China's three richest people in 2020. From left to right: Tencent founder Pony Ma Huateng, Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan, Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Credit: Techcrunch/Wikimedia Commons/World Economic Forum
Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants the country's richest to share more of their wealth. In response, China's biggest companies and wealthiest individuals have been lining up to make charitable donations in recent weeks, with “common prosperity” now an unambiguous political priority.
Of course, “common prosperity” isn’t a new concept for the Chinese Communist Party. But amid rising wealth inequality and Xi’s crackdown on private enterprise in China, the idea has taken on a newfound urgency.
This week, The Wire looks at the wealth of China’s elite — its rapid growth, and how its origins have changed in the nine years since Xi came to power — to give some background on why Beijing is cracking down now, and who is in its crosshairs.
CHINA’S INEQUALITY PROBLEM
Income inequality in China has crept upwards since the advent of China’s economic liberalization in the 1980s. The country’s Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, peaked at 0.49
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Why is one of Taiwan's largest media groups — Want Want China Times Media Group — spreading anti-U.S. rhetoric? Largely because its billionaire owner, Tsai Eng-meng, is known to sympathize with the Chinese Communist Party and favors unification with the mainland. Now, with Taiwan gearing up for a critical presidential election, Want Want’s efforts are picking up and helping to normalize CCP talking points.
A look at ZPMC: how it came to dominate ports around the world; its role in Chinese foreign policy; and the consequences of its links to the Chinese state.
The author and academic talks about how trade has actually changed over the last 40 years; why China's rise is linked to Asia's regionalization; and why international supply chains are efficient and resilient.
