Advertisement
Macroscope | China’s crackdown on tech and tutoring is really directed at inequality
- Beijing’s regulatory moves on Big Tech, fintech and for-profit education are aligned with its long-term strategic priority, ‘common prosperity’
- However, this is not a goal that can be achieved with a few policy tweaks, and Beijing should consider the financial market reaction to its moves
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
14
The Chinese government has been busy sweeping through the country’s technology, fintech and for-profit education industries with regulatory changes in the past few months.
Advertisement
This series of actions has prompted some confusion over Beijing’s intent, which seems to contradict the country’s long-term strategy of building a hi-tech and knowledge-based economy. While it’s hard to pinpoint the endgame, as the policy landscape is still in flux, it’s not impossible to trace the rationale behind some of these events.
The possible purposes of Beijing’s recent actions may be sorted into four categories. First: de-risking the systems, which involves a tighter grip on developers and actions against big names in fintech.
Second: antitrust regulation and fair competition, as China catches up on the regulatory scrutiny of internet giants.
Third: data and national security, which involves restricting US listings of Chinese companies.
Advertisement
Last: social equality and well-being. This may be why China has cracked down on for-profit education companies, whose pursuit of profit is believed to have widened the gap between the haves and have-nots.
Advertisement