The Communist Party journal Qiushi ran a lengthy editorial in its New Year's edition fiercely defending the country's moral status quo amid an increasingly heated debate on moral and ethical issues.
Politically, the editorial was seen as a rebuttal of remarks made by Premier Wen Jiabao in April about a crisis of morals in society following a series of food safety issues that resulted in deaths, although it did not mention Wen.
The journal also published an extract of a speech by President Hu Jintao at a plenary session of the party's central committee in October in which he said he wanted China to ward off 'hostile' attempts by international forces to westernise the country.
Xu Youyu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said widespread moral and ethical problems were an indisputable fact in China today, affecting every sector of society and every industry.
'It is surprising that anyone would still make a serious attempt at denial,' Xu said, while agreeing that the Qiushi editorial might have been politically motivated.
He said it was unwise to target Wen, if that was the intention. 'Few people would think Wen did something outrageous by admitting that there is a moral decline.' he said.