In 2014 China announced it would be rolling out something called a Social Credit Scheme. It has also been known as the Social Credit System or Social Citizen Score.  This ranking system will monitor the behaviour of its 1.4 billion citizens, ranking them based on their "social credit." With rewards and benefits given for “good” behavior and punishments for “bad” behavior, millions of citizens are now denied access to flights. For a country that only recently banned pilots smoking on commercial flights, this ambitious system seems like it’s part of a dark futuristic sci-fi film.

Beijing Daxing International Airport
via Wikimedia Commons

It’s about one number

Reminiscent of recent dystopian depictions of the future (ie the Netflix series Black Mirror), the "social credit system" centers on one number: Your social credit score. This score moves up with good behavior and moves down with bad behavior. What is considered good or bad is determined by the Chinese government. The exact methodology remains a secret — but we do know that bad driving, smoking in non-smoking zones and buying too many video games are some of the actions that will lower your score (perhaps the passenger who threw coins into a Lucky Air plane engine has had their score lowered). Good deeds, on the other hand, will raise your score. This can range from turning in a lost wallet to donating blood or giving money to charity.

This mandatory program aims to be fully operational nationwide by 2020. Until then, the system is being implemented several areas at a time and is continuously being refined.

A Lucky Air A320
A Lucky Air A320 Photo: Wikimedia Commons

When your number is too low

There can be life-altering consequences when your score goes below a certain number. For example, slipping below 1,000 points will put you on a blacklist. Punishments include a ban on opening a bank account and applying for loans. Furthermore, there is a ban on purchasing high-speed rail and plane tickets. These services are considered "luxury purchases".

An Air China 777
An Air China 777 Photo: Wikimedia Commons

What does this mean for China’s Aviation Market?

Roughly 600 million Chinese passengers flew in 2018. Assuming that half of the individuals on the 13.5 million strong blacklist would have purchased tickets, this represents a little over 1%: A relatively small loss for China’s booming aviation sector. However, it does mean that life will become much more difficult for Chinese citizens who are unable to fly. For example, someone who lives in rural China and has to do some business in the capital of Beijing, then their 90-minute flight becomes a 14-hour train ride.

What does this mean for you?

To keep it short: Nothing. Well, unless you’re a Chinese citizen or planning to become one - in which case news of this scheme won’t be a surprise. As an indirect effect, your experience in China may be different from previous trips as citizens are more aware of their public behavior.

What do you think of this system? Is it something you could live with?