Private Sector Delegates Halved at 20th Congress, Sign of Xi Implementing New Planned Economy Model

(L-R) Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, attend the meeting between members of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee and Chinese and foreign journalists at The Great Hall of People in Beijing, China, on Oct. 23, 2022. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Commentary

At the recently concluded 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the number of representatives of private entrepreneurs was reduced by nearly half from the already small number 10 years ago—the latest sign that China’s economic system is moving back toward a planned economy version 2.0, a modern model echoing the Mao era.