Xiongan – Xi’s dream City

In September 2021 Xi Jinping spoke of ‘profound changes in Chinese society’: “We will return to the essence of socialism.” Insiders knew that Xi is building already the city that in his mind will create that new Chinese society consisting of party-liners who obey any party policy, the mediocre and industrious Communist system zombies. The project is a huge experiment, because it breaks with all principles of economic science such as market dynamics and private innovative initiative. Free enterprise has made the successes of cities as Shenzhen (Deng Xiaoping’s project in the 1980s) and Pudong in Shanghai (Jiang Zemin’s project in the 1990s) that served as models for numerous other Chinese cities that are the motors of China’s wealth today.

But Xi wants a city for China and in China. It has nothing in common with the conventional cities of his predecessors. Xi hates the world-oriented production initially dominated by foreigners who have the needs of foreign markets in mind. Foreigners anyway are vilified in propaganda holding that they brought the coronavirus into China. Xi fears that foreigners jeopardize his power since they object to his authoritarian style. His modern Silk Road will serve to export his new model of his totalitarian city that will spread in China and then around the whole world.

Xiongan is being built on three rural districts in Hebei Province namely Rongcheng, Xiongxian, and Anxin. In its first phase it will include 100 square kilometers, and in a middle term it will grow to about 2000 sqkm (half as big as Bohol). A bullet train brings passengers in 20 minutes to Beijing. It is connected to the important industry and port city Tianjin. In the run up to 2035, Xiongan is seen to become the technologically most advanced, the ecologically most effective, and the best connected city in China. Xi and his Communist party honchos will dominate the mostly by computer-run surveillance systems. Xi’s ambition is to prove that a centrally dominated absolute mercantilist system can work profitably. Xi wants to be the Sun King of the 21st century. All power emanates from him. He is the owner of all factories, buildings, trains, vehicles, hospitals, schools, universities, streets, rivers, plains, and hills. He decides the rules of societal life, the salaries and the prices of goods and services. The party cadres in the highest high-rise building exert full control over their subjects. Corruption, luxury, and vices are forbidden. No gays and lesbians are allowed. Life of the inhabitants is determined by work. The families have no private properties. The apartments are rented to the workers as long as they work successfully. If the supervising social scoring system signals a deficit in profitability, the worker is expulsed from the city. It is as the kafalla system of Arabic nations that exploit foreign workers. The difference is that here they are domestic migrants, men and women of flesh and blood and feelings. But human rights, justice, satisfaction, happiness are not provided for. No bar and beerhouse, casino or leisure park is found. All that counts is work and profitability because the huge investments of the Chinese Communist Party must pay back and soon reach the profitability stage. All is high-speed in China, time is money. Money, money, money is Xi Jinping’s world.

The dangerous thing is that Xi wants to export his system to Taiwan first, then --on the way to world domination-- into a neighboring country the president of which considers himself as Xi’s friend. Further Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Lebanon, Serbia, and some African nations that are on the verge of famine and default will be ‘liberated’ from capitalism and decadent democracy. Filipinos, ponder the wisdom: It is dangerous to be China’s enemy, to be China’s friend is deadly.

Erich Wannemacher

Lapu-Lapu City