The second time we met was in the winter of 2018—again in Beijing, in a conference room in some building in the Financial Street.

A certain official was swearing off color, scolding the chief economists of a number of financial institutions in attendance. He called out Gao Shanwen by name: “The leadership is being lenient with you. They’ve instructed us to strengthen guidance for your remarks in the regulatory departments…”

From that point on, all economists’ statements and market views had to be incorporated into “guidance.”

I remember that afternoon: outside the window, the sky was overcast and gloomy, and inside the room the atmosphere was likewise bleak. The event was called a chief economist roundtable, and at the scene there was only one person who was “speaking”; everyone else sat in silence, afraid to say a word.