Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping seldom comments directly on the economy. Instead, he lets his premier, Li Keqiang, do the talking. Or Xi speaks through one of the regime’s mouthpieces like People’s Daily or Xinhua.
On July 21—only one week after China published unexciting GDP figures—Xinhua came out with a commentary on how important reform is for China, making the point that there is no alternative to suffering short-term pain for the sake of long-term gain.
“China must push through reform, for there is no plan B,” the mouthpiece states.
The article is just a Xinhua commentary and didn’t cite an “authoritative person” like the People’s Daily usually does, but given the amount of control Xi personally exerts over the media, it probably had his blessing.
