Chinese language President Xi Jinping delivered his annual televised new year address on December 31, and commentators have been fast to share their interpretation. Some have emphasised Xi’s passing reference to Chinese language reunification as a menace towards Taiwan. Others have targeted on Xi’s feedback about China’s financial system, framing them as a fearful reaction to Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president.
Nevertheless, these accounts miss the larger image. Xi’s new yr handle speaks to the rising insecurity of the Chinese language Communist Occasion’s (CCP) grip on energy. This insecurity is obvious in how Xi’s feedback, supported by the celebration’s management of Chinese language media, tried to gaslight the Chinese language folks.
The mainstay of Xi’s handle involved the financial success of China. He harassed that the Chinese language financial system is flourishing, and defined that China’s whole GDP is quickly anticipated to surpass 130 trillion yuan ($17.7 trillion). This equates to a 4.9 percent increase in GDP over the course of the final 12 months.
Studies on Xi’s handle within the Chinese language media have taken this a step additional. China Day by day, the official CCP-owned newspaper typically used to communicate the party’s position within the English language, praised Xi’s “heartening speech” and stressed the impressiveness of China’s “exceptional” development price. An article revealed on January 1 defined that different developed economies struggled to common development charges of 1.5 %.
Omitted from the constructive financial commentary of Xi’s handle is the fact that China’s financial growth has slowed, falling from 5.2 % in 2023. Though a development price of 4.9 % is spectacular relative to different developed economies, it’s disappointing throughout the context of Chinese language financial development. China achieved annual growth rates of over 10 % within the 2000s, with GDP even rising by round 13 % in some years.
One yr in the past, in his 2024 handle, Xi acknowledged the challenges going through the Chinese language financial system. He promised financial interventions that will speed up development and promote job creation to deal with worrying charges of youth unemployment. Nevertheless, regardless of these interventions, China’s financial development continues to slow and youth unemployment stays excessive.
It’s maybe obscure why Xi and the CCP admitted to financial challenges when China’s development price was greater and celebrated financial success when development had slowed. But it surely is smart when thought of by the lens of “goal-shifting” – an act that goes past the constructive spin governments placed on their nation’s financial efficiency.
Objective-shifting is a type of political gaslighting, wherein a longtime objective is “shifted” to 1 that’s simpler to attain. This has the results of permitting an unfavorable consequence by the usual of the unique objective to be introduced as an achievement by the usual of the brand new objective.
If we take China’s 2024 GDP development of 4.9 % as the end result, it may be considered unfavorably as compared with China’s 5.2 % development in 2023. Nevertheless, by shifting the objective to China having greater GDP development than different developed economies – a feat that was by no means actually doubtful – China’s 2024 development price might be framed as “exceptional” in Chinese language media.
It seems the CCP is utilizing its affect and management over the Chinese language media to emphasise the financial message of Xi’s handle. In doing so, it’s gaslighting the Chinese language folks by shifting China’s financial targets to downplay the struggling financial system. On the similar time, the CCP is framing the relative power of Chinese language development in comparison with different nations as successful of the celebration’s financial stewardship.
For the reason that Eighties, the CCP has relied on the twin pillars of economics and nationalism to uphold the legitimacy of its authorities. Economically, its legitimacy was upheld by years of excessive development, which has lifted more than 800 million folks in China out of poverty. However, with development slowing over the previous decade, the CCP has pivoted in the direction of a reliance on nationalism.
The CCP and China’s nationalist motion have a symbiotic relationship. The CCP promotes nationalistic values in colleges and helps nationalist tasks all through China similar to historic societies, patriotic statues and museums. This offers nationalist teams a vested curiosity in supporting the CCP.
Nevertheless, this relationship is detrimental to the CCP in the long run. The CCP can’t constrain nationalist teams with out undermining its personal nationalist credentials. This has resulted in eventualities the place nationalist teams have acted towards the CCP’s needs, together with launching cyber attacks each in China and overseas.
The dual-pillar mannequin the CCP has relied on for many years is faltering. In his earlier new yr handle, Xi took the unprecedented step of acknowledging China’s financial struggles. Reluctant to stir nationalist sentiment, the CCP tried to make use of the financial pillar by betting on a reversal of financial fortunes in 2024. This reversal didn’t materialize.
The CCP has turn out to be more and more insecure, so Xi’s 2025 new yr handle adjusted the targets for judging China’s financial efficiency. In the meantime, the celebration inspired reporting that supported Xi’s handle, spinning China’s slowing development and worsening financial woes as a “exceptional” financial achievement.
This text was initially revealed on The Conversation. Learn the original article.
