Are Shanghai's Elites Pressuring Xi to Resign?

On February 28, 20221, Chinese President Xi took the unprecedented step of ordering a total lockdown of Shanghai, China’s largest, wealthiest, and most cosmopolitan city. Xi’s lockdown of the heart of the nation’s financial system and home to more than 24 million people has resulted in economic and social chaos throughout China. The world has watched videos of hi-rise buildings where thousands of imprisoned and starving citizens scream into the night sky. While China may be one of the most repressive regimes on the planet today the people of Shanghai were almost certainly unfamiliar with the sort of treatment that the Uyghur people have come to expect in Xinjiang.2

Shanghai’s wealthy elites have traditionally held considerable sway over the governance of the nation but many have seen the late lockdowns as a tactic to blunt their influence and power.3 As a result, a contingent of Shanghai’s millionaires and billionaires got together ahead of last week’s meeting of the Party Politburo Standing Committee to discuss Xi’s draconian lockdowns4 and the possibility of pressuring the committee to convince the president to step down.

The group of elites (or their representatives) rumored to be involved in efforts to influence members of the committee included Cao Dewang (Chairman Fuyao Group), Liu Yiqian (Chairman of Sunline Group), Qi Shi (Chairman East Money Information), Eric Tan (Chairman Qutoutiao), Wang Qunbin (Co-chairman Fosun International), and Zhang Changhong (Chairman DZH).

In fact, Bill Gertz, the longtime national security correspondent from The Washington Times, is reporting that there are rumors Xi was forced to step aside by the Committee and that Premier Li Keqiang has taken over on an interim basis.5 Gertz points out that most of these rumors turn out to be false, but sometimes they contain a kernel of truth.

That being said it shouldn’t be ignored that yesterday Xi doubled down on the Shanghai lockdowns, now in their seventh week, by restricting all food deliveries, not allowing residents to "step out" of their front doors, AND requiring advanced approval for all hospital visits.6 The head of The World Health Organisation called China's zero-Covid strategy unsustainable7 and was promptly censored by Xi.8

So what is going on in Shanghai? Nothing good…