Xi Jinping's speech on China's front pages shows the importance of fixing the economy

Key Takeaways:

• On Monday, President Xi Jinping's six-month-old address on the importance of employment preservation and growth was plastered over China's major financial publications.
• Xi warned that inappropriate wealth accumulation puts a strong economy at risk. He says that China has experienced a reckless increase in money in recent years due to a lack of oversight.

President Xi Jinping's six-month-old speech on the need to preserve jobs and boost growth was emblazoned across China's main financial newspapers on Monday, reflecting a heightened urgency to help the economy after lockdowns halted traffic in Shanghai and other major cities.

Xi's statement at the Central Economic Work Conference on Dec. 8 was initially published in the Communist Party's Qiushi magazine on Sunday, then on the front pages of the People's Daily, China Securities Journal, as well as other state-owned newspapers on Monday. In his speech, Xi expressed support for the private sector's "healthy development" as well as entrepreneurs but warned that authorities should prevent "capital predators" from acting foolishly.

While the talk was a restatement of previously stated policy, officials opted to emphasize it when concerns about China's economy are mounting — and suspicion that a split among the nation's top leaders on how to respond has surfaced.

Since the imposition of lockdowns in Shanghai and other places in March, Xi's public statements have mostly underlined the importance of China adhering to Covid Zero, a policy that has drawn increasing criticism at home and abroad as the economic and social toll has risen. Premier Li Keqiang, China's second-in-command, has often raised the alarm about the country's grave economic position without mentioning the Covid-Zero strategy.

Data released on Monday highlighted the economic harm inflicted by Covid Zero, with industrial output and consumer expenditure falling to their lowest levels since the outbreak began, with economists predicting no speedy recovery. Investors reacted by dumping everything from Chinese stocks to index futures and crude oil.

Xi said in remarks released on Monday that China cannot encourage "welfarism" and that it should learn from Latin American countries that have fallen into the "middle-income trap" as a result of populism and raising "lazy people." He also said that the government should not use "moral kidnapping" to force businesses to make charitable gifts.

Xi also reaffirmed the importance of private capital in the economy, saying that China desires orderly development and that officials will continue to "support healthy private sector development and private entrepreneur growth."

At the same time, Xi warned that improper wealth buildup endangers a healthy economy. He claims that there has been a reckless expansion of money in China in recent years due to a lack of supervision. Xi emphasized that China should fight monopolies, profiteering, exorbitant prices, malicious speculation, and unfair competition.