Economic systems

Alibaba founder Jack Ma visits Hangzhou Yungu School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China in this handout picture released on 27 March 2023. (Hangzhou Yungu School/Handout via Reuters)

Jack Ma has returned but Chinese entrepreneurs will still have a hard time

Jack Ma’s recent return to China has made waves and offers some hope for the revival of the entrepreneur class in China. But this group of people have never shaken off their dual identity as entrepreneur-capitalists. With the rise of a group of diehards romanticising the glory of past eras, entrepreneurs, and in turn the development of China’s market economy, face obstacles.
People walk through an underpass in Beijing on 22 March 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

Will China's economy suffer a 'lost decade' just like Japan?

Pondering the possibility that China’s economy is going the way of Japan's 30 years ago, Japanese researcher Toshiya Tsugami analyses some similarities and differences between the two trajectories.
Container ships at the Port of Oakland on 8 March 2023 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/AFP)

How US is continuing to restructure globalisation and the global trade system

Commentator Jin Jian Guo assesses that the global trade situation has undergone structural changes, in terms of China gradually losing its status as the world’s factory, amid competition from India and other countries in Southeast Asia. One major reason is the US’s actions in pursuing regional and bilateral free trade agreements that excludes China and have limited China’s trade scope.
A man walks along a street in the central business district in Beijing on 3 February 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

How Chinese private firms can be made more confident of the government's support

Academic Pei Sai Fan notes that the Chinese government’s moves to regulate and clean up various sectors in China’s economy has led to private enterprises feeling uncertain about what might happen to them in future, especially as declarations of support for the private sector economy seem to be just lip service.
China's Vice-Premier Liu He addresses the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, 17 January 2023. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

China can still shine if it acts on Vice-Premier Liu He's Davos advice

At this year’s Davos forum, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He laid out five points that have led to China’s success so far. However, his session did not see a packed crowd, while China’s claims of sticking to reform and opening up seem less than convincing when taken against its actions. Commentator Jin Jian Guo delves into the importance of staying the course.
A pedestrian walks at Central Business District (CBD) in Beijing on 16 January 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

Politics a threat to China’s economy

Political commentator Jin Jian Guo observes that China economic policy has always been ruled by politics, and while it seems that the pendulum is swinging back in favour of private firms after a period of bashing and stifling, this is not a given as the politics of the day still rules.
This photo taken on 3 January 2023 shows a crane loading a container at Nanjing port in China's eastern Jiangsu province. (AFP)

Future world: A rising Asia and a polarised global economy

Commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that the US’s efforts to counter China is the main driving force behind the redrawing of the global economic map. However, as the US is the sole beneficiary while most of the other countries have supported the US’s cause to their own detriment, conflicts of interests will gradually emerge. In the end, the global economy may polarise into various camps with disjointed supply chains.
A woman walks across the street during morning rush hour, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Central Business District (CBD) in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China, 21 November 2022. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Why the 20th Party Congress was not a 'decisive victory' for Xi

Japanese researcher Toshiya Tsugami observes that the exuberant tone of China's previous Party Congress reports has been carried over in this year’s 20th Party Congress. However, the external environment has changed much for China and its targets could be a stretch in this context.
This illustration shows Chinese yuan banknotes, 30 May 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

China's efforts to internationalise RMB gaining a foothold in SEA

NUS academic Xu Le explains why China's project to internationalise the RMB still has much room to grow. In that regard, the ASEAN countries could play a role, given their desire to be less reliant on the US dollar.