China censors financial blogger as economic reform falters

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China is cracking down on financial sector commentators, a move that erodes space for independent analysis and data and challenges Beijing’s official narrative about the health of the world’s second-largest economy.

Wu Xiaobo, one of China’s most prominent economic commentators who has nearly 5 million followers on Weibo, was blocked on Monday along with two unidentified authors, the owner of the Twitter-like platform said.

The owner of the social media platform Sino Weibo removed Wu’s recent posts, saying he spread harmful information that undermined government policy, including manipulating the unemployment rate and spreading false accusations against the securities market.

The decision to block Wu recalled a campaign launched by China’s Cyberspace Administration in 2021 to silence market skeptics and stifle pessimistic opinions about the Chinese economy. Last year, Hong Hao, an outspoken Chinese market strategist, was ousted from state-owned brokerage BoCom International because of his bearish market comments.

The latest action comes against a backdrop of growing concern over China’s difficult recovery from President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policies. Six months after authorities lifted pandemic-related restrictions, growth has struggled to get going, hampered by property sector weakness, lower-than-expected consumer spending and adverse business conditions.

Youth unemployment reached a record 20.8 percent last month as the government struggles to find jobs for young people to drive reforms.

China’s benchmark CSI 300 stock index has also underperformed global peers, down about 1 percent so far in 2022 after falling more than a fifth on a broader gloom over an economic rebound. This compares with a 13 percent gain for the S&P 500. Year.

There is also pressure on the Chinese currency. The renminbi hit a seven-month low against the dollar this week after falling nearly 5 percent this year.

In the wake of a flurry of economic data that missed analysts’ expectations in recent weeks, economists have begun to downgrade their growth forecasts, and hopes are rising of Beijing stepping up fiscal stimulus in an effort to spur growth .

Experts also warn that censoring online commenters adds to the continuing difficulty of obtaining reliable data and information on China – a significant challenge for many countries and companies dependent on Chinese consumers and industry that have recently opened up to foreign fair trade. The crackdown on labor groups has further increased.

“It’s worrying but it’s been worrying for a while,” said Victor Shih, professor of Chinese political economy at the University of California, San Diego.

Shih added, the latest targeting of financial bloggers likely reflects policy makers’ concern that “a pervasive narrative that the economy is not doing very well” will undermine efforts to promote reform.

“This type of censorship is more targeted towards the Chinese public, to ensure that there is not such a negative outlook on the Chinese economy.”