Chinese Premier Tells Government at All Levels to ‘Tighten Their Belts’ as Economy Declines

A worker wearing a face mask works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rims at a factory as the country is hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on March 2, 2020. China Daily via Reuters/File Photo

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang once again asked governments at all levels to “tighten their belts” when he spoke at a State Council meeting in Beijing on July 23. The State Council is akin to a government cabinet.

He mentioned that the economic downturn and exhorted officials at all levels to routinely exercise “diligence and frugality.”