Chen Jing

Chen Jing

Shanghai Correspondent, Lianhe Zaobao

Chen Jing joined Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk recently and will be posted to Shanghai this year. She has been working at Zaobao for more than eight years, covering financial news and societal stories in Singapore.

Signage for Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China, on 8 July 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Chinese platform economy gets vote of confidence from government

China is focusing its attention on building a regulated platform economy that can drive the country’s economic recovery. That was the message from Chinese Premier Li Qiang to platform companies during a session on 12 July. How will platform companies respond? Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks into the recent development.
Graduates of Wuhan University attend the graduation ceremony in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province on 20 June 2023. (AFP)

China's youth unemployment situation could be far worse

The current environment in China is far from conducive for university students to find a job, much less one that matches what they studied. Even if their finances allow and they embark on postgraduate studies, their employment prospects may not always improve when they finally enter the job market. It is not even a question of dropping one’s ego and accepting any job that comes along; structural challenges with the employment market may necessitate making hard decisions and exercising a lot of patience.
A traffic light is seen near a construction site of residential buildings in Shanghai, China, 20 July 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Shanghai's falling property prices indicate economic gloom in China

China’s property market has been in the doldrums, and prices have been falling, not least in Shanghai. And as prices in Shanghai fall, so will prices in other Chinese cities. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at the impact of property market movements on the overall Chinese economy.
The chip battle wears on amid greater technological rivalry between China and the US. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

Micron ban: Will there be a winner in the China-US chip war?

With China barring domestic operators of critical information infrastructure from procuring products from US chipmaker Micron as the latest move in the China-US chip war, there are concerns about whether moving too strongly might lead to China hurting itself instead. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing takes a look at how the chip war might play out.
A man walks past the entrance to a construction site in Beijing, China, on 23 March 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP)

Chinese local governments facing debt crisis: Waiting for bailouts

Local governments are teetering dangerously close to bankruptcy, going by the amount of debt that they have racked up. While their financial troubles are likely to ease with the China’s post-Covid economic recovery, the central government is still expected to step in to prevent regional economies from toppling like a house of cards. But will certain forms of intervention do more harm than good?
Employees work on an assembly line producing speakers at a factory in Fuyang, Anhui province, China, on 31 March 2023. (AFP)

It may be too early to celebrate China’s exports rebound

China’s exports grew by 14.8% in US dollar terms in March from the year before, ending five straight months of decline. But a spike in exports may be a false hurrah for China’s economic economy, given the mixed signals from different data indicators. Levels of consumption and inward investment are important as well, and the improvement of these factors will need to take into account the impact of US-China tensions on foreign enterprises in China.
People visit various booths at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China, 19 April 2023. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Shanghai Auto Fair: Battle of the Chinese EV giants

Controversy over the ‘ice cream incident’ aside, the explosive popularity of the Shanghai Auto Show, along with the earlier Canton Fair, signals the “revenge recovery” of the expo economy.
People wave as the motorcade of former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou arrives at the Museum of Modern Chinese History in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, on 28 March 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP)

Chasing Ma Ying-jeou with the Chinese in Nanjing 

As former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou makes his way around the mainland on his 12-day ancestral visit, mainland people gathering in the streets to greet him signal changes in the ebb and flow of cross-strait ties.
People wait for a bus in the central business district during rush hour in Beijing on 7 March 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Can China rally private enterprises and boost domestic demand?

China’s top officials have set out the target for the country’s economic growth and drivers for 2023, but the real work is just beginning. To meet economic growth targets and ensure economic recovery, it seems that the basic idea is to boost domestic demand and support the private sector.