BEIJING (Reuters) – Some Chinese economists called for bolder reforms on Thursday, the birthday of the late reform leader Deng Xiaoping, but several comments were censored as authorities become increasingly sensitive to criticism of economic policies.
Thursday marks the 120th anniversary of Deng’s birth. In 1978, he introduced historic reforms to allow more private enterprise and open the economy to foreign investment, paving the way for decades of rapid growth.
Last month, China’s policymakers unveiled reforms at an agenda-setting meeting that some experts say are insufficient to boost private sector confidence and the ailing economy.
A critical article by Zhang Weiying, one of China’s best-known liberal economists and a professor at Peking University, was deleted twice by Chinese internet censors on Thursday after it was widely shared on the social network WeChat.
The article, originally published in 2018 and recirculated on Thursday, praised Deng for his courage in opening up to market forces at the expense of state planning and boldly pursuing reforms while trying to “cross the river by feeling for the stones.”
The tone reflects the general disappointment among China’s liberal economists with the slow pace of reform. Others also used the Deng anniversary to express their reform-oriented views in articles that were not deleted.
“China is once again at a turning point in its history,” said Wang Zhigang, an economist at a think tank, in an article published online.
“Only by thoroughly reviewing, sorting out and carrying forward Deng’s legacy, continuing the past and opening up the future, can we best commemorate Xiaoping and this great era.”
In a speech published by the state news agency Xinhua, President Xi Jinping praised Deng as the “chief architect of China’s socialist reform, opening up and modernization.”
On the social media platform Weibo, hashtags celebrating Deng’s birthday had been viewed a total of 50 million times by Thursday afternoon. The vast majority of posts came from state media and government agencies honoring his life.
Deng died in 1997 at the age of 92.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Kevin Yao; Editing by Antoni Slodkowski and Mark Heinrich)
