Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of state-owned newspaper Global Times, has been silent for days on social media since his article interpreting a Communist Party economic strategy document was deleted.
In an opinion piece published on his WeChat account on July 22, Hu noted that a resolution endorsed by top leaders during the party’s third plenum last month left out a phrase that had long enshrined the role of the state sector in China’s economy.
The outspoken former editor argued that the omission of the phrase “public ownership playing a dominant role” was a “historic change”.
Hu added that removing the phrase showed that China hoped to “achieve true equality between the private and the state-owned economy”.
“Chinese society’s understanding, attitude and narrative of various ownership relations will have a big step forward,” Hu wrote in the article.
This interpretation immediately triggered fierce criticism from China’s conservative bloggers, who accused Hu of “blatantly violating the political discipline of the party” because the “dominant role” of public ownership was enshrined in the constitutions of both the ruling party and the country.
Some critics even shared screenshots of their complaints to internet censors regarding Hu’s commentary.
Without referring to Hu’s article, party mouthpiece People’s Daily published a front-page commentary on Tuesday stating that China’s basic stand on the state and private sectors “hasn’t changed and won’t change in the future”.
The article – published under the pen name Zhong Yin, which means “the voice of the central authority” – said the plenum’s resolution emphasised “upholding and improving the basic socialist economic system”. This, it argued, encompassed the party’s stance that public ownership was the mainstay of China’s economic system, which allowed diverse forms of ownership to develop together.
Although Hu’s post was removed from his WeChat account soon after publication, he continued to publish six other articles before going silent on his social media accounts on Saturday.
Since stepping down from his Global Times role in 2021, Hu has remained a prolific poster on platforms including Weibo, where he has 25 million followers, and X, formerly known as Twitter.
Hu did not respond to inquiries from the Post about his social media absence. But he was quoted by Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily as saying: “I personally don’t want to say anything. You can just read things online. Please be understanding.”
Some in China expected positive signals from the plenum showing stronger support for China’s private sector amid sluggish growth.
Before the four-day plenum, which concluded on July 18, Chinese state media hailed Xi’s commitment to supporting the private sector and welcoming foreign business.
In the resolution from the meeting, Chinese leaders pledged to give more room to the private sector, with an eye towards helping them achieve technological breakthroughs.
But the resolution also pledged to make the state sector “stronger, better and bigger”.
