Regulators in the most polluted provinces are ordering mass closures of offending enterprises.
At a time of civil-service cuts and closures of state enterprises, these people are not eager to spend with abandon.China's GDP growth figures may look strong, but they are not matched by a corresponding sense of well-being and security among ordinary citizens.
The closure of state-run enterprises and the dissolution of the military exacerbated the situation.
And Mr Hu has devoted considerable effort (and the party considerable funds) to rebuilding the party's grassroots organisation, which was dealt a body-blow by the closure of state-owned enterprises and the rapid growth of the private sector.
Local "warlordism" is a challenge to the central leaders, albeit not on the scale of earlier this century.Follow the moneyThe costs of delaying meaningful reform (ie, in most cases, closure) of the state enterprises are being met today in China's banking system.
The reforms, which included the creation of bankruptcy and privatization programs, were controversial because they frequently led to the closure of state-run industrial enterprises.
In China earlier this year, a group of them held representatives of an American multinational hostage for 40 hours to protest against the closure of a state-owned enterprise.
In January 2015, following the closure of the 12 Bar Club and clearance of Enterprise Studios on Denmark Place, a group of musicians and supporters squatted in the club's premises and staged a demonstration in the street, protesting against redevelopment.
"Beware of enterprises that require new clothes"?
A motley assortment of enterprises reopened.
In the case of enterprise closures, massive suffering (and not a little protest) was involved as millions were left unemployed.Pro-democracy unrest in the late 1980s played a far bigger role in turning China capitalist than either officials, or admirers of China's supposed gradualist approach, suggest.
