China’s Economy on the Edge of Collapse: Evergrande Falls, Exports Crash 30%, Power Struggles

This is China Undercover Reporting. Beijing is staging an absurd drama right now. Inside the CCP's 4th plenary session, applause, slogans and lies are flying high. Outside the session, the real China is crumbling. In Yunnan, a lawyer is risking imprisonment to blow the whistle, roaring that the Chinese people are suffering from the Chinese Communist Party's Outside Beijing's petition bureau, hundreds of petitioners queue for 26 hours, sleeping on the ground just for a chance to speak up. In Xi'an, the largest computer market in the entire Northwest has shut down, symbolizing the complete extinguishing of a whole generation of grassroots entrepreneurs' dreams. In Guangdong, a chain of pharmacies closed overnight, leaving drugstore employees without pay and the elderly unable to buy medicine. All of this happened in the same week. And what is the official media doing? In the Jingxi Hotel, they're using 10,000-word articles to tell you that China's economy is stable and improving, and society is long-term stable. But the real China is bleeding out. This isn't high-quality development. It's high-intensity whitewashing. Some say this meeting isn't about planning the future but saving power. Others say the less confidence they have, the louder they shout about victory. In today's China Undercover, we'll uncover the truth behind this grand event. Who exactly has hijacked China? The CCP's fourth plenary session is underway in Beijing, and a short video from Yunnan, China, suddenly went viral online. In the footage, a middle-aged man with a resolute expression faces the camera and utters words that instantly shocked countless Chinese people. As a lawyer, with my conscience, I tell everyone that the Chinese people are suffering from the Chinese Communist Party's political fraud. This man is Zuo Qihai, a lawyer from Yunnan. He chose this critical moment to step forward at great risk and shout out. He says this isn't some slogan-style criticism but the facts that ordinary Chinese people experience in their daily lives. We're just too accustomed to it that we've forgotten its absurdity. Zuo Qihai says the CCP first deceived the entire country's land, mines, forests, rivers, and national resources in the name of state ownership and public ownership. Then, it uses laws to prohibit the people from owning resources that originally belonged to all the people. When people want to use land or other resources, they can only buy usage rights at high prices from the Communist Party. In this process, the CCP completes its exploitation of the people. It's like a national-level resource scam. It's not just land, oil, hydropower, natural gas, communications, transportation, banking, finance, tobacco. All areas related to people's livelihoods are monopolized by the CCP in the form of state-owned enterprises. But these state-owned enterprises are actually party-owned enterprises. In other words, the Communist Party directly controls the economic lifeline. Zuo Qihai puts it bluntly. For survival, the people can only buy basic living conditions at high prices from monopolistic enterprises. This is institutionalized exploitation. Even worse, the CCP packages its party interests as national interests and disguises them as the people's interests. As a result, all national resources, power, and finances are concentrated in the party's hands. And much of this fiscal revenue isn't returned to the people but becomes the private coffers of certain high-level officials and their families. Do you complain? No. Do you protest? No channels. Do you want to change the status quo? The party system doesn't allow it. Zuo Qihai says that today, out of China's 1.4 billion population, 900 million are poor. And these 900 million poor people get no national security or social relief in cases of unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, or inability to live. Hospitals refuse patients without money. Children's education bankrupts families. Buying a house gets you not ownership but usage rights. All of this is layer upon layer of oppression on ordinary people. Zuo Qihai's whistleblower video spread rapidly online after exposure. Netizens commented, well said, enlightening, spot on, right to the point. He said what everyone wants to say but dares not. We are actually serfs. The Communist Party is a human tumor. Many also worry about the whistleblower's safety, leaving messages, Brave warrior, please stay safe. Respect him, but don't charge the tower inside the wall and make unnecessary sacrifices. One hero like Peng is enough. Preserve your useful body. Fight within safe boundaries. Fighting the communists is long term and requires countless people of conscience to participate. All this happened just as the CCP's fourth plenary session convened. And public discontent is rising. It's not just Zuo Qihai. Even from inside CCTV, a second generation Red is blowing the whistle, directly shouting, take down the firewall and the CCP will collapse in a few days. The CCP has ruled with lies for decades. But today, voices of awakening are starting to appear across China. One person stepping forward is courage. But when hundreds or thousands take to the streets just for an opportunity or a response, it's not just accusation. It's a cry of despair. During the days of the CCP's fourth plenary session, the entire Beijing is like under martial law. Streets, subways, stations everywhere are filled with police, checking IDs, sealing off entrances, all to prevent petitioners from entering Beijing. Where do these petitioners come from? Some are residents who lost their homes to forced demolitions. Some are workers owed wages who can't escape. Some are victims entangled in wrongful cases. They carry luggage, thick material bags, bumping all the way to Beijing, just for one thing, to seek justice. Petitioner Zhao Wei says she arrived in Beijing a week early. A fellow petitioner was stopped at security, ID checked, identity recorded. She didn't dare return to her rental and could only wander outside. It's really miserable. At night, we can only sleep outside. Zhao Wei's voice is full of exhaustion. According to petitioners, during the CCP's fourth plenary session, Beijing's security can be described as facing a great enemy. Checkpoints at all entrances to the city verify documents. Police and plainclothes mix in the crowds. Once suspected petitioners are found, they're intercepted on the spot and put on buses. On October 19th, authorities even deployed six buses to forcibly take away some petitioners outside the petition bureau. Those not taken away could only continue queuing. Some queued for 26 hours to get a number to enter the petition bureau. More people simply slept on the ground, curled up on the roadside outside the bureau. That scene was described by some as like, refugees in wartime. Zhao Wei also mentioned she suspects someone deliberately created chaos at the scene. Some people in the queue incited everyone to push forward, causing a stampede, people crushing people, injuring people. That scene was too terrifying. I really thought I was going to be crushed to death. Zhao Wei says, We people sleeping on the roadside are like refugees. Isn't this the CCP's shame? They keep saying it's a civilized great power. But reality is like wartime. She says she came to Beijing last year too. And back then she could get a number in one day. Not this year. Too many people. Stricter rules. This government is too bad. Privileges are too rampant. People's homes are forcibly demolished. And coming to petition still leads to detention. Regarding the CCP's petition system, public opinions vary. Some say the system itself is a trap, convenient for authorities to centrally control dissidents. Others say, while petitions don't solve problems, at least they let the outside world see the pressure. Some are more direct. Only overthrowing tyranny will give the people a way to live. Petitioner Wu Li says, After Xi Jinping came to power, many petitioners were sentenced and imprisoned. Too cruel. This isn't stability maintenance. It's destroying humanity. Another petitioner, He Wei says bluntly, We must resist. The Communist Party fears the people's resistance most. China's petitioners use their feet and bodies to express the most silent protest. No one knows what their fate will be. But their existence itself is a reminder that this country still has too many ignored realities. The edges of Chinese society are being pushed toward the abyss, while on the other side, venues that once symbolized urban progress and entrepreneurial spirit are quietly withering. On October 20, a news item quietly swept through social media. China's largest computer market in the Northwest, Xi'an Saij Computer Mall, announced closure. No riots. No protests. Just a notice. A simple closing ceremony. And then the end of Xi'an Saij's 25 years of glory. If you're from the 80s or 90s, or if you've lived in China's big cities, you must know places like this. Computer malls. They were tech paradises for young people, starting points for entrepreneurs, where many working people first bought computers, assembled machines, and set up networks. And Xi'an Saij was the most dazzling one in the West. Opened in 2000, 18 floors, 60,000 square meters, over 1,000 merchants once occupied more than 60% of Xi'an's IT market sales. Some say it was a city's digital heart. According to old merchants' recollections, at its best, annual turnover could reach five to six million. Good profits. Downstairs crowded every day. Complete computers, hard drives, mice, headphones, heat sinks, full counters. Tech geeks and students haggled inside, assembling equipment. Some specialized in flashing systems, cracking games, a full underground entrepreneurial vibe. Saij wasn't just a market. It represented a generation's entry into business, a place to learn skills. But change started in 2009. That year, JD.com's 3C digital sales surged 210%. Then came Tmall, Pinduoduo, live streaming sales. Physical computer malls' foot traffic began to plummet sharply, while rents kept rising year after year. The former price advantage and technical service became disadvantages. Online is cheaper, more convenient, with home delivery. Who would run several kilometers to assemble a computer? According to statistics, nearly 60% of China's computer malls have closed in the past five years. Some say this isn't Saij's failure, but the end of an economic era. The retreat of physical markets isn't just in IT, but also in department stores, appliance streets, cultural supply markets. But what's most heartbreaking isn't just that it's closed. It's that the middle-class dreams and grassroots entrepreneurial spirit these places carried are locked behind iron doors. It's not just technological change. It's the disappearance of a whole generation of small merchants and tech people under industrial restructuring. From Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei to Xi'an's Saij, from east to west, empty counters, lifted carpets, closed rolling doors, all traces of the era passing. The once prosperous computer mall industry is facing unprecedented difficulties. On the day Xi'an's Saij closed, many people took photos and posted on social media. One sentence appeared full of melancholy. Our youth has lost another landmark. Computer malls are closing, and pharmacies can't hold on either. The foundations of people's livelihoods are falling one by one. Life's bottom line is getting harder to hold. Recently in Guangdong, a chain pharmacy with registered capital of 100 million yuan and 45 stores suddenly closed all doors. This pharmacy is called Lanshufeng Wellness Pharmacy. It's not a small shop. It's a big chain. Its fall isn't an isolated case but the beginning of a storm in the entire pharmaceutical retail industry. About 80% of pharmacies nationwide are in loss. Pharmaceutical retail is entering a full contraction period. According to official announcements, Lanshufeng's 45 stores all ceased operations and were deregistered. What it left behind is unpaid wages, hundreds of thousands in unpaid taxes, employees' helplessness, and customers' confusion. In September, Meizhou City's labor department issued announcements twice. Lanshufeng owed more than a dozen employees salary compensation, people gone, building empty, the pharmacy became a shell. And stories like this aren't just in Guangdong. Statistics show that in 2024, about 40,000 pharmacies nationwide closed. In 2025, another 50,000 to 100,000 may close. And China currently has about 640,000 pharmacies in total. This means a 20% reduction in three years. Not just Lanshufeng, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, many places' small pharmacies, community drug stores, chain outlets have quietly exited the market. Why are more and more pharmacies closing? Let's look at the reasons from several aspects. One is the rise of online platforms. Delivery platforms can deliver medicine to your door, even with medical insurance payment, squeezing physical stores' opportunities. Another is the collective procurement policy compressing margins. Drug prices are lowered. Physical stores' profits get smaller. Selling medicine becomes more loss-making. Then there's high rent and inventory pressure. Opening a pharmacy requires stocking a lot of goods, plus rent and labor. Cash flow can't keep up, only closure. Also, customer reduction. People are starting to budget carefully. Non-essential drugs not bought. Supplements and health products. Sales plummet sharply. Guangzhou's Mr. Chen says, Now, if you open a pharmacy without capital turnover or group backing, you basically can't survive. China's pharmacy density is extremely high. According to the China Pharmaceutical Business Association, there are 4.6 pharmacies per 1,000 people. Shanghai resident Mr. Liu says, Walk 500 meters and you can see a dozen pharmacies. And Guangdong's Ms. Lin says, Three pharmacies near our home. Already one closed. Too many pharmacies. Too thin profits. Declining consumption ability. These three factors—dai jia—are the impact facing the pharmacy industry. An unemployed pharmacy employee helplessly says, Now, many pharmacies to hold on don't sell medicine anymore. Switch to selling herbal tea, shampoo, even head scalp testing. Is this still a pharmacy? An industry analyst says directly, Pharmacies should return to health services, not become grocery stores. The impact of pharmacy closures isn't just the boss's business, but the entire community's medical convenience. The elderly, children, chronic patients—they need not lightning-fast delivery but familiar, trusted, anytime-walk-in community pharmacies. And now, these conveniences are rapidly disappearing. Industry observers predict, Future pharmaceutical retail will further concentrate. Large chains will eat small stores. Unmanned pharmacies may accelerate expansion. Online platforms continue to squeeze profits. And the ones truly losing voice are those who once opened shops to support families—familiar with communities, understanding patients, earning with their hands—the pharmacists. Therefore, this wave of pharmacy closures is heavier than you imagine. It's another alarm of China's economic weakness and declining private consumption. From Oct. 20 to 30, the CCP's top party leaders gathered at Beijing's Jingxi Hotel nominally to deliberate China's next five-year plan—the so-called 15th five-year plan. But the entire meeting is not open to the public. Full secrecy. The only voice you can hear is the party media's flattery. Xinhua News Agency issues editorials on one side and releases 10,000-word-long articles at midnight on the other, turning on the cheerleading mode. Claiming what 14th five-year plan achieved pioneering progress—historic achievements. Boldly saying China's economy is stable with progress, society long-term stable. Also saying continuing to create two miracles of economic development and social stability. But reality slaps Xinhua in the face. Compiled by Apollo Net, senior financial expert Xu Zhen gave a concise and direct summary of the 14th five-year plan—real The former economic locomotive extinguished. External demand—cliff-like drop. After U.S.-China trade war, exports plummet. Foreign trade leg also crippled. Consumption downgrade continues to worsen. People dare not spend. Dare not get sick. Dare not change jobs. The whole society enters a depressed state. Data is right in front. Third-quarter GDP year-on-year growth only 4.8 percent, the lowest of the year. Continuous 36 months of producer price index decline. Manufacturing fatigue. Consumer price index also slides again. Deflation pressure intensifies. Exports to the U.S. drop nearly 30 percent, the largest decline in recent years. With such reality, do you believe Xinhua's achievements? China issues expert Wang He points out the essence. The CCP's fourth plenary session theme isn't planning the future at all but handling internal struggles. Changing personnel. Stabilizing positions. Just three days before the meeting, the military dismissed nine generals at once, and all were promoted by Xi Jinping himself. What does this mean? Power, high-level internal fighting. Military factions unstable. Xi faction purge accelerates. Taiwanese scholar Wu Seji comments incisively. The fourth plenary session is full of killing and anxiety. The less ideas, the more they perform stability. The more powerless, the louder they shout victory. Xinhua claims China continues to create two miracles of economic development and social stability. But Wang He directly responds, these two miracles are simply lies. The economy is sliding. Society is turbulent. The CCP isn't solving problems but creating bigger ones. Society frequently sees indiscriminate harm incidents. Youth unemployment. Unfinished buildings. Local government bankruptcy. Stability maintenance costs surge. Is life around you stable or oppressed? What new ideas can the CCP's fourth plenary session's so-called 15th five-year plan have? Wang He thinks, now the CCP wants to plan everything but can't plan public sentiment, can't plan trust. Because the fundamental problem isn't in numbers, isn't in measures, but in the system itself. Xinhua says, handling China's affairs, the key is in the party. Xu Zhen responds sharply. That's right. The key is in the party. The key is to dismantle this party for any hope. Once the CCP's fourth plenary session ends, wall media will continue reporting what achievements, what deployments, what new atmosphere. But ordinary people know, this meeting solved no real problems. It's just a performance, performed for themselves, for the international community, and for the people. But the people have long known that these blown-up miracles can't block the cold of real life. The real problem isn't how to handle the next five years. But can we wait another five years?