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.

Clicking the follow button generated a message saying “this account cannot be followed due to its violation of rules” and it did not appear when the name was searched for.

New rules aimed at curbing unapproved financial marketing have driven numerous financial influencers offline.

However, it was unclear why Ren’s social media account had been restricted.

A member of his team said that due to “technical adjustments” by the platform, some content on their channel did not meet the eligibility requirements under “new regulations” and this had “resulted in a 15-day suspension of posting”.

They added that the team was working to make the necessary changes.

The account was still publishing posts on Friday, including one note arguing that China’s stock market had “basically bottomed out” and a rebound was “unfolding”.

It also published a report on China’s demographics, where Ren urged the authorities to “fully” lift all restrictions on family sizes to encourage people to have more children. It also advertised a forum Ren was due to attend in Shenzhen on Saturday and a speaking engagement in December.

Ren’s official account on Weibo, another major Chinese social media platform, remained open to new followers.

The rules said that only financial institutions and third-party internet platforms may conduct online marketing for financial products.

All other entities and individuals are forbidden from doing so, “including in any disguised form”.

Over the past three weeks, they have prompted an intensive regulatory crackdown, with numerous financial influencers’ accounts disappearing or being permanently banned.

Ren previously worked at the Development Research Centre of the State Council, China’s cabinet.

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He later served as managing director of the research institute at Guotai Junan Securities before becoming chief economist at China Evergrande Group, where he reportedly earned an annual salary of 15 million yuan (US$2.3 million) that made him the country’s best-paid strategist.

He has also worked for Soochow Securities and Zhongyuan Bank and set up Zeping Hongguan, a popular financial commentary and research platform, that offers investment advice.

However, his career has repeatedly been dogged by controversy and he has faced criticism for making market forecasts that proved to be incorrect.

Months after he left Evergrande in March 2021, the property developer’s debt crisis erupted, prompting questions over the advice he had given the company.

It is not the first time one of his social media accounts has been subject to restrictions.

Ren’s Weibo account was briefly muted in 2022 after his article calling on China to print an extra 2 trillion yuan to boost childbirth sparked fierce debate.