Leading Chinese economic commentator Ren Zeping’s social media account restricted
A prominent Chinese economist’s social media channel has been restricted as Beijing steps up regulatory scrutiny of financial market influencers. Chinese internet users on Saturday noticed that the WeChat account of Ren Zeping, known for his outspoken comments on investments and policies, had been stopped from gaining new followers and a member of his team said posting had been suspended.…
Ren Zeping, a well-known Chinese economist, recently had his social media account restricted due to Beijing's increased regulatory scrutiny of financial market influencers. His WeChat channel, often used to share his outspoken opinions on investments and policies, was unable to gain new followers and was suspended from posting for 15 days. Clicking the follow button generated an error message stating that the account could not be followed due to violation of rules. The account also disappeared from searches.
Numerous financial influencers have been affected by recent regulations aimed at curbing unapproved financial marketing. The restrictions, introduced at the end of last month, prohibit all entities and individuals, except financial institutions and third-party internet platforms, from engaging in online marketing for financial products.
Ren, who previously worked at the Development Research Centre of the State Council and served as chief economist at China Evergrande Group, has faced controversy and criticism for his market forecasts in the past. Despite this, his official Weibo account, where he continued to publish posts, remained unaffected.
Written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
