What happens to the world economy and global geopolitics in 2025 will depend significantly on China, the world’s largest exporter and second-largest consumer market. But prevailing assessments of China’s economic health are deeply flawed. The headlines in 2024 have been mixed. China’s GDP is growing, though the precise rate is always a matter of debate. … Read more
Following a public backlash, China’s health authorities to remove propaganda suggesting that giving birth could make women smarter, prevent tumours and relieve menstrual cramps. The National Health Commission (NHC) made the claims in an article posted online on Wednesday to urge Chinese women to have children and combat a looming demographic crisis. But by Friday … Read more
1. North Korean defectors push for Ukraine deployment to wage psychological warfare A group of nearly 200 North Korean defectors living in South Korea is pushing to deploy to Ukraine so they can launch a psychological warfare campaign against their former comrades, now reportedly assembling in Russia. 2. ‘A lot of unknowns’: China-born scientists face … Read more
Chinese grass roots government workers, who implemented decades of birth control policy, are now calling up women in their neighbourhood to urge them to get pregnant amid China’s demographic crisis. When Jane Huang picked up the phone to answer a call earlier this month, her first response to the person on the end was to … Read more
In his 21 years of running kindergartens, Yu Bo has never had this much trouble filling places. Previously, he did not even need to advertise. Parents crowded his office asking if they could pay a year in advance to reserve a spot. Sometimes women even came to him while pregnant. At their business peak, he … Read more
A task force will be set up to address the problem, and dating events held across towns for unmarried men of different age and interest groups, the government said. The trade union of Dali will also hold 13 dating events before the year-end to “promote a correct view of marriage and love among young people … Read more
“Small risks will become big risks, risks will become general risks, and economic and social risks will become political risks.” In the speech, Xi also asked officials to “identify risks early, act quickly, take command at the front and make immediate judgments as soon as they arise”. 03:12 Xi Jinping, Joe Biden hold talks on … Read more
