Chinese firms rush to embrace 'common prosperity' slogan

At least 73 companies used the flagship slogan in statements to shareholders

Scores of listed Chinese companies have name-checked President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” drive in earnings reports, as the private sector seeks to align itself with China’s campaign to reduce wealth inequality.
 

At least 73 companies, including China’s largest insurer Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., food delivery giant Meituan and the state-owned Bank of China Ltd., used the flagship slogan in statements to shareholders filed to the Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in the two weeks ending Aug. 31. 

While that accounted for less than 2% of the more than 4,000 filings surveyed by Bloomberg News, it featured some of the country’s most-influential firms. 

On Thursday, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said it would pledge 100 billion yuan ($15.5 billion) through 2025 to support “common prosperity” through programs including improving digital infrastructure in undeveloped regions, reducing costs for small firms, and improving benefits for gig-economy workers, according to the official Zhejiang Daily. 

Xi’s push to narrow the country’s wealth gap has sent shock waves through the economy, triggering market sell-offs and prompting a flood of charitable giving among the country’s billionaires. A meeting led by the Chinese president Monday explicitly called on officials to “urge companies to obey the leadership of the party,” as reforms are rolled out.  

Meituan, one of the companies facing increased regulatory scrutiny as part of Xi’s reforms, said in its filing that China’s largest food delivery firm would “promote common prosperity for the larger society.” During an earnings call Monday, the company’s founder Wang Xing explained Meituan’s name literally translated to “better together,” showing common prosperity was in its DNA. He also said the company could face significant fines amid an antitrust probe into its operations.

Real estate service firm Greentown Service Group Co. announced a common prosperity plan for employees in its report, and bottle manufacturer Zhejiang Haers Vacuum Container Co. said the slogan would help grow the market, without elaborating on how. Some companies referenced the term in relation to China’s rural revitalization drive, and a few included it in environmental, social and governance targets. 

Others went beyond paying lip service to Xi’s favorite slogan. Pinduoduo Inc., the fast-rising online commerce giant now challenging Alibaba in the countryside, went as far as to pledge its next $1.5 billion in profit to farmers’ welfare. Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s most valuable company, said last month it will double the amount of money it’s allocating for social responsibility programs to about $15 billion.

Xi’s renewed embrace of the common prosperity slogan, which dates back to the founding of the Communist Party, is driving a slew of economic policies expected to shape the next decade. Last year, Xi pledged to make “substantial progress on common prosperity for all” by 2035 -- when China aims to achieve “socialist modernization” and double the size of its economy from 2020.