But many people seem unable to tell what that phrase really means. What is the “new” they want to establish and what is the “old” they want to abolish? Even the Xinhua editors responsible for English translation of the phrase and who are familiar with the thinking of the leadership don’t appear to be sure.
In the English readout from the Communist Party’s Politburo meeting on December 8, Xinhua translated the phrase into “prioritising development before addressing problems”. But the English version of the work conference statement included the translation “establishing the new before abolishing the old”.
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In fact, the central government first mentioned the phrase in a Politburo meeting in July 2021 when they were worried that China’s decarbonisation campaign had led to a severe power…
