A command to refrain from overindulging in alcohol began to haunt Xi Jinping after a civil servant died from drinking too much baijiu. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images and Yusuke Hinata)

Analysis: Xi administration quick to tell civil servants they can drink

Beijing tweaks 'alcohol ban' that was negatively impacting the economy

KATSUJI NAKAZAWA

July 24, 2025 04:03 JST

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Chinese President and party boss Xi Jinping's administration has been forced to tweak an "alcohol ban" targeting party and government officials after facing a barrage of public criticism.