Category: The Economist

AMONG THE words mentioned most often by Li Qiang in his “work report”—a sort of state-of-the-nation address—on March 5th was “green”. His predecessor as prime minister used it nine times in last year’s speech; Mr Li nearly doubled that (see chart 1). This is hardly surprising. China is a green-technology powerhouse: its batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs) lead the world. Chinese officials want such industries to spur future economic growth and China’s own pursuit of energy self-sufficiency. image: The Economist Yet for all the talk of “harmony between…

When China launched the Yaogan-41 satellite into space late last year, it travelled further than most such objects. Reconnaissance satellites tend to sit in low-Earth orbit (LEO), whizzing around the planet between 11 and 16 times a day (see chart 1). But Yaogan-41 headed for higher ground, some 36,000km from the Earth. There, in geostationary orbit (GEO), the point at which a satellite circles the planet slowly enough to remain above the same point, it began watching. The Economist

A curious absence could be felt in Beijing this week. When the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) began on March 5th, China’s unhappy people were missing. These are anxious, confusing times for ordinary Chinese. A once-unstoppable economy is slowing. Consumer confidence is weak. The savings of many Chinese, particularly those who own property, are losing value. Youngsters must swot into the night to enter good schools, but now struggle to find jobs when they graduate. Travel to almost any corner of China, and the same lament is…

When China launched the Yaogan-41 satellite into space late last year, it travelled further than most such objects. Reconnaissance satellites tend to sit in low-Earth orbit (LEO), whizzing around the planet between 11 and 16 times a day (see chart 1). But Yaogan-41 headed for higher ground, some 36,000km from the Earth. There, in geostationary orbit (GEO), the point at which a satellite circles the planet slowly enough to remain above the same point, it began watching. image: The Economist China says Yaogan-41 will be used for benign activities, such…

Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. The annual meeting of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, is a rubber-stamp affair. But the week-long session that began on March 5th is important. After a year of grim news about the country’s economy, investors want to know that the leadership has good ideas for steering it out of trouble. Citizens want reassurance that the state will ease their woes. The gathering’s message, however, will satisfy few. Even more…

“AMBITIOUS” IS HOW most analysts are describing it. China’s GDP growth target, announced on March 5th, is the same as last year’s, at “around 5%” (see chart 1). But that pace of expansion will be harder to achieve this year. China will not enjoy the one-off benefits of removing strict anti-covid controls, as it did in 2023. And the government, though faced with grim economic news, is reluctant to crank up stimulus, as many businesspeople would like it to. The government’s aims were presented by Li Qiang, the prime minister…

HOW DO YOU reset the world’s conversation about a country that is in trouble? That is the task facing China’s embattled leadership this week, during what will be the most important public-facing political event of the year. China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), is a rubber-stamp affair, but its annual session provides a rare window onto what the Communist Party is thinking. This year’s gathering will begin on March 5th with a state-of-the-nation speech from Li Qiang, the prime minister, and will end days later. In between there is…

Open the wardrobe of a high-flying Chinese banker, and it would be no surprise to find handmade foreign suits, all sadly gathering dust. It is a year, almost to the day, since an anti-corruption agency ordered financiers to abandon “hedonistic” lifestyles, rectify “elitist” thinking and stop worshipping the West. Several bank bosses and former executives have been arrested for graft. Many workers in finance have seen their salaries cut. All in all, this is a prudent moment to leave the Savile Row pinstripes at home. As a tool for making…

Song Xia does not want her real name used. The young professional is neither a dissident nor an activist, yet she fears the watchful eyes of the Chinese state. After she left Shanghai to work in the Netherlands in 2012 she kept in touch with friends on WeChat, a Chinese app. Then she realised some of her messages were being censored. Even in her new country she is careful what she says in public and only goes to places she considers “safe”—those where no members of the Chinese Communist Party…

HUANG FEIRUO was once a respected scientist who studied ways to make pigs gain weight more quickly. He ran government-funded research projects at Huazhong Agricultural University in the central city of Wuhan. But last month 11 of his graduate students accused him of plagiarising the work of other academics and fabricating data. He had also, they said, put pressure on them to fake their own research. On February 6th the university announced that it had fired Mr Huang and retracted some of his work. Scientific fraud is all too common…