Is Beijing Changing Tack on Big Tech?

By Ruihan Huang as featured on ChinaFile

In recent weeks, news has emerged that China may be slowing its Big Tech regulations. On Tuesday, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC) held a special meeting on the digital economy, with Vice Premier Liu He highlighting the need “to support the platform economy.” This followed similar statements in March, calling for regulators to adopt a “standardized, transparent, and predictable” model. And last month came a Politburo meeting in which leaders vowed support for the Internet economy. With China’s economy reeling amid large-scale COVID lockdowns, a rollback of tech regulations could provide a much-needed boost. But given the vagueness of the language, it’s unclear how such statements will translate on the policy front. We asked experts how they read these statements, whether they anticipated a loosening of regulations, and what that might look like.