What is most important perhaps is not forgiving past crimes but setting new rules for the right and legal business activities, making sure that these rules will be observed and create a healthy economic environment for China and for the rest of the world, which is growing linked with China’s development.
This new legal framework for business activities perhaps is the most important thing. Many of these entrepreneurs may deserve amnesty because of their contribution to the country’s expansion and in consideration of the special economic circumstances in which they grew. However, they cannot go on managing their businesses and their companies in the murky, nontransparent dictatorial way many of them have adopted so far.
Even private companies have a state and societal responsibility to employees and investors. Yet, so far, most of these responsibilities have been widely ignored and dismissed in Chinese private companies. Therefore in return for amnesty, these companies have to strictly abide by new rules of transparency and governance, or they should be put out of business. It is a long and complex task ahead for Xi Jinping and his people.
In the short term, it should be important to suggest the future outline of the society the government envisions to give new confidence to the market in China and in the world, which has grown so worried about China’s economic performance in the past weeks.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, China managed to greatly contribute to push the world out of the financial crisis and has been in the past years the single largest element of economic growth at a global level. Therefore, whatever it does hugely impacts all markets, which then can create a mirror effect in China: Chinese markets get scared, then they fall; the world markets see China fall, and they fall; China sees the world markets fall, and it falls even further; and this leads to a spiral.
The spiral must be stopped and in a way Xi Jinping now has the great opportunity to emerge not only as the leader of a new China but also as an important stakeholder in the leadership of the world.
(Copyright 2015 Asia Times Holdings Limited, a duly registered Hong Kong company. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)