China’s richest man, Zhong Shanshan, recently appeared in an interview with state-run China Central Television (CCTV). Just five months earlier, Zhong faced backlash from Chinese nationalists who accused him of lacking loyalty to his country and pandering to Japan. Zhong, 69, is the founder and chairman of Nongfu Spring, a bottled water company. His appearance on national television is seen as an attempt by the Chinese authorities to signal support for the private sector and boost public confidence in the Chinese economy.
During the one-hour interview on Aug. 10, Zhong expressed confidence about his future and claimed that all his wealth was “clean” or free of corruption. He also hinted at responding to challenges with hope and believing that things would eventually improve for people like him.
However, some experts have doubts about whether this interview will actually boost confidence in China’s private sector. Hu Liren, a former Shanghai entrepreneur now residing in the United States, criticized Zhong’s understanding of China’s political system as too “naive.” Christopher Balding, an expert on the Chinese economy at a UK-based think tank called The Henry Jackson Society, stated that China’s private sector is currently “in deep fear.”
Since Xi Jinping’s second term began in 2018, private companies have faced increased regulation and unfair competition from state-owned enterprises (SOEs). They have also struggled with excessive taxation and limited access to financing. In response to Xi’s call for “common prosperity,” several tech companies pledged donations to social causes in exchange for regulatory favors or simply being left alone by government agencies.
The attacks against entrepreneurs intensified earlier this year when nationalist youths criticized Zhong for failing to honor Zong Qinghou properly after his death. Nongfu Spring faced further controversy over its product design which allegedly included Japanese cultural elements that angered Chinese nationalists.
These online attacks caused Nongfu Spring’s stock value to drop significantly resulting in losses of billions of yuan. Even China’s richest man wasn’t spared from these seemingly random attacks.
Despite claims by Xi Jinping that the private sector contributes significantly to China’s economy through tax revenue and employment opportunities among other factors; experts like Christopher Balding believe that Xi has no intention of reviving the private sector due to concerns about security.
Balding argues that Xi believes tightening control over communism is necessary for CCP survival based on lessons learned from studying events such as those leading up to Russia’s collapse between 1989-1991.
Sun Jinliang director of a Vancouver-based coalition protecting rights of business owners believes CCP uses private enterprises but ultimately aims at eliminating capitalism altogether once it deems its own economy strong enough without them.