A top economist has joined the growing list of China’s elite to have disappeared from public life after criticizing Xi Jinping, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Zhu Hengpeng served as deputy director of the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for around a decade.

CASS is a state research think tank that reports directly to China’s cabinet. Chen Daoyin, a former associate professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, described it as a “body to formulate party ideology to support the leadership.”

According to the Journal, the 55-year-old disappeared shortly after remarking on China’s sluggish economy and criticizing Xi’s leadership in a private group on WeChat.

  • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    If you think the Chinese economy is bad now, wait 15 years. No amount of sending economists to the gulag will hide this disaster.

    Edit: tankie downvotes are like nectar of the gods to me. Your precious CCP will wither like a plant in the desert.

    • ThirdWorldOrder@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      I’ve already been banned from Hexbear. Bunch of assclowns over there.

      Edit: and now lemmygrad

          • barsquid@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            That’s easy mode, since Rule 2 is basically “don’t write a fact about China.”

            • ThirdWorldOrder@lemm.ee
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              2 months ago

              They are cosplay commie instances, and they all live in western countries especially the USA.

              I browse by all and don’t usually check what instance I’m commenting in. They will swarm like fire ants if you don’t chirp like them. They also have very thin skin so I don’t think they would make good comrades if they ever reach their Utopia.

              I won’t even get into the Hexbear because that’s too easy, but look at the mods for USA at .ml

        • Shard@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Arbitrary bans from overly sensitive mods? Straight to Jail.

          Made a comment about tankies in lemmy getting mad over some news about China getting hit with influence ops by the US. Believe it or not, ban.

          • ThirdWorldOrder@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            It’s okay man, it takes me a few seconds to scroll through all my bans. It’s funny because all these pro China dweebs are living in the USA. Can’t even commit to the bit and just sit there all day posting anti USA or western stuff. They are obnoxious.

            • barsquid@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              They are privileged children sheltered from reality by mommy and daddy’s money.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        Why do you think Israel needs a fucking iron dome? Bunch of virgin clowns in here.

        This you?

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        92 upvotes would suggest a lot of people.

        But everything you could say about China rings just as true in Europe, in Japan and Korea, in India, in Russia…

        Global populations are heading for a heavy sag, but westerners only know how to heckle the Evil Foreigners.

        • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          Funny because I’m European, and the GDP per capita levels of most EU countries are at 2008 levels.

          As for a population pyramid, China will face the same problem as other countries as you say, possibly more magnified.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            EU countries are filling up with war and climate refugees. And… 2008 is one hell of a year to pick as your benchmark.

            • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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              2 months ago

              Yeah, blame the immigrants. Very .world thing to do lol. Taking Germany, for example, according to Wikipedia, 0.17% population growth per year between 2010 and 2020 doesn’t seem too great for me, compared to China’s yearly >4% GDP growth for example they’d reduce per-capita growths by an insignificant amount. I’m European myself, and I can tell you that the lack of GDP per capita growth between 2008 and 2024 isn’t due to population reasons either, and I’m guessing it’s the same for the bigger EU economies like France,Italy and Spain but feel free to correct me otherwise.

              2008 as my benchmark is exactly my point: the European economy has only now economically recovered from the effects of its own self-imposed policy of austerity and deprivation of worker rights and welfare, without having restored said rights or welfare to pre-2008 levels. And we see countries like the UK under “labor” administration falling to the same policy again as soon as they enter the government. In the meanwhile, without falling into such policy (although without many significant victories for welfare and labor AFAIK), China has grown its per-capita GDP threefold since 2008.

              So no, I don’t think “Chinese economy looks bad”, I wish my European country’s economy would mimic a fraction of the Chinese growth actually

      • Arn_Thor@feddit.uk
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        2 months ago

        Lots of people, especially the Chinese. The sentiment about work, investment, economic prospects, consumption are all quite bad. The central bank is cutting rates. Just today the government dipped their toes into the helicopter money game. The only thing keeping the party going is exports

        • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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          Even then, it isn’t healthy, just healthier. The USA is still going to going to experience economic issues of a growing elderly population, it just won’t be as bad.

          • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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            2 months ago

            The US have the benefit of essentially limitless immigration that they can adjust at will. On the other hand, China’s leadership, being Han supremacist, is not receptive to immigration at all.

            • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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              Immigration definitely helps, especially compared to China. I’m just noting that there will still be some decrease in the ratio of retired workers to current workers.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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              The US have the benefit of essentially limitless immigration

              glances at US immigration policy

              Does it?

              China’s leadership, being Han supremacist, is not receptive to immigration at all.

              Wit drier than a lint trap.

              • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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                2 months ago

                Coming from one of the foremost resident tankies here, that’s a glowing compliment. Thank you.

              • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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                2 months ago

                Does it?

                People still pay upwards of $10,000 US to get smuggled into the country that they will only work in for 4 years as basic farm and factory workers in a house of 20 people.

                The world is a mess and America is the gold mines of california with no gold in it. But a lot of people are getting rich selling immigrants the shovels.

                • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  People still pay upwards of $10,000 US to get smuggled into the country that they will only work in for 4 years as basic farm and factory workers in a house of 20 people.

                  You’re just describing human trafficking. This is modern slavery. Might as well brag about all the Africans who moved here in the 18th and 19th centuries.

                  The world is a mess and America is the gold mines of california

                  Who can forget the huge influx of East Asian immigrants flooding into the California gold mines to be worked to death in the mines? Another excellent example of American prosperity.

                  • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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                    2 months ago

                    Oh it’s awful but I’m saying people are paying the privilege to be treated like shit in the US cause it’s “better” than their crumbling local country or beats the idea of their false impression of their crumbling country of origin.

                    I didn’t brag about it. But the US sure does have this happening at a rate hard to be ignored.

                    I mean I literally used an example that is historically known to have been basically a scam to import cheap labor and you still got defensive and hostile.

                    Your need to be right will kill any conversation you are part of.

                  • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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                    2 months ago

                    Also you are wrong about how the east asian populace in California was used, as it often wasn’t about working the mines as much as them racking up a debt trying to get rich and then owing money so that they could be used as cheap labor elsewhere. God do you even actually have a point or is it just be angry at whatever people say?

            • Ferrous@lemmy.ml
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              2 months ago

              Have you… have you seen how Americans have been talking about the border? Especially this election cycle? I don’t know if would characterize either party’s constituencies as “receptive”.

            • rammer@sopuli.xyz
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              2 months ago

              The US have the benefit of essentially limitless immigration

              Except that even in the Americas the population is declining. There is a limit to it. The US can outlast many other countries because of immigration but it too has to face the same problem as everyone else.

              • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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                2 months ago

                Not really. They are the #1 immigration destination. If the US runs out of potential immigrants that means every other country is far worse off. This game is like the old joke about outrunning a bear: you don’t need to run faster than the bear — you only need to be faster than the guy next to you.

          • Shard@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            This is the new normal for highly developed economies. The best they can hope for is a 1 to 1 replacement of their population. We’re not likely to see another baby boom occur.

            We’re not going to see a typical population pyramid any more. Because that means a large infant death rate and either war, disasters or a massive suicide epidemic cutting away the young adult population to get the pyramid shape.

            • zbyte64@awful.systems
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              2 months ago

              Given that the amount of habitable land will decrease causing mass migrations, you don’t need a 1 to 1 ratio to maintain a population size.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            it just won’t be as bad.

            glances at Ferguson

            glances at Columbia

            glances at the NYC subway

            How bad are we talking?

          • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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            2 months ago

            Basically, yes. The sides are nearly parallel, which is great. Compare with China’s, which forms a steep V. Once GenX hits retirement age they are completely screwed. The CCP’s recent push for “traditional family values” and increased birth rates is no coincidence.

      • Eheran@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The birthing rates are only dropping, in 15 years all of those people will be to old to work but there are not nearly enough to replace them.

          • takeda@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            996 = working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, work schedule practiced currently in many companies in China

            7-10-7 = I’m guessing 7am to 10pm, 7 days a week because of worker shortage?

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Old enough to remember people talking about a 4 day work week and complaining about how many bullshit jobs our economy is swamped with.

              But I guess we actually do have a sever labor shortage and all that surplus manufacturing jettisoned out into the global market simply isn’t enough.

          • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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            2 months ago

            996 is a term the Chinese use to describe working 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week.

        • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          What gives workers even less time to be consumers, making China even more dependant on overseas markets.