Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the new year with an upbeat speech to the nation complete with rainbows, claims of economic recovery and concern for the struggles of ordinary Chinese that commentators said belied simmering public anger over his handling of the economy.
“Together, we have experienced winds and rains and seen rainbows,” Xi told the nation in a speech marking the start to 2025 on Wednesday.
“China’s economy has rebounded and is on an upward trajectory ... Splendor adorns our motherland, and starlight graces every home,” he said.
Xi’s speech name-checked his signature Belt and Road program and the China-Africa summit, as well as the country’s bid to produce cutting-edge technology in the face of U.S. export bans.
China’s huge haul of gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the 25th anniversary of the handover of Macau were also named as milestones in 2024.
But Xi’s speech came as many ordinary people in China are struggling to get by, commentators told RFA.
At the end of last year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs ordered cash-strapped governments at every level to issue one-off payouts to the nation’s poorest people over the New Year holiday.
“The notice encourages local governments with conditions to issue relief funds or increase one-time living subsidies in advance on the eve of New Year’s Day and Spring Festival, and ... that temporary price subsidies be issued to minimize the impact of price increases on the basic lives of people in need,” state news agency Xinhua reported.
All local governments are required to identify the poorest families, including those who hadn’t met previous criteria for needing state assistance, the report said.
“We need to implement minimum social security, assistance and support for the extremely poor ... and put an end to perfunctory responsibilities, buck-passing, and procrastination,” the ministry said in a recent directive.
Focus on internal matters
Xi’s speech, while making its now obligatory pledge to ‘unify’ with democratic Taiwan, was more focused on domestic challenges, analysts told RFA Mandarin, and alluded to “uncertainties in the external environment and pressure of transformation from old growth drivers into new ones.”
“We grow in the wind and rain, and we get stronger through hard times. We must be confident,” Xi said.
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“Xi Jinping’s remarks focused more on internal matters, highlighting [China’s] achievements,” Chen Ming-Chi, associate professor at the Center for Contemporary China at Taiwan’s National Tsinghua University told RFA Mandarin. “Cross-strait issues were mentioned comparatively less.”
But he said Xi’s “red lines” remain the same, citing Beijing’s territorial claim on Taiwan, its rejection of Western-style democracy, Chinese Communist Party rule and China’s “right to development.”
He said Xi will be looking to uphold those key interests throughout the transition to the Trump administration.
“As Trump prepares to take office, China’s approach is to uphold its red lines and define its boundaries while not ruling out the possibility of dialogue,” Chen said.
Xi has said he’s ready to work with the Trump administration, but has also warned that both countries stand to “lose from confrontation,” as Trump announced plans to impose tariffs of at least 60% on Chinese imports.
‘Worst year’ to come
Political commentator Lam Fei said people have never felt as hopeless going into a New Year as they do entering 2025.
“On the eve of 2025, the true public mood seems to be one of reluctantly waiting for the worst year in nearly half a century to arrive,” Lam wrote in a Jan. 2 commentary for RFA Cantonese, adding that Xi’s speech appeared to nod to the struggles of ordinary people.
“It seems that [Xi] finally realized the kind of hardship people have been going through in the two years since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted ... so it was hard for him to keep on playing the nationalist card,” Lam said. “For the general public, merely surviving is becoming their overriding task, and this also sets the social tone for 2025.”
“People no longer expect freedom and democracy, they just want to survive the coming year.”
Women have it tougher than anyone, Lam said, citing longer working hours and a greater burden of unpaid labor caring for children and the elderly.
“They also suffer more domestic violence ... as well as widespread gender discrimination in the workplace,” Lam said, adding that millions of women have taken to sex work or similar industries to make ends meet, in a political environment that is extremely hostile to women’s rights.
Targeting dissent
Veteran political commentator Hu Ping said Xi is unable to tolerate any public criticism of his handling of the economy, with any dissenting comments swiftly deleted from social media.
He cited a Dec. 24 Weibo post by top economist Ren Zeping, who quoted a self-critical edict from a Han dynasty emperor from 89 BC, in which the emperor regrets his “reckless” behavior that had caused the people to suffer.
The post was deleted from Ren’s Weibo account after it went viral, with many online comments assuming it was a veiled criticism of Xi’s economic policies.
Last month, censors took down a speech that went viral from economist Dong Shanwen, who warned that youth unemployment was tanking the economy, and that official growth figures had hugely underestimated the problem.
“The reason why supreme leaders [of the Chinese Communist Party] are the supreme leaders is that they are regarded as the embodiment of truth and the representative of the correct line,” Hu wrote in a recent commentary for RFA Mandarin. “This means that any viewpoints and opinions that are different from those of the great leader are wrong by definition.”
“Anyone who insists on different political views is anti-party by definition and incites subversion of state power,” he said.
“If an emperor admits his mistakes, he is still an emperor. But if a Communist Party leader admits his mistakes, he will most likely be a leader no more,” Hu wrote, adding that the admission of mistakes is generally followed by a fall from grace.
“This is why Xi Jinping doesn’t want any talk of imperial edicts of repentance,” Hu said.
Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.