Liu had to come out and clarify because many people misinterpreted Li Guangman's "profound revolution" article as Xi's declaration to end private industries. So far this year, I see several goals clearly listed out by the Xi administration in order to make China more competitive (and combative) as a whole. Some of these policies are clearly conservative and nationalistic, but none of them appear to call for an end to market economy or private entrepreneurship.
1. Private high-tech firms with access to data of millions must keep their data within the PRC and refrain from listing oversea, which would risk giving foreign governments these consumer data of individual Chinese citizens.
2. Successful private businessmen must share their wealth with the society, pay higher taxes. These goals actually align with those of the Western progressives. The only issue is that the PRC promotes wealth sharing through campaigns and social pressures as opposed to through legal channels or new tax laws. Because passing stringent tax laws in a short span of time demanding wealthy people to pay more taxes would scare away foreign investors and cause large numbers of wealthy Chinese to move their assets overseas through legal and illegal channels. However, paying more tax and be willing to share more wealth do not mean crackdown or closing private enterprises akin to the Three & Five Antis of the 1950s.
3. Crack down on private tutoring taking advantage of parents' fear of children being outcompeted. Supposedly relieve children's academic burden and compel teachers to actually teach in class as opposed to giving out true knowledges during after class sessions. If worked out (an "if"), this policy could make education more fair in China.
4. No more "sissy" men. This policy by itself could be considered a discrimination against the LGBTQ and is definitely culturally conservative, if not reactionary. However, from Xi's perspective, the next two decades will be characterized by stiff competition with the US and its allies. The CCP surely wants to instill some traditional martial spirits 尚武精神 into the country's young boys. Therefore, the image of a muscular PLA soldier in war gears or a scientist in a weapons lab would be considered social role models for "man" as opposed to long-haired skinny singers. On the other hand, Beijing is also cracking down on feminists, especially those who complain about three-child policy taking away their job opportunities or openly saying Western men are superior to Chinese ones. As the state wants men to take a more masculine role, it would also demand women to become less assertive and more considering of their male counterparts, as well as more patriotic. This could run into significant resistance because Chinese women have taken Mao's "women holding half of the sky" ideology for granted. (In fact gender equality in China was way ahead of the West during the 1960s and 70s.)
5. While private companies will continue to be allowed and encouraged, their wealth and power must not surpass those of the State. In other words, China will not tolerate the emergence of its own Rockefeller, allowing one family to use its immense wealth to buy up the entire state and its bureaucrats. Thus, when a private firms grows too fast and become influential to the point where the CEO and the board of directors begin to demand more political power and financial "freedom," (freedom to bribe, freedom to move assets overseas, freedom to criticize Xi, freedom to insist on removal of regulations, etc.) they would cross the CCP's redline.
In sum, NOTHING appears to call for the abolishment of private industries right now. However, the PRC is surely going to become more collectivist, socially conservative, nationalistic, militaristic, autocratic, and security-oriented.
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