Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has faced attacks from inside the Communist Party over his proposal of “street vendor economy,” as suspicion of rivalry between him and President Xi Jinping intensifies.

Li’s plan to promote urban street stalls came as the unemployment rate rose in mainland China over the last few months. However, two party agencies led by Xi’s allies have attempted to stop Li’s policy.

One is the Chinese Communist Party’s publicity department, led by General Secretary Huang Kunming. The department is understood to have ordered the media and other government agencies to tone down the promotion of Li’s plan.

The other is Beijing Daily, which published a commentary criticising Li’s policy for not being compatible with the Chinese capital’s city planning. The newspaper is closely associated with Cai Qi, Beijing’s party secretary and a political ally of Xi.

The Beijing City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau has since said it would strengthen checks and enforcement.

The latest blow to Li came from CCTV, the state television broadcaster under the publicity department, which said in an article that street vendor economy was not a panacea and a blanket application may lead to negative consequences.

The article said management of street vendors in megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou should be well thought out and it was wise for top-tier cities to not follow Li’s policy. It added that by actively encouraging street vendors, the efforts those cities have put in over the past years to maintain order would all go to waste.

It said the only way to maintain people’s living standards and boost employment was to speed up the resumption of work, production and businesses as the country emerged from the coronavirus pandemic. The new shopping promotion jointly organised by the Beijing city and CCTV was a good example, it said.

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