Research

The Hengqin Plan and Qianhai Plan released by the Chinese central government aim to deepen economic cooperation and promote cross-border integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Plans will involve greater integration of Hong Kong and Macau with the mainland. While Macau has always embraced this trajectory and the Hengqin Plan could bring greater dynamism to the SAR, Hong Kong’s fears of “mainlandisation” and the territorial instincts of mainland cities may present some obstacles to the Qianhai Plan. EAI academic Yu Hong tells us more.

The global chip shortage throughout 2021 prompted many tech companies to rely more on themselves. Coupled with the rise of artificial intelligence, demand for high-capacity chips has increased with tech companies and device makers racing to deliver smarter services and products. But the global semiconductor industry is also getting increasingly crowded, as more and more newcomers seek to gain a foothold in advanced chips to power new technologies.

A Chinese space station’s near-collision with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites has Chinese internet pundits wondering if this is another ploy by the US to contain China’s space progress and steal China’s space technologies. Is a new China-US space race in the offing? Zaobao’s China Desk examines the issue.

Despite having a head start in being established as a special economic zone (SEZ), Xiamen’s economy lags behind other cities in Fujian province such as Quanzhou and Fuzhou. Coupled with disproportionately high property prices, Xiamen is not doing as well as other places like Pudong New Area and Shenzhen either, which started their development spurt later but have overtaken Xiamen. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at how Xiamen can turn things around.

By certain indices, China seems to have surpassed the US in artificial intelligence development. But a closer look shows that the US is still a leader where it counts, even though China has its strengths and is pouring in significant investments to catch up. James Pang says that China still has to knuckle down and get its fundamentals right, if it is to truly surpass its rival.

China’s recent tests of hypersonic weapons has attracted the attention of the West, which is wary about what this rapid progress might mean. On its part, China is downplaying these tests as “routine”, and emphasising that they are helpful to eventually reduce the costs of space technology. Is the US overreacting and playing the “victim”, while having its own agenda?

Before rushing to conclude that China is turning inward and isolating itself from the world with its harsh zero-Covid policy, says US academic Wu Guo, the American media should do some soul-searching themselves on how US policies and negative American attitudes towards China have led to dwindling people-to-people contact.

Like many of us experiencing pandemic days, cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai spent the last two years living quietly. Even now, scenes on television are rife with pandemic news in the US. Watching health workers refusing to get vaccinated or the population spurning masks in defence of their freedoms, Cheng wonders why some people are willing to be “martyrs” for the cause they believe in. Or worse, are they just foolishly courting the virus? Maybe this really shows a great gulf in attitudes between the East and West.

More young Chinese job-seekers are looking for "iron rice bowls" within the government. It is even becoming increasingly common for PhD holders to apply for regular jobs. Nothing wrong in that per se, but for a nation seeking greater innovation and technological supremacy, would this be a stumbling block?