The Chinese government just announced late last year that it has built a moderately prosperous society, but in less than two months, the Jiangxi provincial government has asked provincial units to strictly implement the requirement of “living a tighter Life” and execute their expenditure budgets in strict accordance with the approved budget items, classifications and amounts, and strictly prohibit the falsification and mixing of budget items and economic classifications. Jiangxi, once the “base” of the Communist revolution and one of the provinces with the largest number of poor counties, is the first to call for “living a tighter life”, which is interesting.
The Jiangxi provincial government issued an appeal to its direct departments to “live a tighter life”. The Jiangxi Daily, an organ of the CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee, reported this Friday (Feb. 19) that the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Finance officially approved the units directly under the province in 2021, which will strictly implement the requirement of “living a tighter life” and execute the expenditure budget in strict accordance with the approved budget items, classification accounts and amounts, and strictly prohibit the tampering and mixing of budget items and economic classification The budget is strictly in accordance with the approved budget items, classifications and amounts.
Huang Xiaomin, a rights activist in Chengdu who is concerned about the state of the Chinese government’s budget, told Radio Free Asia on Friday that in recent years, China’s top officials have repeatedly called on local governments to be frugal and live a tighter life: “The recent call again, I think, may be due to two factors, the first is that the country’s economy is really in trouble, the fiscal deficit is rising, the government debt, the debt of state-owned enterprises and the bank’s ratio of non-performing loans. Local party and government organs from the media to officials are once again shouting for a tighter life.”
On the second point, Huang Xiaomin said government officials should have anticipated that fiscal revenues and expenditures would not be optimistic this year.
Jiangxi Provincial Department of Finance said, “live a tight life” as a long-term adherence to the basic policy, all units should be rigorous savings, strict regulation and control of official activities expenditure: strict and tight control of the “three public” expenditure, vigorously reduce the conference fees, training fees, labor costs and other General expenditure, strict control of various exhibitions, forums, festivals; strengthen the management of party and government organs buildings and venues, no budget arrangements for new construction, alteration, expansion and large-scale maintenance projects, the scope of the super, super standard and the cost of official activities are not written off.
Local governments “living a tight life” shows that the country’s economy is really in trouble
People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said last month that China’s overall debt had reached 280 percent of GDP by the end of last year, an increase of 20 percent over the previous year, and that China should be concerned about the risk of debt and non-performing loans.
According to the latest data from China’s Ministry of Finance, the government debt balance reached to 46 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 46% of GDP, much higher than the 38% in 2019. According to the data, China’s fiscal gap will continue to widen this year, with fiscal revenue decreasing by 4% and spending increasing by 2.8% annually, and the fiscal deficit will increase significantly this year.
Data from China’s Ministry of Finance also show that local government debt continues to expand, with the balance of local government debt at the end of last year at 25 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 20%, and local governments have issued 3.7 trillion yuan of special bonds last year.
China’s GDP figures lead the world, but the government has to “live a tight life”
Ms. Li, a descendant of a retired senior cadre in China, told the station that Jiangxi, the “red revolutionary base” of the Communist Party of China, is taking the lead in the country in “living a tight life”, and that it is not a self-imposed decision by Jiangxi Province: “Jiangxi is taking the lead in The first to propose to live a hard life, quite symbolic. Jiangxi also absolutely can not take the initiative to say to live a tight life. It must have been instructed or hinted at by some higher-ups, starting with Jiangxi. The Chinese government said the world stopped last year because of the Epidemic, but she led the world in GDP growth, but quietly said again that she wanted to live a tight life.”
Ms. Li said that most people do not know the government’s financial situation, but will be from the rise and fall of market commodity prices to experience the warm and cold environment: “The people can feel most in the short term, prices soaring, the people do not know what the story behind, in fact, the people’s life is not bitter, the government is the first to know, including the National Bureau of Statistics.”
Prices soaring people in a difficult situation
Beijing resident Huang Qun told the station that recently prices in Beijing have soared and people are living in a difficult situation: “Now people are living in a difficult situation. A catty of leeks sold to 10 yuan, beef 40 yuan a catty, cooked beef 65 yuan a catty, prawns sold to 70 yuan a catty, this difference, the more epidemic the more cut leeks. This is our great and powerful country, the residents live a well-off level. Welfare benefits are not so high, prices do not fall. A month a thousand dollars can not earn.”
A commentator’s article published last month in the Chinese Communist Party organ Seeking Truth again noted that “the Party Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping have repeatedly reiterated the need for party and government organs to live a tight life.” The commentary wrote that General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “The Party and the government take the lead in leading a tight life, with the aim of leading a good life for the people. This is determined by the purpose and nature of our Party.” If the revolutionary war years “save every coin for the war and revolutionary cause,” today, we live a tight life is to exchange for the good life of the people, “tight days” in the same out of politics.
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