Xi’s Support for Big Tech Is About More Than Covid
China’s internet sector was already stalling before the pandemic struck. What we’re seeing now is the new normal.
A fragile economy.
BloombergBeijing’s plans to shore up the tech sector come amid broader moves to bolster the economy next year as China emerges from a prolonged period of Covid Zero. Yet the nation’s internet giants were already losing their luster before the pandemic hit. All the signs were there that a decade of rapid growth had come to an end.
The recent pro-business message comes straight from the top. At a two-day Central Economic Work Conference last week, President Xi Jinping talked up consumption-boosting policies, and was quoted by the People’s Daily as saying that “leading cadres at all levels should solve problems for private enterprises.”