#Newspaper
China's street-stall debate puts CCP Leader Xi Jiping and Premier Li Kexiang at odds
//PRC Premier Li Kexiang stressed the job creation capacity of street stalls during a news conference at the close of the National People's Congress, China's parliament. The term "street-stall economy" has become a buzz phrase
One private estimate says the country's jobless rate could be 20% if migrant workers who lost jobs in urban areas and returned to their hometowns are included.
Days later, China's latest buzz phrase was hit with an unexpected headwind. The Beijing Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party's Beijing Municipal Committee, on Saturday published a commentary saying that street stalls are "unhygienic and uncivilized," and not suitable for the capital.
The following day, state-run China Central Television followed up with a commentary to the same effect.
Over the past several years, President Xi Jinping's regime has cracked down on stalls as part of efforts to maintain security and strengthen governance. Li's public endorsement of the street vendors is seen as a policy reversal.
The conflicting messages have left cities in confusion. But almost immediately, local authorities reversed the decision.
Close aides of Xi hold key positions in the two organizations that openly criticized Li, namely the Beijing municipal government and the Publicity Department of the party's Central Committee, which oversees media outlets.
The more popular Li and his policies become, the more political danger they pose to Xi, as the wave could lead to a backlash against the president's iron-fisted rule.
This is why Xi's camp has been quick to counterattack Li's populism.
Tensions have been rising between Xi and Li because China is about to enter perhaps its most crucial political season in a decade.//
Source: Nikkei Asian Review #Jun11 #Xi #Ecomony #streetstall
#LiKexiang #CCP
China's street-stall debate puts CCP Leader Xi Jiping and Premier Li Kexiang at odds
//PRC Premier Li Kexiang stressed the job creation capacity of street stalls during a news conference at the close of the National People's Congress, China's parliament. The term "street-stall economy" has become a buzz phrase
One private estimate says the country's jobless rate could be 20% if migrant workers who lost jobs in urban areas and returned to their hometowns are included.
Days later, China's latest buzz phrase was hit with an unexpected headwind. The Beijing Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party's Beijing Municipal Committee, on Saturday published a commentary saying that street stalls are "unhygienic and uncivilized," and not suitable for the capital.
The following day, state-run China Central Television followed up with a commentary to the same effect.
Over the past several years, President Xi Jinping's regime has cracked down on stalls as part of efforts to maintain security and strengthen governance. Li's public endorsement of the street vendors is seen as a policy reversal.
The conflicting messages have left cities in confusion. But almost immediately, local authorities reversed the decision.
Close aides of Xi hold key positions in the two organizations that openly criticized Li, namely the Beijing municipal government and the Publicity Department of the party's Central Committee, which oversees media outlets.
The more popular Li and his policies become, the more political danger they pose to Xi, as the wave could lead to a backlash against the president's iron-fisted rule.
This is why Xi's camp has been quick to counterattack Li's populism.
Tensions have been rising between Xi and Li because China is about to enter perhaps its most crucial political season in a decade.//
Source: Nikkei Asian Review #Jun11 #Xi #Ecomony #streetstall
#LiKexiang #CCP
Nikkei Asia
China's street-stall debate puts Xi and Li at odds
Premier's attempt to revive vendors is immediately shot down by president's henchmen