Speaking at the Central Economic Work Conference on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping went straight at China’s weak spots, tearing into fake economic numbers and empty projects that only exist to look good on paper.
According to a report from People’s Daily, Jinping told top officials that he is done with “reckless” planning and warned that the system will hold people accountable when they chase hype instead of real growth.
Jinping added all future plans must “be based on facts” and aim for growth that is “solid” and “genuine,” not dressed-up reports that hide problems.
The Chinese leader pushed for high-quality development instead of projects with “no purpose except showing superficial results.”
Jinping’s examples were direct: oversized industrial parks that no one needs, messy expansions of local expos and forums, pumped-up statistics, and staged “fake construction kickoffs.”
Xi wants economists to follow real time data
Jinping then told officials that people who make “excessive demands” or burn through resources “without careful consideration” will face strict consequences, adding that China’s financial position is tighter than before, with local debt rising and limiting what the government can spend. He said the country cannot afford wasteful moves made only to boost short-term GDP numbers.
He said access to economic data inside China is sensitive and controlled, which makes it hard for outside watchers to judge how strong or weak the economy really is.
Because of that, he said GDP should not be the only thing used to measure an official’s work. He wants their performance judged by how they protect people’s well-being, keep stability, and lay a base strong enough to support the future economy.
The timing of his message matched fresh numbers showing that investment in China has now fallen for three straight months. Official data showed fixed asset investment from January through November dropped 2.6% compared with the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected a smaller 2.3% drop, and October’s decline was 1.7%. The slide adds more pressure on leadership to stop the decline before it drags the whole economy.
Last week, the Central Economic Work Conference stated that “China will work to stabilise and revive investment, [and] appropriately increase the scale of investment within the central government budget.”
Analysts see this as the first time Beijing has openly admitted that investment is weakening. The reason this matters is simple: for decades, China leaned on state-financed building projects, property, and heavy manufacturing to fuel most of its growth.
Track weaker demand, falling AI stock, slow spending
Retail sales made things worse.Last month’s growth was the weakest in three years, which shows a tired consumer base and households still worried about the property downturn that has stretched into a fifth year.
The IMF also weighed in last week, pushing Beijing to launch stronger steps to boost demand and fight deflation that has stayed in the system for months.
China’s AI sector also had its own drama. Shares of Moore Threads Technology Co., a major Chinese AI chipmaker, fell after the company revealed plans to move most of its newly raised money into safe banking deposits. It said in a Shanghai stock exchange filing that it will put 7.5 billion yuan (about $1.1 billion) equal to roughly 90% of its IPO proceeds, into principal-guaranteed products like timed deposits and certificates of deposit.
Moore Threads had raised around 8 billion yuan earlier this month and said the money would go toward chip development.
Instead, traders saw the shift into deposit products as a sign of caution. The stock had soared 613% over six trading days from its debut through Friday, helped by optimism around China’s AI market, but then dropped as much as 6.9% on Monday.
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