Rumors Confirmed! Xinhua and CCTV Publicly Downgrade Xi Jinping’s Status

On February 17, several entrepreneurs attended a CCP symposium on private enterprises. However, their expressions were grim, showing no joy despite supposedly receiving government support. (Screenshot from video)

[People News] Recently, there has been ongoing speculation that CCP leader Xi Jinping’s power has been weakened, and his so-called "supreme" status is under threat. Some firmly believe the rumors, while others are skeptical. On February 17, CCTV News broadcast footage of Xi Jinping attending the private enterprise symposium, showing a public downgrading of Xi’s reporting status, thus confirming the rumors of his diminished power.

According to CCP state media, Xi Jinping attended the symposium on private enterprises on February 17, joined by Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, with CPPCC Chairman Wang Huning presiding. Attendees included notable entrepreneurs such as Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Ren Zhengfei, and Pony Ma.

The CCTV News footage edited by Xinhua Net showed Xi Jinping speaking at the meeting, but his voice was muted and replaced by background music. Since Xi took office, he has been the leading figure in daily CCTV news broadcasts, and CCTV has strict standards for how the CCP leader is reported. Muting Xi’s speech and covering it with music is unprecedented. Moreover, the Xinhua Net report only mentioned in the headline that “Xi Jinping attended the private enterprise symposium and delivered an important speech,” without disclosing any details of Xi’s speech or additional specifics. The actions of CCTV and Xinhua effectively amount to public acknowledgment that Xi’s power has indeed been weakened, and his “supreme” status is no longer secure.

According to media analysis, the Chinese authorities held this symposium amid a prolonged economic slump in China and intensifying competition with the U.S., which has increased the regime’s economic pressures. It is believed that the authorities may be attempting to convey a signal of support for the private sector to boost confidence in China’s private enterprises.

CCTV footage showed that many prominent entrepreneurs attended the meeting, including Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Tencent Chairman and CEO Pony Ma, Xiaomi Chairman and CEO Lei Jun, CATL Chairman and CEO Zeng Yuqun, Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing, BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu, and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.

Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the meeting, reported that Chinese private business leaders showcased some recent high-profile success stories. However, the founders of Baidu and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, both of whom are embroiled in U.S. controversies, were notably absent from the meeting.

Voice of America reported that Zhang Xiaoyan, a finance professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, stated that the meeting on Monday aimed to deliver a message emphasizing the importance of private enterprises while attempting to “instill confidence.” The goal was to urge China’s private enterprises to drive innovation, particularly in technological advancements and consumer promotion.

Fred Hu, founder and chairman of Hong Kong-based Primavera Capital Group, noted that Xi Jinping’s meeting with Chinese private entrepreneurs clearly represents “a significant policy shift.” The meeting with well-known business figures like Jack Ma should help to “reassure anxious entrepreneurs and strengthen business and investor confidence in China.”

Christopher Beddor, deputy director of China research at Gavekal Dragonomics, said: “This implicitly acknowledges that the Chinese government needs private enterprises to compete with the U.S. in technological innovation.” Policymakers may prefer state-owned enterprises to lead cutting-edge innovation, but disruptive innovation tends to come from private enterprises. If Beijing wants to compete with the U.S., it has no choice but to support these private companies. “This is almost a complete reversal of the policy stance from a few years ago.”

Overseas netizens remarked that this meeting suggests that the CCP and Xi Jinping have realized that the economic crisis is seriously threatening the regime’s stability: “They’re desperate, so they’re bringing the business community back into the picture.” “This is another pie-in-the-sky tactic. Eliminating private enterprises is their ideal, but now they’re reluctantly relying on them.” “Turns out Xi didn’t eliminate those entrepreneurs because he needed them for this meeting.” “They should show sincerity by releasing private entrepreneurs from prison first.” “Cutting taxes and genuinely supporting private enterprises is the best strategy.”