Why the Public Still Supports the CCP Despite Slow Growth

In Washington, China’s assessments – specifically its economy and the legitimacy of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – is more attractive than ever.

Supporters of US President Donald Trump’s approach to commercial negotiations confirm that the slowdown in Chinese growth, installation debts, and weak consumption will enable Washington to extract valuable concessions from Beijing. Trump recently threw himself that he could stimulate “civil disturbances” in China if Chinese President Xi Jinping refuses to meet the demands of the United States, which means that closed factories and exports decrease would endanger political support to the Chinese leader.

However, others are still concerned about the enormous industrial and technological capacity in China, warning that excessive definitions will not only harm the American economy, but also provide something as a political scapegoat to contact any economic hardship.

However, both camps have a basic point about the Chinese people’s perceptions of their country and their leadership.

Over the past year or so, I made three long trips to China, the last of which is in May. I spent time in Hanan in urban and rural areas as well as Beijing and other major cities, where I spoke with people from various industries. The people I met were clear about the structural problems that afflict the Chinese economy. However, they remained widely supportive of the regime and its record in providing public commodities, from safety to smooth transport, over the past few decades.

American policy makers should realize that many Chinese are out of impressive industries in the country pessimistic about their economic outlook. At the same time, political makers should not exaggerate the regime to popular turmoil, even in the face of widespread economic problems.

Bad and it is likely to get worse –This is essentially how a Chinese friend, Sean, the economy sees. (This name and all subsequent names are borrowed names to protect the identities of those who talk about sensitive issues.)

He told me in May: “Things are really difficult now, but within 10 years, we may look back this year and say that there has been no better since then.”

Sean, 46, lives in Chengzhou, the capital of Hanan. He is a professor at a local university and an ambitious businessman. He lives with his family in a modest three -bedroom apartment in the western part of the sprawling city. Like many in the explosive middle class in Hanan, Sean and his family have two additional apartments, which they bought as investments about a decade ago, when the real estate market that was now collected in China was prosperous.

Driving on the highway surrounded by Zhengzhou, Sean and I see Vista widespread with Languelo– Not designed residential buildings, office gardens, and other construction projects have stopped due to lack of funds. They are blatant reminders of the declining value of its investments as well as the escalating financial crisis facing local governments, which have long relied on land sales to finance their budgets.

The state of the economy has become a sensitive issue in China in recent years, as Beijing has overshadowed economic data and has punished researchers who defy official expectations publicly or raise doubts about consumption promotion measures. Frank’s conversations can still take place behind closed doors, but I personally saw how officials can feel nervous from deviating from the party line even in special and informal exchanges.

Over the past year, Sean presented me with people who work across a group of sectors in Hanan, whose views are receiving less attention in media coverage and political talks from people and companies participating in high -tech industries. Their views are also different from those expressed by Chinese officials, sometimes and directly contradicting.

My conversations with these people confirm the declining vision of the Chinese economy. No one in Zhengzhou was optimistic about the possibilities of much stronger consumption in the short term; The general impression that the improvements would be marginal.

Often, they expressed their doubts when I gave them the conversation points that I heard from the officials. For example, people were skeptical of commercial programs that are very known for promoting home spending by supporting the purchases of new devices, vehicles and other products when consumers exchange them for old versions. If your refrigerator is not working and really needs a new one, people will benefit from the program, as Shun’s wife, June told me. But when I asked whether she thought he would mainly change the behavior of the consumer, she said, frankly, no.

In Beijing, I met with an economist studying relations between the United States of China in a state research tank. When I asked whether he believed that the government’s efforts to enhance spending were working, he said yes and referred to tourism statistics from the last Qingg Festival holiday as evidence. But when I raised this issue with Sean, the term taught me QiongyouOr “budget travel”, which he said is an increasingly widespread phenomenon. Families were already traveling more than they were during the Covid-19s, but they were moving on stay, food, souvenirs and other expenses.

In May 2024, on my first trip to Hanan since the epidemic, I and I and Zhengzh’s CEO and CEO of Zhengzhou managed to manage international education. Bella’s business has long been occupying a reliable growth sector in China that could generally depend on the families of the middle -class families to spend on teaching their children. But when she asked Bella about her view of the economy, she looked deeply contradictory. She said that people are disappointed with the slow recovery after recovery after birth and confirmed that she believed that economic problems in China are “complex” and cannot be solved with rapid reforms.

I heard a similar point of view from Lillian, a high school classmate, who runs a company based in Qingzhou making and selling well -inspired wellness goods.

When we first met in May 2024, her company occupied the full floor of the offices building and was expanding more. Despite this growth, she was concerned about poor consumption, and when we met for the third time last month, she spoke frankly more than ever about the poor economic situation of China. And so did some of its employees. When I was returned to Sean’s apartment one night, one of them shared his dark analysis of the inadequacy of industrial policy in Beijing and the lack of desire of local governments to allow companies with bad performance to fail, because doing so would risk increasing unemployment.

What surprised me about the opinions I heard was not only that they were inconsistent with the official opinion, but also began very familiar. What the ordinary Chinese people say about the economy is very similar to what Chinese analysts say outside the country: structural problems and is unlikely to be reformed without great reform, regardless of official propaganda and even sincere optimism. Just because there is a party line that does not mean that everyone thinks that.

At some point, Sean asked whether the trade war might be an effective scapegoat for XI, and he said he did not think that, because many economic problems in China have nothing to do with it. American behavior may gather some national feelings, but people clearly understand that Trump is not the source of all their problems. Personally, I find that it is a shepherd to suggest that the Chinese people will simply believe in government propaganda that puts all the blame on the United States.

But despite the frustration of people from the economy and their skepticism about the effectiveness of current policies, they were widely supporting the system. It is not difficult to understand the reason. The dramatic economic and social development that China has witnessed over the past four decades has generated deep wells of legitimacy that will not be simply exhausted by economic slowdown or even great economic frustration.

Sean grew up, June, and Lilian all of Yuchu countryside under very difficult circumstances. I visited their hometown, and it is actually impossible to exaggerate the contrast between them and the excessive excess filled with Luckin cafes and interconnected by the metro and high -speed rail lines. Sean’s birthplace got the running water a few years ago. His parents live in a road across the road from Yudong– A kind of furnished cave dwelling throughout northern China – where it grew up.

The contrast is not only between cities and the countryside; It is also between China and many other countries. In my experience, the Chinese are fascinated and annoying from the availability of weapons on a large scale in the United States and they are particularly proud of the safety of the streets of their city. When I saw evening news with Sean and his family, we saw a fixed stream of shots of disasters from wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and Ukraine. Certainly, government media has a strong interest in building this contrast – violence, chaos abroad, peace and stability at home – but advertising will not work if it does not hesitate with the direct people experience.

Even those with deep grievances were quick to point out that the government was responsible for many good things. In May 2024, I visited the village of Hui in North Hanan with two Chinese scientists. We met with the imam and a man studying under him. When a member of our packages shared his sense that the government’s campaign against Islam had been somewhat eased during the previous year, the imam and his student responded that things became more strict. For lunch, the student shared his dark evaluation of the religious life in contemporary China. But at the same time, he told me that the government made life more comfortable and comfortable. I have heard similar feelings over the years in which research is taking place on Islam in China: Many HUI are proud of China’s rapid modernization even when they complain of the state’s efforts to restrict Islamic practice.

Some people may certainly express pro -government views as a form of self -protection, and some sectors of China’s population feel deeply distress due to the CCP base. The political system in China is unbearable with many of those who consider it dangerous by the state, from political dissidents and human rights advocates to Christian and Muslim missionaries in Xinjiang.

But the fact that the people I spoke with were ready to exchange their negative feelings made their expressions of public support to lead their country more important and reliable. It indicates that widespread fears, although they are deep.

Regardless of the economic reality, It is important to realize that many Chinese still feel frustrated and pessimistic. If the mood she noticed in Hanan is allowed to communicate, Beijing may face a long -term legitimate crisis. However, at the present time, it will be wise for the Trump administration to collapse its breath pending popular CCP support.

A long trade war may damage the Chinese economy, but it will take a long time to cancel popular satisfaction with the huge material progress made by the regime during the life of many Chinese citizens.