By Li Ping

Just after Xi Jinping boasted at the Central Economic Work Conference that “China has made historic achievements that have satisfied the people and impressed the world,” he was slapped in the face by major power outages in provinces including Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong. CCTV and other state mouthpieces were constantly propagating people from all walks of life and all over the world to praise the brilliant policies of the Central Economic Work Conference, but they were also slapped in the face by the blackout. The massive shutdown occurred on the eve of China’s release of the white paper on “China’s energy development in the new era,” which was the third slap in the face of the central government. What is laughable is that the state media is dodging public opinion that the blackout is the disastrous consequence of the wolf warrior diplomacy. They even cited the argument of “feeling the rapid growth of industrial production.” It truly is “amazing, my country.”

The Central Economic Work Conference ended on the 18th. Judging from recent state media propaganda and interpretation by scholars, one of the key points is to praise the economic achievements under Xi Jinping’s leadership, elevating it to a “historic” level not seen in previous economic work conferences. The second is to promulgate that “putting people first is the fundamental prerequisite for making correct choices,” in order to highlight the humanity of the great leader in fighting the epidemic and achieving economic success. The third is to judge the economic and trade situation “to make good use of the precious opportunity window.” The pressure to stabilize growth next year will not be as great as in previous years, that is, this year’s base is low and it will be relatively easy to grow by 5% or 6% next year. Moreover, as soon as Biden is in the White House and the Sino-U.S. trade war is over, the internal and external pressures will be reduced. Fourth, China’s economic structure has changed. The share of total imports and exports to gross domestic product (GDP) has dropped to 33%. China has the basis and ability to drive internal circulation.

Nonetheless, the recent power outages that affected nearly 10 southern provinces have smacked the state media and government scholars in the face. The electricity rationing and power outages show that China’s energy supply struggles are far from being solved. Nor is energy restriction and power cuts during the cold winter months a “putting people first” governance. There is no doubt that next year’s valuable opportunity window will be constrained by energy issues. Meanwhile, the white paper on “China’s energy development in the new era” unveiled yesterday also boasts that the country has become the world’s largest energy producer last year. China ranked top in the world in terms of installed capacities of nuclear power units under construction, hydropower, wind power, and solar photovoltaic power. How can such a world first give its people who are suffering from power outages and restrictions a sense of happiness, gain and security?

Some critics have pointed out that, with the restriction of electricity and thermal coal, how can the people of China survive the winter? This regime only cares about its own gains and losses, wolf-warrior diplomacy, and is so ignorant that it cannot even guarantee the national welfare and the people’s livelihood. “Are the ghosts of anti-rightists and the Great Famine far from China?” Although the prediction is terrible or exaggerated, it raises a fact that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) state media are trying to avoid: China’s strained relationship with Australia. China has continuously imposed sanctions on Australia, levying tariffs or even banning the import of everything from lobster, beef, red wine to thermal coal. Australian coal accounts for 57% of China’s coal imports. As a result of the sanctions, only the Chinese power elites can afford to eat pricey lobster and drink expensive red wine, but they too have to suffer from nationwide power outages and restrictions. The CCP’s wolf-warrior diplomacy has truly shot itself in the foot.

The state media and government scholars claim that China’s economic growth is no longer dependent on the international market and that it is capable of riding the internal circulation. However, not only are high-technology such as chips subject to foreign control but energy sources such as coal and iron ore are also subject to control by countries such as Australia. How can this be solved by internal circulation? Can it be solved with the white paper promoting China as the top energy producer? The surprise announcement by Russia-based power company Inter RAO that it will significantly reduce or completely stop supplying electricity to China due to costs is adding insult to injury.

The sanctions against ZTE made China feel the pain of the lack of chips, therefore it turned to the National Integrated Circuit Plan, a nationwide effort to pursue domestic supplies to try to overcome the problem. Similarly, the restrictions on exports by some grain-producing countries made China panic, therefore it launched the clean plate campaign against food waste and revived the slogan of maintaining 1.8 billion mu of arable land (120 million hectares). Likewise, if China is not subject to a few more major blackouts and power rationing, the CCP will not admit how the so-called number one energy producer is restricted by others.

What the CCP will not admit is that in the face of chip, food, energy and other crises, the advantages of the so-called national system and all the arrogance of the wolf-warrior diplomacy are nothing but vain and impotent. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP. Apart from the illusion that Biden’s presidency will end the Sino-U.S. trade war, opening another window for its rise to power, the CCP can only imagine that the “political achievement” of a significant increase in GDP in the first half of next year compared to the same period this year can be used to whitewash its party’s celebration.

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