華爾街日報中文版
習近平的領導風格：讓下屬無所適從的微觀管理
在位于北京的中国共产党历史博览馆的习近平照片。
图片来源：NOEL CELIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES今年早些时候，中国国家主席习近平在北京向教育部官员发出简短指示，希望对规模达1,000亿美元的民营教培行业进行改革。政府担心，该行业正帮助富裕家庭为其子女获得优势，同时给那些无力负担课外辅导的家庭制造焦虑。
据了解这项改革工作的人士称，随后，教育部官员起草了一份计划，其中包括对义务教育阶段学生的课外辅导实施新的限制。
据知情人士称，习近平在给教育部的简短批复中表示，这项计划力度太弱。
为了让习近平满意，教育部扩大了限制范围，把高中阶段的课外辅导也纳入其中。此外，该计划要求所有的民营教培公司转型，统一登记为非营利性机构。
中国政府在7月份发布了这项改革计划，这些较为极端的规定引发了对相关公司股票的恐慌性抛售，在美国和香港上市的中国教培公司市值蒸发了数百亿美元。据知情人士称，中国证券监督管理委员会（简称﹕中国证监会）的官员匆忙安排了与外国投资者的会议，安抚他们的情绪，并承诺未来推出新政策前，中国政府将考虑市场影响。
在巩固对中国这个全球第二大经济体的掌控的过程中，习近平的治理风格不断变化，上述事件只是例证之一。外界普遍认为习近平是数十年来中国最强势的领导人。习近平还是一位微观管理者，会干预大大小小的政策事务，经常出其不意，甚至有时让人捉摸不透。
中国政府内部人士称，这让各部门感到困惑，扼杀了政策讨论，有时还会导致对政策考虑得不周全。一些政府部门不确定要把习近平的优先事项推进到何种程度，宁可对政策作激进解读，这有时意味着之后会推翻政策。
一位官员表示，当忠诚度成为衡量干部的关键标准时，没人敢表示异议，即使习近平的指示含糊其辞，让人无所适从。
在公开场合，中国官员称颂习近平具有果决的领导力，他整顿科技、房地产等行业，以遏制他眼中西式资本主义色彩过浓的现象。他已号召更加注重"共同富裕"，这涉及到减少不平等，并让中国向其共产主义本源回归，一个办法是赋能弱势群体，成本由一些赚钱能力非常强的民营企业承担。
在幕后，不少官员对习近平的一些决定提出质疑。
今年7月下旬，在新增新冠病例数几乎清零数月后，一轮疫情造成逾1,200人感染。据一位了解相关讨论内容的人士透露，中央政府的一些官员参考其他国家的情况，提出建议称，中国或许是时候抛开"动态清零"策略、学着与病毒共存了。
位于北京的一家咖啡馆外的顾客。
图片来源：KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES知情人士称，习近平当时很生气。据这些人士的说法和官方媒体的报道，习近平曾在作出指示时问及，疫情防控过程中，官员们的思想是否正变得松懈麻痹。"动态清零"政策没有动摇。
地方官员加大了防疫力度。10月下旬，在一名游客核酸检测呈阳性后，当地官员要求上海迪士尼乐园(Shanghai Disneyland)的30,000多名游客必须进行新冠核酸检测方可离园。在中国一个大型集装箱港口发现一例新冠病例后，政府有关部门下令暂时关闭该港口，对全球供应链造成了不利影响。
中国第三季度经济增长率从前一季度的7.9%放缓至4.9%。经济学家表示，中国的零容忍防疫政策措施，包括封锁居民区和取消公共活动，如果不能很快阻断新冠病毒传播，可能会严重影响经济增长。
据多家网站援引的讲话内容，一些地方政府官员已警告防疫措施不要过度。不过官员们仍在加紧防疫工作，担心如果其所在地区出现确诊病例，可能会受到惩罚。
通过整治腐败和任命新的官员，习近平重塑了可追溯至20世纪80年代邓小平时期的治理体系，这让他更容易进行微观管理。邓小平的治理体系下，最高领导人以集体领导的方式进行统治。
胡锦涛是这种治理体系的典型代表，他与其他领导人集体决策，经常因优柔寡断的风格而受到批评。胡锦涛和其他中国领导人以往也有过把重大政策的细节托付给下属机构的行为，这种策略在中国被称为"抓大放小"。
相比之下，习近平对自己关心的问题会亲力亲为，并经常进行干预斡旋。他亲自执掌至少七个负责经济和国家安全等领域的委员会，一些中国官员和外国学者由此称他为"万能主席"(chairman of everything)。中国经济领域过去由国务院总理管理。
正如《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)此前报道，去年年末习近平亲自叫停了金融科技巨头蚂蚁集团(Ant Group Co.)的首次公开募股(IPO)。
据中国外交部称，习近平亲自批准了一项与美国政府的协议，以确保华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies Co.)首席财务官孟晚舟在加拿大被软禁近三年后安全回国。
习近平曾亲自拍板决定调查一些商界精英，比如安邦保险创始人吴小晖。吴小晖因犯有欺诈和滥用职权罪被判处18年监禁。
图片来源：THOMAS PETER/REUTERS习近平亲自设计五年经济规划，并亲自修订包括打击野生动物非法贸易等条款的细节。据官媒报道，习近平亲自设计了新经济区的规划，其中包括将香港与其邻近的内地城市更紧密联系在一起的"大湾区"。
习近平对很多微观问题都作出过批示。据官媒报道，习近平至少对陕西省一个自然保护区的生态保护先后六次作出批示，就浙江省一个湖泊的保护多次作出指示。据官媒报道，他曾就改善公厕问题作出指示。
据知情人士透露，对副部级及以上官员的任何惩处都需经习近平、而不是最高纪检机构确认。自2012年习近平上台以来，已有200多名副部级及以上官员受到惩处。
为了确保所安排的官员与自己立场一致，习近平在2018年开始实行一项针对政治局常委们的表现评估机制，在这套机制中，除了其他评估指标，还对领导者的忠诚度进行评分。
据知情人士称，习近平曾亲自拍板决定调查一些商界精英，比如安邦保险集团股份有限公司(Anbang Insurance Group Co.)创始人吴小晖。吴小晖因犯有欺诈和滥用职权罪被判处18年监禁。
考虑到习近平在许多政策中亲力亲为，各部委官员想出了一些富有创意的方法来吸引他的注意力。据知情人士说，一些官员提交了幻灯片或音频报告，让习近平可以不用花精力阅读，或可以在处理多项任务的间隙消化此类报告。
2017年，北京市政府启动了一项清理贫困社区的工作，以推进城市现代化发展。据知情人士说，之所以有这样的行动，是因为习近平不喜欢看到北京的土地面积变得如此之大，而污染却那样严重。习近平的大部分童年时光是在北京度过的。
2017年11月，居民们在收到拆迁通知后离开了他们在北京郊区的家。政府在短时间内下令拆除房屋，引起了公众的反感。
图片来源：FRED DUFOUR/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES在一些房屋拆除之前，只提前了几个小时通知住户。为了方便清理行动，官方切断了一些外来务工人员住所的供暖。
不过，这场行动引发了公众的反感，社交媒体上流传着被赶出住处的务工人员拖着行李在寒冷的街上行走的照片，随后该行动悄然停止。
据官方媒体报道，习近平后来亲自谋划、决策、部署和推动河北雄安新区发展，并敦促国有企业搬到那里。雄安距北京约60英里（约合100公里），是一座新的生态城市。虽然雄安已获得数以十亿美元计投资，但暂时仍无法与深圳等邓小平时代的经济特区的快速成功相提并论。
为遵守今年新出台的课外辅导监管规定，教培企业裁掉了包括教师在内的数万名员工。鉴于该行业受到的影响，官员们一直按照最初的提议，执行只面向义务教育阶段学生的课外辅导新规。
在去年的联合国大会(United Nations General Assembly)上，习近平承诺中国力争2030年前实现碳达峰，2060年前实现碳中和。
一些地方政府开始更加积极地逐步淘汰煤炭开采，导致煤价飙升，并且还在今年夏季突然要求一些工厂暂时停工。
在习近平承诺遏制碳排放后，地方官员逐步淘汰煤炭业务。图为运城一家焦化厂的工人。
图片来源：WILLIAM HONG/REUTERS工厂停工和电力中断冲击了全球供应链。社交媒体上，汽车行驶在无照明道路上、居民被困停运电梯的画面随处可见。
据知情人士透露，9月份召开紧急会议后，习近平转而认为应该出台更多鼓励煤炭生产的措施。随后，地方政府调整方向，开始全力以赴增产煤炭。
对于中央整顿房地产行业的行动，有关部门已开始立场动摇，尽管程度较轻。习近平再三强调"房子是用来住的，不是用来炒的"之后，监管机构今年收紧了对开发商的限制，加大了开发商举债建设新项目的难度。
这些限制令开发商陷入流动性危机，包括那些资产负债表较健康的开发商，在与政府的私下会议上，一些开发商提出了反对意见。此后，一些地方政府降低了购房者获得房贷的难度，并放松了土地出售的相关规定，不过房住不炒的主基调不变。
香港商界领袖最近得知，习近平批准了一项新的法律，根据该法，如果发现他们遵守美国对中国企业的制裁规定，将会切断他们与西方国家的金融联系。
一些商界领袖找到香港当地官员寻求帮助，以阻止这项法律，他们担心该法律会促使跨国公司撤离香港。香港行政长官林郑月娥(Carrie Lam)已公开表示支持该法律。知情人士称，当地官员不敢挑战习近平所做的决定。
以香港前行政长官董建华为首的一群商人决定绕过香港政府。知情人士透露，董建华起草了一封直接给习近平的信，建议推迟该法。现年80多岁的董建华通过一位发言人表示不予置评。
在习近平作出新的指示后，中国政府推迟了上述计划，决定继续研究这个问题。知情人士称，习近平同意，这项法律可能会动摇投资者信心。由于中国出手整顿教培、科技等行业，投资者的信心已经减弱。
习近平有时似乎对微观管理中国越来越感到厌倦。
习近平1月份在对中共最高纪律检查机构官员的一次讲话中表示，有些人只有得到党中央领导的书面命令才会动起来。这番讲话最近才公开。他抱怨称，很多官员没有能力处理复杂的问题，并称他如果不发布这么多指示，他们就不作为。
习近平说："我做批示是守住最后一道防线，难道我不作批示工作就不干了吗？！"
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習近平的領導風格：讓下屬無所適從的微觀管理
習近平的治理風格不斷變化，他會乾預大大小小的政策事務。有時他發出的指示讓人捉摸不透，一些政府部門則寧可對政策作激進解讀。
在位于北京的中国共产党历史博览馆的习近平照片。
图片来源：NOEL CELIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES今年早些时候，中国国家主席习近平在北京向教育部官员发出简短指示，希望对规模达1,000亿美元的民营教培行业进行改革。政府担心，该行业正帮助富裕家庭为其子女获得优势，同时给那些无力负担课外辅导的家庭制造焦虑。
据了解这项改革工作的人士称，随后，教育部官员起草了一份计划，其中包括对义务教育阶段学生的课外辅导实施新的限制。
据知情人士称，习近平在给教育部的简短批复中表示，这项计划力度太弱。
为了让习近平满意，教育部扩大了限制范围，把高中阶段的课外辅导也纳入其中。此外，该计划要求所有的民营教培公司转型，统一登记为非营利性机构。
中国政府在7月份发布了这项改革计划，这些较为极端的规定引发了对相关公司股票的恐慌性抛售，在美国和香港上市的中国教培公司市值蒸发了数百亿美元。据知情人士称，中国证券监督管理委员会（简称﹕中国证监会）的官员匆忙安排了与外国投资者的会议，安抚他们的情绪，并承诺未来推出新政策前，中国政府将考虑市场影响。
在巩固对中国这个全球第二大经济体的掌控的过程中，习近平的治理风格不断变化，上述事件只是例证之一。外界普遍认为习近平是数十年来中国最强势的领导人。习近平还是一位微观管理者，会干预大大小小的政策事务，经常出其不意，甚至有时让人捉摸不透。
中国政府内部人士称，这让各部门感到困惑，扼杀了政策讨论，有时还会导致对政策考虑得不周全。一些政府部门不确定要把习近平的优先事项推进到何种程度，宁可对政策作激进解读，这有时意味着之后会推翻政策。
一位官员表示，当忠诚度成为衡量干部的关键标准时，没人敢表示异议，即使习近平的指示含糊其辞，让人无所适从。
在公开场合，中国官员称颂习近平具有果决的领导力，他整顿科技、房地产等行业，以遏制他眼中西式资本主义色彩过浓的现象。他已号召更加注重"共同富裕"，这涉及到减少不平等，并让中国向其共产主义本源回归，一个办法是赋能弱势群体，成本由一些赚钱能力非常强的民营企业承担。
在幕后，不少官员对习近平的一些决定提出质疑。
今年7月下旬，在新增新冠病例数几乎清零数月后，一轮疫情造成逾1,200人感染。据一位了解相关讨论内容的人士透露，中央政府的一些官员参考其他国家的情况，提出建议称，中国或许是时候抛开"动态清零"策略、学着与病毒共存了。
位于北京的一家咖啡馆外的顾客。
图片来源：KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES知情人士称，习近平当时很生气。据这些人士的说法和官方媒体的报道，习近平曾在作出指示时问及，疫情防控过程中，官员们的思想是否正变得松懈麻痹。"动态清零"政策没有动摇。
地方官员加大了防疫力度。10月下旬，在一名游客核酸检测呈阳性后，当地官员要求上海迪士尼乐园(Shanghai Disneyland)的30,000多名游客必须进行新冠核酸检测方可离园。在中国一个大型集装箱港口发现一例新冠病例后，政府有关部门下令暂时关闭该港口，对全球供应链造成了不利影响。
中国第三季度经济增长率从前一季度的7.9%放缓至4.9%。经济学家表示，中国的零容忍防疫政策措施，包括封锁居民区和取消公共活动，如果不能很快阻断新冠病毒传播，可能会严重影响经济增长。
据多家网站援引的讲话内容，一些地方政府官员已警告防疫措施不要过度。不过官员们仍在加紧防疫工作，担心如果其所在地区出现确诊病例，可能会受到惩罚。
通过整治腐败和任命新的官员，习近平重塑了可追溯至20世纪80年代邓小平时期的治理体系，这让他更容易进行微观管理。邓小平的治理体系下，最高领导人以集体领导的方式进行统治。
胡锦涛是这种治理体系的典型代表，他与其他领导人集体决策，经常因优柔寡断的风格而受到批评。胡锦涛和其他中国领导人以往也有过把重大政策的细节托付给下属机构的行为，这种策略在中国被称为"抓大放小"。
相比之下，习近平对自己关心的问题会亲力亲为，并经常进行干预斡旋。他亲自执掌至少七个负责经济和国家安全等领域的委员会，一些中国官员和外国学者由此称他为"万能主席"(chairman of everything)。中国经济领域过去由国务院总理管理。
正如《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)此前报道，去年年末习近平亲自叫停了金融科技巨头蚂蚁集团(Ant Group Co.)的首次公开募股(IPO)。
据中国外交部称，习近平亲自批准了一项与美国政府的协议，以确保华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies Co.)首席财务官孟晚舟在加拿大被软禁近三年后安全回国。
习近平曾亲自拍板决定调查一些商界精英，比如安邦保险创始人吴小晖。吴小晖因犯有欺诈和滥用职权罪被判处18年监禁。
图片来源：THOMAS PETER/REUTERS习近平亲自设计五年经济规划，并亲自修订包括打击野生动物非法贸易等条款的细节。据官媒报道，习近平亲自设计了新经济区的规划，其中包括将香港与其邻近的内地城市更紧密联系在一起的"大湾区"。
习近平对很多微观问题都作出过批示。据官媒报道，习近平至少对陕西省一个自然保护区的生态保护先后六次作出批示，就浙江省一个湖泊的保护多次作出指示。据官媒报道，他曾就改善公厕问题作出指示。
据知情人士透露，对副部级及以上官员的任何惩处都需经习近平、而不是最高纪检机构确认。自2012年习近平上台以来，已有200多名副部级及以上官员受到惩处。
为了确保所安排的官员与自己立场一致，习近平在2018年开始实行一项针对政治局常委们的表现评估机制，在这套机制中，除了其他评估指标，还对领导者的忠诚度进行评分。
据知情人士称，习近平曾亲自拍板决定调查一些商界精英，比如安邦保险集团股份有限公司(Anbang Insurance Group Co.)创始人吴小晖。吴小晖因犯有欺诈和滥用职权罪被判处18年监禁。
考虑到习近平在许多政策中亲力亲为，各部委官员想出了一些富有创意的方法来吸引他的注意力。据知情人士说，一些官员提交了幻灯片或音频报告，让习近平可以不用花精力阅读，或可以在处理多项任务的间隙消化此类报告。
2017年，北京市政府启动了一项清理贫困社区的工作，以推进城市现代化发展。据知情人士说，之所以有这样的行动，是因为习近平不喜欢看到北京的土地面积变得如此之大，而污染却那样严重。习近平的大部分童年时光是在北京度过的。
2017年11月，居民们在收到拆迁通知后离开了他们在北京郊区的家。政府在短时间内下令拆除房屋，引起了公众的反感。
图片来源：FRED DUFOUR/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES在一些房屋拆除之前，只提前了几个小时通知住户。为了方便清理行动，官方切断了一些外来务工人员住所的供暖。
不过，这场行动引发了公众的反感，社交媒体上流传着被赶出住处的务工人员拖着行李在寒冷的街上行走的照片，随后该行动悄然停止。
据官方媒体报道，习近平后来亲自谋划、决策、部署和推动河北雄安新区发展，并敦促国有企业搬到那里。雄安距北京约60英里（约合100公里），是一座新的生态城市。虽然雄安已获得数以十亿美元计投资，但暂时仍无法与深圳等邓小平时代的经济特区的快速成功相提并论。
为遵守今年新出台的课外辅导监管规定，教培企业裁掉了包括教师在内的数万名员工。鉴于该行业受到的影响，官员们一直按照最初的提议，执行只面向义务教育阶段学生的课外辅导新规。
在去年的联合国大会(United Nations General Assembly)上，习近平承诺中国力争2030年前实现碳达峰，2060年前实现碳中和。
一些地方政府开始更加积极地逐步淘汰煤炭开采，导致煤价飙升，并且还在今年夏季突然要求一些工厂暂时停工。
在习近平承诺遏制碳排放后，地方官员逐步淘汰煤炭业务。图为运城一家焦化厂的工人。
图片来源：WILLIAM HONG/REUTERS工厂停工和电力中断冲击了全球供应链。社交媒体上，汽车行驶在无照明道路上、居民被困停运电梯的画面随处可见。
据知情人士透露，9月份召开紧急会议后，习近平转而认为应该出台更多鼓励煤炭生产的措施。随后，地方政府调整方向，开始全力以赴增产煤炭。
对于中央整顿房地产行业的行动，有关部门已开始立场动摇，尽管程度较轻。习近平再三强调"房子是用来住的，不是用来炒的"之后，监管机构今年收紧了对开发商的限制，加大了开发商举债建设新项目的难度。
这些限制令开发商陷入流动性危机，包括那些资产负债表较健康的开发商，在与政府的私下会议上，一些开发商提出了反对意见。此后，一些地方政府降低了购房者获得房贷的难度，并放松了土地出售的相关规定，不过房住不炒的主基调不变。
香港商界领袖最近得知，习近平批准了一项新的法律，根据该法，如果发现他们遵守美国对中国企业的制裁规定，将会切断他们与西方国家的金融联系。
一些商界领袖找到香港当地官员寻求帮助，以阻止这项法律，他们担心该法律会促使跨国公司撤离香港。香港行政长官林郑月娥(Carrie Lam)已公开表示支持该法律。知情人士称，当地官员不敢挑战习近平所做的决定。
以香港前行政长官董建华为首的一群商人决定绕过香港政府。知情人士透露，董建华起草了一封直接给习近平的信，建议推迟该法。现年80多岁的董建华通过一位发言人表示不予置评。
在习近平作出新的指示后，中国政府推迟了上述计划，决定继续研究这个问题。知情人士称，习近平同意，这项法律可能会动摇投资者信心。由于中国出手整顿教培、科技等行业，投资者的信心已经减弱。
习近平有时似乎对微观管理中国越来越感到厌倦。
习近平1月份在对中共最高纪律检查机构官员的一次讲话中表示，有些人只有得到党中央领导的书面命令才会动起来。这番讲话最近才公开。他抱怨称，很多官员没有能力处理复杂的问题，并称他如果不发布这么多指示，他们就不作为。
习近平说："我做批示是守住最后一道防线，难道我不批示工作就不干了吗？！"
Xi Jinping's Leadership Style: Micromanagement That Leaves Underlings Scrambling
Chinese president delves into the details of policy and sometimes issues cryptic instructions that officials go overboard trying to carry out
Earlier this year, Xi Jinping issued brief instructions to education officials in Beijing. China's leader wanted to reform the country's $100 billion private tutoring industry, which the state worried was helping well-to-do families gain advantages for their offspring and creating anxiety among families that couldn't afford the help.
Education officials drafted a plan that included new limits on tutoring for children up to the equivalent of ninth grade, said people familiar with the effort.
The plan was too soft, Mr. Xi said, in a one-sentence note to the education ministry, according to the people.
Scrambling to please him, the ministry expanded the limits to include students up to the equivalent of 12th grade. In addition, it required all private education companies to re-register as nonprofits.
The more extreme rules, issued in July, triggered panic selling that erased tens of billions of dollars from the value of education companies listed on U.S. and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Officials from the China Securities Regulatory Commission hastily scheduled meetings with foreign investors to calm them down, according to people familiar with the conversations, and promised that Beijing would consider market impact before introducing future policies.
The episode is just one example of Mr. Xi's evolving management style as the Chinese president consolidates control of the world's second-largest economy. He is widely considered the most powerful Chinese leader in a generation. He is also a micromanager who intervenes often, unpredictably and sometimes vaguely in policy matters big and small.
People inside the government say that sows confusion among bureaucrats, stifles policy debate and sometimes leads to policies that aren't carefully thought-out. Some bureaucrats, unsure how far to push Mr. Xi's priorities, err on the side of aggressive interpretation, and this sometimes means reversing policies later.
"When loyalty is the critical measure for officials, no one dares to say anything, even if the instructions from the great leader are vague and confusing about what to do," one official said.
Publicly, Chinese officials credit Mr. Xi with providing decisive leadership as he cracks down on technology, real estate and other industries to rein in what he sees as excesses of Western-style capitalism. He has called for more focus on "common prosperity," which involves reducing inequality and returning China to its Communist roots by empowering the disadvantaged at the expense of highly profitable private companies.
Behind the scenes, many officials question some of Mr. Xi's decisions.
In late July, a Covid-19 outbreak caused more than 1,200 infections after months of nearly zero reported cases. Some central government officials, eyeing other countries, suggested it might be time for China to stop its strategy of pursuing "zero Covid" and learn to live with the virus, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Customers outside a neighborhood cafe in Beijing.
Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesMr. Xi was furious, said people familiar with the issue. In a note to underlings, he asked if officials were becoming "lax and numbed" in fighting the virus, according to these people and to state media reports. "Zero Covid" would remain the policy.
Local officials intensified their efforts. In late October, they locked more than 30,000 visitors into Shanghai Disneyland and forced them to undergo Covid-19 tests after one customer tested positive. Authorities temporarily shut one of China's biggest container ports after a single case, hurting global supply chains.
China's economic growth slowed to 4.9% in the third quarter from the previous quarter's 7.9% rate. Economists have said China's zero-tolerance pandemic measures, including lockdowns of residential compounds and cancellations of public events, are likely to have a significant impact on China's growth if they don't succeed in snuffing out the virus soon.
Some local government officials have warned against "excessive pandemic prevention" measures, according to speeches quoted on websites. Yet officials keep pressing, fearful they might be punished if a Covid-19 case emerged in their area.
Mr. Xi's micromanaging became easier after he used corruption purges and new appointments to re-engineer a governance system, dating back to Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, through which top leaders ruled by consensus.
The classic creature of that system, Hu Jintao, made decisions collectively with other leaders and was often criticized for a dithering style. He and other Chinese leaders also had a history of trusting details of major policies to underlings, a strategy known in Chinese as "grasp the big, let go of the small."
Mr. Xi, by contrast, takes personal charge of issues he cares about and intercedes often. He personally chairs at least seven committees and commissions responsible for areas such as the economy, which used to be managed by China's premier, and national security, leading some Chinese officials and foreign academics to describe him as "chairman of everything."
Mr. Xi personally made the decision, as reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, to cancel fintech giant Ant Group's initial public offering in late 2020.
He personally approved a deal with Washington to ensure the safe return of Huawei Technologies Co. finance chief Meng Wanzhou after nearly three years of detention in Canada, according to China's foreign ministry.
Mr. Xi has signed off on decisions to investigate businesspeople such as insurance magnate Wu Xiaohui, who was sentenced in 2018 to 18 years in prison for fraud and abuse of power.
Photo: thomas peter/ReutersA five-year economic blueprint that Mr. Xi personally oversaw included details such as a provision to crack down on illegal trade in wild animals. He personally designed plans for new economic zones, including a "Greater Bay Area" linking Hong Kong more closely with neighboring mainland cities, according to state media.
Few details are too small. According to state media, he gave at least six instructions on ecological preservation in a Shaanxi province nature reserve and multiple instructions on protection of a lake in Zhejiang province. He has given instructions on improving public toilets, state media reported.
Any punishments against officials at the vice minister level or above require Mr. Xi's signoff, rather than that of top authorities in charge of discipline, people familiar with the matter say. More than 200 officials at the vice minister level and above have been punished since Mr. Xi took power in 2012.
To ensure that officials Mr. Xi has installed stay in line, he started a performance-review system in 2018 that grades leaders on loyalty, on top of other metrics.
Mr. Xi has personally signed off on decisions to investigate senior businesspeople such as Anbang Insurance Group Co. founder Wu Xiaohui, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of fraud and abuse of power, people familiar with the matter said.
Given how many policies Mr. Xi involves himself in, ministerial officials have come up with creative ways to get his attention. Some submit slides or audio reports so that Mr. Xi can take a break from reading or absorb them while multitasking, people familiar with the matter said.
In 2017, Beijing's municipal government launched an effort to clear out poor neighborhoods to help modernize the city. People familiar with the campaign say it started because Mr. Xi didn't like how Beijing, where he spent most of his childhood, had grown so big and polluted.
Residents left their homes on the outskirts of Beijing in November 2017 after receiving eviction notices. The government ordered homes demolished on short notice, resulting in a public backlash.
Photo: fred dufour/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesSome residents were given only a few hours' notice before their homes were demolished. To facilitate the move, officials cut off heating in some buildings occupied by migrant workers.
The campaign was quietly discontinued, though, after it triggered a public backlash, with images on social media of expelled workers dragging their belongings along wintry streets.
Mr. Xi later "personally planned, personally proposed, personally deployed and promoted" the development of Xiongan, a new "eco-city," out of farmland about 60 miles from Beijing, according to state media, and urged state firms to move there. Despite billions of dollars of investment, it hasn't matched the quick success of Deng-era special economic zones such as Shenzhen.
To comply with the new regulatory regime for after-school tutoring this year, education companies have laid off tens of thousands of employees, including teachers. Given the impact on the industry, officials have been enforcing the rules on tutoring for children only up to the equivalent of ninth grade—as originally proposed.
At last year's United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Xi promised that China's carbon emissions would peak around 2030 and reach net zero before 2060.
Some local officials began more aggressively phasing out coal-mining operations, causing coal prices to surge, and abruptly ordered some factories to close temporarily this past summer.
Local officials phased out coal operations after Mr. Xi promised to curb carbon emissions. Above, a worker at a coking plant in Yuncheng, China.
Photo: William Hong/REUTERSThe factory shutdowns and electrical-power cuts hit global supply chains. Social media lit up with images of cars driving on dark roads and families trapped in stopped elevators.
After emergency meetings in September, Mr. Xi came down on the side of steps that would encourage more coal production, according to people familiar with the matter. Reversing course, local officials began pulling out the stops to produce more coal.
Authorities have started to waver, though to a lesser degree, on Beijing's crackdown on the real-estate industry. After repeated exhortations by Mr. Xi that "housing is for living, not speculation," regulators tightened the screws on developers this year, making it harder for them to borrow for new construction.
The restrictions triggered a liquidity crisis for developers, including ones with healthier balance sheets, and in private meetings with the government, some pushed back. Some local governments have since made it easier for home buyers to get mortgages and relaxed rules for land sales, though the overall thrust of the campaign remains in place.
Hong Kong business leaders recently got word that Mr. Xi had agreed on a new law that would cut them off from Western finance if they were caught complying with U.S. sanctions against Chinese firms.
Some of the business leaders approached local officials seeking help in halting the law, which they feared would drive multinational companies to leave. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam had already publicly expressed support. Local officials were afraid to challenge Mr. Xi, people familiar with the matter said.
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A group of businesspeople, led by Hong Kong's former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, decided to bypass the local government. Mr. Tung, now in his 80s, drafted a letter directly to Mr. Xi and suggested putting off the law, people familiar with the matter said. Through a spokesperson, Mr. Tung declined to comment.
Beijing delayed the plans and decided to continue studying the issue after new instructions from Mr. Xi, who the people said agreed the legislation could shake investor confidence, which has fallen because of China's regulatory crackdowns on education, technology and other sectors.
Mr. Xi sometimes appears to be growing weary of micromanaging China.
"Some only act when the party's central leadership has instructed them to do so," Mr. Xi said in a speech to the party's top disciplinary officials last January, made public only recently. He complained that many officials aren't competent to deal with complicated issues, and that if he didn't issue so many instructions, little would get done.
"I issue instructions as a last line of defense," he said.
Write to Josh Chin at josh.chin@wsj.com
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Appeared in the December 16, 2021, print edition as 'Xi Jinping's Style: Micromanagement.'
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