What happened to "common prosperity"? Xi Jinping's new favorite slogan is almost completely missing from the government's official policy agenda for 2022, as presented in the documents for the annual legislative session.

Li Keqiang's government work report contains exactly one mention of 共同富裕, which is rendered as "prosperity for all" in the official English translation. And it's a pretty generic statement.

The Ministry of Finance's budget report also contains exactly one mention of common prosperity, which is simply a note of a provincial initiative. But it sets no goals for the central government.

The NDRC seems to be taking it more seriously: its annual development report does refer to the "major goal" of common prosperity. But it is listed as only the 10th (out of 10) of the major tasks for 2022, as an umbrella term for improving public services.

What does this relative silence mean? I don't know! But it's kinda weird. At the least, it suggests the government is having a hard time coming to agreement on exactly how to implement this political slogan.

Last year I saw a lot of reports about how common prosperity would revolutionize government policy and be Xi Jinping's signature initiative in his third term. So far, it's mostly been used to justify a political campaign against internet companies.

wrote up a somewhat more considered version of this thread here: andrewbatson.com/2022/03/07/what-happened-to-common-prosperity/