China's policy swivels back to control for addressing specific domestic social issues

Singapore

THE cadence of China's regulatory tightenings has certainly increased lately, coming as a rude shock to many investors and prompting debates over the intentions of President Xi Jinping's party. But those who feel the recent moves are an assault on private Chinese companies or the United States have missed the point.

Investors should remember that regulatory reform - changes to regulatory institutions, methods and practices - played a very limited role in China's economic reforms in the early days, but has now become central.