CCP Boasts About Nearly 13 Million Returning Home to Start Businesses—Netizens: "So, 13 Million People Can't Find Jobs?"

The image shows the mass migration of people returning home during the Spring Festival travel rush. (Getty Images)

[People News] According to Xinhua News Agency, more than 12 million people in China have returned to their hometowns to start businesses. State media has recently been promoting the idea of young people returning to rural areas for entrepreneurship, and during this year’s "Two Sessions" political meetings, a university graduate who became wealthy by raising 4,000 cattle was even showcased as a model entrepreneur. But does returning home to start a business truly lead to wealth? Why is China pushing this message so aggressively now? Below is a report from Radio Free Asia journalist Xu Zi'an.

According to Xinhua, statistics show that over 12 million people—mostly young university graduates and urban white-collar workers—have returned to rural areas to start businesses. The report quoted Han Wenxiu, Deputy Director of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and Director of the Central Rural Work Office, as saying: "We must attract people with the vast opportunities in rural development, retain them with the beautiful and livable countryside environment, and ensure solutions for career growth and social security so that young people can settle down in rural areas and thrive."

Recently, Chinese state media has been heavily promoting stories of young people achieving financial success through rural entrepreneurship—some reportedly earning millions in just three years. The featured business ventures include ostrich farming, cucumber sales, sausage-making, and mushroom cultivation, among others. However, most netizens remain skeptical. One person commented: "I lost my job and was forced to go back home, but they call me a 'rural entrepreneur'." Another summed it up bluntly: "So, 13 million people just couldn't find work."

Is Zhao Zhao Really Raising Cattle?

During this year's Two Sessions, Zhao Zhao, a national representative from Henan, has attracted attention for returning to her hometown to raise cattle after graduating from university. She currently manages a breeding base of 225 acres, where she raises over 4,000 beef cattle, successfully integrating crop cultivation with livestock breeding.

A rural farmer recently posted a video on Douyin expressing skepticism: "Cattle are becoming increasingly worthless. In our village, we initially bought 3 cattle for 35,000 yuan, but now we can only sell 10 cattle for 32,000 yuan. After three years of raising them, we ended up losing money, not to mention the costs of labor and feed. How do you make a profit raising 4,000 cattle? Could you share the secrets of your success in breeding so that farmers across the country can thrive alongside you?"

Public records indicate that Zhao Zhao founded a company named Nanyang Yamin Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. in 2015, but she is not the major shareholder. The major shareholder is another individual named Zhang Hua, who owns over 64% of the shares. Zhang Hua also serves as the company's director and general manager, while Zhao Zhao holds only 21% of the shares. Additionally, there is another shareholder, the Henan Province Returned Home Industry Equity Investment Fund, which holds 14.28% of the shares.

Moreover, some netizens have disclosed that Zhao Zhao's claim of raising 4,000 cattle is not entirely accurate, as she collaborates with local farmers rather than raising them all herself. Other netizens have traced Zhao Zhao's actual development journey, revealing that she initially started with just 50 cattle, and the scale of 4,000 was only achieved after 17 years of growth.

Wu Yue San Ren, a Japanese media commentator, remarked on this issue: "The reason for promoting Zhao Zhao is to establish a typical example. For instance, when college students return to their hometowns to start businesses, we need to find someone to elevate her as a representative figure. This young woman has not been idle; she has accomplished some things. However, the reason we don't highlight that major shareholder is that we want to promote the concept of college students returning to their hometowns." 

Current Youth Unemployment Situation 

According to a prior report by Radio Free Asia, the National Bureau of Statistics released unemployment rate data by age group for February on the 20th. The unemployment rate for the national urban labor force aged 16 to 24, excluding students, stands at 16.9%, which is an increase of 0.8 percentage points from January, marking a rise for two consecutive months. The unemployment rate for the labor force aged 25 to 29, also excluding students, is 7.3%, up 0.4 percentage points from January, reaching a new high in 15 months. 

Additionally, Ding Xueliang, a retired professor from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, estimated in an article for the Hong Kong media outlet Xin Bao that the number of unemployed college graduates in China is nearing 30 million, and the employment rate is likely much lower than the official claim of 56%, averaging or falling below 30%. He noted that in conversations with university faculty, they reported that the worst employment rate among universities is only 20%. 

According to the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics of the Communist Party of China, working just one hour a week qualifies as employment. In comparison, the United States requires 15 hours, while France requires 20 hours.

Conversely, the agricultural population has never been included in the employment statistics of the Chinese Communist Party's National Bureau of Statistics. It is projected that by 2025, there will be 12.22 million university graduates entering the job market. Chen Lifu, a consultant at a Taiwanese think tank, noted in a prior interview with Radio Free Asia that this initiative could serve to embellish the unemployment rate: "This is akin to going to the countryside to seek labor work, planting some vegetables nearby, and assisting with farming. Entrepreneurship is not counted among the unemployed, and the aim is to redirect urban unemployment into rural areas. Initially, five people were sufficient to cultivate one acre of land, but now ten are being forced to farm, ensuring that everyone has a job." 

On China's social media platform Douyin, a video promoting the idea of returning to the countryside for entrepreneurship in 2025 garnered 16,000 likes, 15,000 shares, and over 6,500 comments, many of which sarcastically criticized the portrayal of unemployment as a return to rural entrepreneurship. 

A netizen from Shaanxi, @SimaGangZhaGuang, remarked: "My brother-in-law went south for work on the 16th of the first lunar month, and returned in early March with his bedding. It turns out he was coming back to start a business." 

A netizen from Jiangsu, @XiaoQiE, commented: "I have already started a business, raising two cows and five chickens." 

A netizen from Guangdong, @ZheZhiYinBuTaiMei, stated: "I was idling on the street, and he claimed I was investigating a project." 

Another netizen, @Huntage, wrote: "In the past, educated youth went to the mountains and countryside, and later farmers moved to the cities for work. It seems that the cycle of heaven is just."

(Reprinted from Radio Free Asia)