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Xi Jinping warns top officials to contain political risks to avoid China’s economy, society being hit by ‘butterfly effect’
Senior officials must address political threats early or raise the danger of a ‘butterfly effect’, according to a new book
‘Economic and social risks will become political risks’, Xi is quoted as saying
Yuanyue Dang
Yuanyue Dang
in Beijing
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Published: 6:00am, 19 Nov, 2023
Why you can trust SCMP
Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned top cadres to get ahead of political risks, saying a “butterfly effect” could turn small threats into big dangers.
Xi conveyed the message to senior officials at an internal meeting in February, but the comments were only made public earlier this month in a book released by Central Party Literature Press.
“Now, various risks and dangers are highly correlated, strongly linked and rapidly transmitted. A little carelessness can cause a butterfly effect,” Xi told hundreds of senior officials at the meeting on February 7.
“Small risks will become big risks, risks will become general risks, and economic and social risks will become political risks.”
In the speech, Xi also asked officials to “identify risks early, act quickly, take command at the front and make immediate judgments as soon as they arise”.
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“Do not let small things be delayed to become big things, and big things be delayed until they explode,” Xi said.
While some parts of the speech had previously been made public, the butterfly effect comments have only just been revealed in Excerpts of Xi Jinping’s Discourse on Chinese Modernisation.
Xi’s February speech came a month before he began his record third term as China’s president in March. Officials across the country were asked to learn from the speech and put Xi’s mandates into practice, according to earlier reports in state media outlets.
