Caixin

A child is carried along Nanluoguxiang alley in Beijing, China, on 22 January 2023. (Noel Celis/AFP)

Why a sperm bank drive is fuelling fears of infertility in China

The drive in China to get more sperm donations have triggered concerns of a shortfall in supply and rising male infertility rates, but it also plays into the wider national anxiety over a population decline in the country.
Job seekers at a job fair in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China, 15 March 2023. (CNS)

Solving China’s soaring youth unemployment

In 2023, a record of 11.58 million students in China are expected to graduate from higher education institutions. But the perennial struggle to find employment after graduation is especially dire this year. How will China's youths cope with the situation, and what measures have the Chinese government put in place to stabilise employment?
A worker walks near an evaporation pool where lithium bicarbonate is isolated from salt brine during the process of lithium production at the Uyuni Salt Flats in Uyuni, Bolivia, on 29 January 2014. (Noah Friedman-Rudovsky/Bloomberg)

The world’s EV supply chain is fracturing

Until now, China has held a dominant position in the global industrial chain from cathode materials to EV battery manufacturing and vehicle production, supplying nearly half of global core products. But with a major restructuring underway, it will have to tackle rising costs, supply chain shortfalls and the need to tailor resources for different markets.
People ride bicycles on a street in Beijing, China, on 9 February 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

China local governments’ fiscal stress may roll over to 2023, think tank warns

Data from the Chinese Ministry of Finance shows that revenue in the local general public budget dropped 2.1% to 10.9 trillion RMB in 2022. As massive tax relief, “zero-Covid” outlays, and a property market meltdown drained their coffers, China’s local governments struggled to balance revenue and spending last year. One state-backed think tank warns that the fiscal strain could continue to plague localities in 2023.
Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Malaysia’s minister of international trade and industry. (SPH Media)

Q&A: Malaysia’s new trade minister explains why China matters to Southeast Asia

Caixin sat down for an exclusive interview with Malaysia’s new Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in January. He spoke about Malaysia's and ASEAN's relations with China, and his thoughts on regional and global trade.
A general view of the Chinese mining company COMMUS (Musonoïe Mining Company Global SAS), downtown Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 13 October 2022. (Junior Kannah/AFP)

China’s hunt for strategic new energy minerals

China lacks sufficient reserves of strategic minerals. The country's strategic mineral reserves, including iron, copper, aluminum, nickel and lithium, equals less than 20% of the world’s total, while the country accounts for more than half of global consumption of cobalt, aluminum and copper. What are China's options?
Pedestrains on a street in Shanghai, China, 30 January 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Uneven recovery ahead for China’s economy

Optimism over China's economic outlook may be rising, but its recovery is uneven, with different industries experiencing different levels of rebound. Furthermore, can Chinese authorities ensure a better business environment and greater transparency, as well as policy consistency and guarantee of the rule of law, to attract back businesses and investors?
Chinese RMB banknotes are seen behind an illuminated stock graph in this illustration taken on 10 February 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters)

What’s in store for RMB internationalisation in 2023?

The RMB is now one of the most actively traded currencies in the world and is set to gain further traction globally this year, as the People’s Bank of China implements the government’s strategy to boost the currency’s use overseas, challenging the dominance of the US dollar in the long term.
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district, in Shanghai, China, 25 October 2022. (Aly Song/File Photo/Reuters)

China boots record number of companies from its bourses

Regulators are ramping up efforts to cull poorly performing firms and those that violate the rules or break the law. A record number of companies got the boot from Chinese mainland stock exchanges last year, and that number could even double in 2023.