Common Prosperity Campaign
Xi Jinping relaunched the concept of "common prosperity," triggering a regulatory crackdown on technology companies, after-school tutoring firms, and celebrity culture, wiping hundreds of billions from listed companies and signalling a shift away from Deng-era growth-first policies.
The Policy Shift
In August 2021, Xi Jinping convened a meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission focused on "common prosperity" (共同富裕), signalling a shift in economic priorities from growth maximisation to redistribution and reduced inequality. The announcement triggered a sweeping regulatory crackdown on sectors deemed to be contributing to inequality or social harm: technology platforms, private education and tutoring companies, video gaming for minors, celebrity culture and entertainment, and property speculation.
The Regulatory Crackdown
Within months, the market capitalisation of Chinese technology companies fell by hundreds of billions of dollars. Ant Group's IPO was halted; Didi Chuxing was forced to delist from the New York Stock Exchange. The after-school tutoring industry — valued at over $100 billion — was effectively banned from operating as for-profit enterprises. Alibaba's Jack Ma disappeared from public view for months. Gaming companies were restricted to providing three hours of gaming per week to minors. These interventions signalled a reassertion of Party control over private enterprise.
Context and Interpretation
China's Gini coefficient had reached 0.47 by 2019 — one of the highest among major economies. Youth unemployment in cities approached 20%. The common prosperity campaign responded to genuine social grievances about inequality, housing costs, and the dominance of technology platforms. But critics noted that the crackdown targeted predominantly private entrepreneurs while leaving the wealth of politically-connected families untouched, and that it damaged investor confidence without establishing a redistributive welfare state.