Chinese government releases 'trippy' music video on its five-year economic plan

The Chinese government is known for many things. Producing a catchy music video is probably not one of them, but that’s exactly what it's done, in an attempt to break down the national economic policy.

Released by Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, the three-minute video mixes animation and collage, and features a chorus of American-accented voices singing about the process of creating China's 13th five-year plan.

Known as the “shisanwu,” which combines the Mandarin words for 13 and five, the plan is a breakdown of how the country’s economy is expected to run for the foreseeable future.

The video is a dizzying mix of trippy images, like a cartoon rock band, featuring a shirtless singer that looks suspiciously similar to David Bowie circa his glam rock days; Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen waving in front of a cassette tape (those still exist?) and a robot with a third eye.

A sample verse, which explains exactly who’s involved in putting together this five-year plan: "But who makes all the plans? / There's government ministers and think tank minds / And party leadership contributing finds / There's doctors, bankers, and farmers, too / And even engineers who deal with poo! Eww! Umm, did I hear that right? / Yeah, it's true!”

There are reports that Fuxing Road Studio produced the clip. The evasive studio is known to have created several other propaganda videos, though it’s unclear if the state or the party backs the company.

The Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee will release its 13th five-year plan this week in Beijing. The document will be the first five-year plan to be produced under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.

Since China’s national stock market collapsed earlier this year, its economy has been on shaky ground, sparing international unrest.