China’s ‘secret’ civil servant pay hike: What’s behind it?
While China’s civil servants recently got a salary hike, it seems that the only way for people to talk about it is in code. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong looks at the shroud of secrecy over the move.
As 2024 ended and China looked towards the uncertainties of 2025, whispers of a “pay rise for civil servants” circulated widely on Chinese social media, causing a ripple of excitement among civil servants working in government and public institutions.
The topic of Chinese civil service salary is perennially discussed on social media. In mid-2024, there were already claims online that a pay rise for civil servants was imminent. However, this was just on the grapevine, with no official confirmation or reports from authoritative Chinese media, leaving people unable to determine whether the claims were true or just a gimmick by online writers to draw attention.
Rumours confirmed
This latest wave of rumours about a pay rise for civil servants seemed to be gaining traction, which suggested it could be more than just hearsay. In an article published on 31 December 2024, Bloomberg cited unnamed insiders who stated that to boost morale and spur spending, China would be granting “their first significant pay rise in years” to civil servants, teachers, police officers and other bureaucrats.
The report revealed that the basic salary for many government officials would increase by no less than 500 RMB (US$68.50), with the specific amount raised in accordance with the level of basic salary, at around 5%. Furthermore, this rise would be backdated to July 2023, with half a year’s worth of wage increase given as back pay. A police officer in southwest China confirmed receiving an additional 3,500 RMB in his December payslip which was marked as “back pay”.
Most Chinese internet users would not have access to Bloomberg, but they have ways to verify information among themselves and let the news spread quickly — camaraderie between netizens is their greatest support. In semi-public social media communities, users were eagerly asking about whether the pay rise would apply to their own provinces and cities: “Is Guangdong included in the pay rise?”
“Any word from Henan?”
...the government’s secrecy over the pay rise for civil servants and the hushed discussions among netizens is puzzling.
“Is Hubei included?”
Coded discussions
When someone cautiously reminded others that “aren’t we disallowed to disclose the pay rise”, everyone quickly caught on and used a common code word to exchange information, leaving cryptic messages such as “How’s Yu R?”
“Has Wan N received it?”
“XX public institution received a notice last night…”
This question and answer format used province abbreviations and city vehicle registration letters for each area to hint at whether a city had received a pay rise. From the information shared, it appeared that, in addition to civil servants, teachers, doctors, retirees and so forth were also included in the pay rise.
A friend of mine, a Chinese civil servant, confirmed that he did indeed receive a pay rise, and was given back pay for half a year. He commented that it felt like a much needed reprieve, allowing him to buy more goods for the new year. By the look of things, it seemed like only a matter of time before civil servants across different areas would receive their new payslips. In fact, the current dire economic situation and the risk of deflation delineated the urgency for the people to increase their income; in light of this, the government’s secrecy over the pay rise for civil servants and the hushed discussions among netizens is puzzling.
The outside world can only speculate that it may be because the authorities are worried that solely increasing the salaries of public sector employees might trigger a public backlash and accusations of unfairness.
There is a vast disparity in income among China’s civil servants. While powerful officials may have numerous sources of “grey income”, mid- to lower-level civil servants or those working in less developed regions still rely on their salaries to improve their standard of living. According to the directive on adjusting the basic salary of government staff issued by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance in 2015, basic salaries should be adjusted every two years.
Why so secretive?
Civil servants and public institution employees in China received three salary adjustments in 2015, 2018 and 2021. The average actual increase was around 300 RMB per person, a figure publicly disclosed by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in 2021. It has been three to four years since 2021; if not for the pandemic, this round of wage hikes should have been implemented much earlier.
So, why the secrecy surrounding a general pay raise for civil servants? The outside world can only speculate that it may be because the authorities are worried that solely increasing the salaries of public sector employees might trigger a public backlash and accusations of unfairness.
The higher-ups might also be hesitant due to ideological and philosophical convictions, believing that public servants should prioritise the well-being of the people and that a general salary increase would contradict their repeated emphasis on enduring “hard times” to ensure “good times” for the public.
It could also be that the funding sources for this round of salary increases for local government employees are not yet secure, or that these sources are not yet suitable for public disclosure, hence the quiet implementation of the raises.
Move to stimulate consumption?
Regardless of the reason, China currently faces a major test in boosting confidence, stimulating consumption and expanding domestic demand. The key to achieving this lies in increasing disposable income for residents.
In an environment where “doing more leads to more mistakes, and doing nothing leads to no mistakes”, many local civil servants have chosen to “lie flat”.
Among China’s population of 1.4 billion, an estimated 80 million are government staff and retirees who rely on government funding. Increasing the income of this vast group could help stimulate consumption and might even encourage businesses to raise their employees’ salaries as well.
By now, it should be understood that ideology or sticking to old ways of thinking cannot boost the economy. Instead, it requires tangible incentive mechanisms and putting real money into people’s pockets to boost morale. In addition to raising civil servants’ salaries, more universal economic stimulus tools, such as consumption vouchers, should also be among the options being considered by the authorities.
In fact, stringent rectification campaigns and the lack of performance-based rewards have also led to low morale among Chinese officials. Faced with tight local government budgets, many civil servants are facing pay cuts and delayed payments. It was reported that salaries have been reduced by as much as 30%.
In an environment where “doing more leads to more mistakes, and doing nothing leads to no mistakes”, many local civil servants have chosen to “lie flat”. This is clearly detrimental to China’s efforts to promote further development and construction.
The rumoured wage hike for civil servants across the board can be seen as the first piece of good news for 2025. May it also signal that in the new year, the authorities will overcome obstacles to increase incomes for Chinese residents and, in terms of governance, introduce reasonable and legitimate rewards and incentives in addition to punishments.
This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “中国公务员涨薪密语”.
