The Party and Private Business: Lessons from History

Should we be surprised by General Secretary Xi Jinping’s recent policy initiatives to re-exert control over the private sector? One prevailing view is that they mark a distinctive break with the past couple of decades, when China produced massive fortunes for a small elite in real estate and tech. Others argue that they’re necessary to clean up messy sectors that require more effective regulatory oversight. However, the truth is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has always been, at best

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