Briefing | Communist estate-planning
Even as the economy slows and opportunity narrows, a lucky few receive big windfalls
|guiyang, shanghai and shaoxing |13 min read
Chen Kai likens his work to promoting the use of condoms. People are starting to hear cautionary tales about what can go wrong and so are becoming interested in protecting themselves, he says. But there are cultural obstacles: writing a will, or indeed having much wealth to pass on in the first place, are novel concepts in modern China. Private enterprise and private wealth—eradicated in the early decades of Communist rule—have been possible again only for the past 40 years or so.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Communist estate-planning”
From the March 14th 2026 edition
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