Since Chinese President Xi Jinping was elevated to a status comparable to that of the nation's founding leader, Mao Zedong, at the recent National Congress of the Communist Party, the party under his leadership is bound to extend more control not only in politics but also over people's lives, management of the economy as well as corporate activities.
Meanwhile, since the turn of the century, there has been a dramatic shift in the main players of China's economy from state-run heavy and chemical industries to new sectors like information technology, biochemistry and new energy, which are being promoted by entrepreneurs who seek a free and open economic environment. A potential clash between such newly emerging forces and Communist Party control may well pose a major threat to Xi's administration.
About a month prior to the Oct. 18-24 party congress, a monetary crisis of sorts originated in China when its government suddenly banned the domestic transactions in Bitcoin, a virtual currency, sending its value downward. The official reason for the ban was to prevent wealthy people and large corporations from transferring capital abroad using Bitcoin. An economist at a state-affiliated think tank, however, says the measure was driven by the Xi administration's fear of the "free" nature of Bitcoin as a virtual currency that evades the CCP's control, which might lead to the party losing financial control.