Han Heyuan
Senior Research Fellow and Vice-Chairman, Guangdong Association of Productivity Science; Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Southern Governance, Guangzhou UniversityArticles by Han Heyuan
Politics
Trump’s war on Hollywood, Harvard and soft power
From US-educated international students to pirated copies of American films and music, soft power once gave the US an edge in geopolitical rivalries. However, US President Donald Trump’s recent assault on academia and popular culture is sabotaging the impact of American soft power at a time when it is most needed, says Chinese academic Han Heyuan.
Han Heyuan
Politics
Weaken and control: The US strategy for Eurasia and China
The US is not simply pro-Russia or pro-Ukraine; its actions aim to weaken both Russia and Europe, solidifying US control over Eurasia. This strategy of offshore balancing, also applied to China in the Indo-Pacific, reveals a broader geopolitical game. Chinese academic Han Heyuan explains.
Han Heyuan
Economy
Illusion of growth: Data inflation among China’s local governments
Chinese academic Han Heyuan highlights the distorted information flow within China’s bureaucratic system, where local governments inflate fiscal revenue to meet essential political performance indicators, resulting in distorted financial reporting and compromised public integrity.
Han Heyuan
Politics
Powerful families that rule over China’s grassroots
Chinese academic Han Heyuan takes a look at the prevalence of “political families” in China at the grassroots level. The disadvantages of such a system are obvious, including the obstruction of social mobility, corruption and abuse of power. Furthermore, if a specific family or group monopolises official positions and resources for a long time, it may lead to a decline in the quality of officials, thereby reducing administrative efficiency.
Han Heyuan
Society
Younger and better educated migrant workers still having hard time in China
Chinese academic Han Heyuan notes that new-generation migrant workers in China are at a clear disadvantage, due to policies and systems that make it doubly hard for them to get jobs, training, and education for their children, or even find a partner.
Han Heyuan
Economy
Will China's economy 'collapse' again?
Despite speculations about the decline of China's economy, Chinese academic Han Heyuan says that history has shown that such contrarian sentiments have been proven wrong time and again, for example in the case of the US, Japan and even China during the turn of the century.
Han Heyuan
Economy
Crisis of trust underlies Chinese private sector's unwillingness to invest
Erratic and unreasonable governance of local governments and a shift in public opinion towards left-wing ideology are just some of the causes for the private sector's lack of confidence in China, says academic Han Heyuan. Even with the latest measures to boost the sector, government efforts seem to fall short of expectations.
Han Heyuan
Economy
China's economy lacks foundation for expanding consumption
Chinese academic Han Heyuan notes that following the pandemic, disposable income in China is not at a level that allows for more domestic consumer spending, leading to economic growth being hampered. Also, the Chinese mentality is one of saving rather than spending, which makes it more of a challenge to encourage domestic demand.
Han Heyuan
Economy
The US's dilemma: Dollar dominance or re-industrialisation
In response to former US President Donald Trump's recent scare about China trying to "displace the US dollar as the number one currency throughout the world", academic Han Heyuan says that a certain equilibrium is maintained by the US suffering a trade deficit but safeguarding dollar hegemony. If the US wants to bring manufacturing back to the US, it may not be able to export dollars the way it used to, and cannot hope for the dominance of the US dollar to hold.
Han Heyuan