There is nothing 'private' about private enterprises in China
This is because the Communist Party of China is the ultimate boss. The development history of the country's 'socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics' helps explain the recent regulatory crackdowns.
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IF you are surprised by the Chinese authorities' recent crackdowns with seemingly abrupt and draconian measures on Jack Ma's Ant Financial Group in April, Didi Chuxing in July and most recently the after-school tutoring (AST) sector, perhaps a brief revisit of the development history of China's "socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics" will help you better appreciate these recent regulatory crackdowns in China.
WHAT SOCIALIST MARKET ECONOMY MEANS IN CHINA
In spring 1992, after the famous tour to the South of China, Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China's reform and opening up, expounded his views: "A planned economy is not equivalent to socialism, because there is planning under capitalism too. A market economy is not capitalism, because there are markets under socialism too. Planning and market forces are both 'means' of controlling economic activities."
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