platform. From primitives "iron man Wang" to sophisticated off shore oil prospective. China journey in oil self sufficiency has come a long way.
China's First Mobile Offshore Self-installing Oil Rig Put into Use
China's first self-developed mobile offshore self-installing wellhead oil platform, the Hai Yang Shi You 163, has set sail from Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province on Friday.714 views
Aug 27, 2021
I question whether there is any short-term impact in terms of employment and innovation.
The money has been redirected to places where it has more impact on improved living standards and innovation.
So overall it may actually be an immediate net positive.
Short term concerns are actually with staying alive and keep the size of the pie as big as it is while pies around the world keep shrinking. China has gotten away with stuff like 996 for the past three decades because the size of the pie (Chinese economy) kept increasing so rapidly that the lower class are content with just the scraps. The current geopolitical/economic climate means that this will no longer be the case in the future. Major economic calamity is going to shakeup the global economy and there is no one to bailout Wall Street this time.
Well, the end of 996 should result in the following:
1. a larger number of workers with more reasonable working hours
2. a higher total wage bill for the same amount of work produced
3. overall, more consumption spending because there are more workers with time and money
So there should be a large net benefit to Chinese society
The downside may be a slowdown in product development timescales, but that should be manageable