China, is this possible? Xi Jinping Furious At Economist's Comments, Eventually... [This is the news]

Chinese President Xi Jinping angrily ordered disciplinary action against a well-known economist who said China's economic growth rate fell short of the official figure of 5%, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing multiple sources, the newspaper said Xi had ordered authorities to investigate and discipline Gao Sanwen, chief economist at a state-run brokerage.

Gao is a well-known macroeconomic analyst who frequently advises the Chinese government on economic and financial policies.

Sources said Xi was angered by Gao's two comments at a forum co-hosted by U.S. think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics and a Chinese think tank on April 12.

"We don't know the true figures of China's real growth rate and other economic indicators," Gao said at the forum. "Over the past two to three years, the official figure (growth rate) is close to 5% per annum, but the actual figure is around 2%."President

is also said to be more angry at Gao's questioning of the Chinese government's capabilities.

"Their (government) efforts to stimulate the economy will be very opportunistic, and as a result, I don't think they will be able to keep their promises," Gao said at the forum.President

Xi's disciplinary order banned Gao from speaking publicly, sources said.

In fact, his WeChat account was blocked last month, and the Nankai University event, which Gao was scheduled to attend as a speaker on the 11th, was canceled due to the personal schedule of Gao San-won, the guest of honor.

However, sources said he remains in his current job.

Wall Street pointed out that Xi's reaction to Gao's critical comments reveals Beijing's deep-rooted sensitivity to economic issues.

Economists and analysts have previously been subject to authorities' crackdowns, with their accounts blocked after posting negative comments on China's economy on social networking services (SNS).

However, recent concerns that China's economy is in a protracted recession have prompted authorities to try to stamp out negative opinions about economic conditions over the past few months, and such measures have intensified since disciplining Gao, the newspaper said.

The 證券 Securities 協 (SAC), a securities industry organization supervised by the China Securities Supervisory Commission, said in a notice to strengthen the management and supervision of senior economists sent to securities and fund companies on the 18th of last month that their experts should play a positive role in identifying and promoting government policies, and if they repeat inappropriate words and actions, they should be "dismissed from severe disciplinary action."Tsai Chi, chief of staff to President

Xi, also called on propaganda chiefs across the country to "strengthen economic publicity and expectation management" and filter out negative comments about the economy.

Reporter | Hwang Bo-seon
AI Anchor | Y-GO
Edit subtitles | Kang Seungmin


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