Research

People walk along a main shopping area during the Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival in Shanghai, China, 11 November 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters)

China’s economic outlook is not bleak

China’s 20th Party Congress signalled that the government is focused on dual circulation, in particular domestic circulation. However, that does not mean that China has the intention for implementing a closed-door policy. In fact, a healthy domestic circulation will boost China's ecosystem for innovation and growth and help China further open up.
Board solution design samples by Synergie Cad are displayed at SEMICON Taiwan 2022 in Taipei, Taiwan, 14 September 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Taiwan lacks young passionate workers in semiconductor industry

Taiwan’s semiconductor sector is booming, but the long hours and tough work is driving away the younger generation, who are opting for careers that provide work-life balance. How can the Taiwan government and tech enterprises attract new blood into this industry that is critical to Taiwan's economic growth?
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (second from right) with three former participants of the Hong Kong Space Museum's Young Astronaut Training Camp. (Weibo/李家超)

Hong Kong has a place in China's aerospace future

China recently announced that its space exploration programme will recruit payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau, sparking excitement for the people of Hong Kong. While the announcement is a recognition of the special administrative region’s R&D capabilities, some believe that it is an effort to win over the people of Hong Kong and boost their sense of belonging and patriotism. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk takes a look at what this opportunity means for Hong Kong.
Renowned virologist Guan Yi. (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine official website)

A Chinese virologist's changing fortunes for speaking up against zero-Covid

China's renowned virologist Guan Yi has reappeared in public as the newly appointed chief of the Shanghai Virus Research Institute, after being denounced for his alarmist views of the pandemic at the start of its outbreak and speaking against the zero-Covid measures. But now, will his return mark an end to the harsh restrictions that have left the Chinese economy in a dire state?
A man cheers to people marching through the streets of Miami, Florida, to commemorate last year's historic protests in Cuba on 11 July 2022. (Chandan Khanna/AFP)

Chinese economics professor: Immigrants do not take away your job

The belief that immigrants would ruin the employment market is unfounded, says economics professor Li Jingkui. With bold and ambitious entrepreneurial spirits, immigrants are more likely to be “job creators”, rather than “job takers”, while the resulting increase in demand for goods and services even supports economic growth.
Onlookers watch the launch of a rocket transporting China’s second module for its Tiangong space station from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China on 24 July 2022. (CNS/AFP)

Rocket scientists in China's party leadership: Countdown to the 20th Party Congress

The rapid rise of “the cosmos club” has paralleled China's rising aspiration to take on a prominent role in the international “space club”. Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, takes a closer look at the career paths and institutional associations of emerging rocket scientists in China’s national and provincial leadership.
Can China become fully self-reliant in the semiconductor industry? (iStock)

China’s semiconductor Great Leap Forward is doomed to fail

Political commentator Jin Jian Guo believes that the semiconductor Great Leap Forward pushed by the Chinese authorities could have the same devastating effects as the Great Leap Forward of the past. In an industry that is globally interconnected, persisting with the impossible endeavour of becoming fully self-reliant would only result in further instances of failing to learn from history.
A Chinese chip investment fund is at the centre of an expanding anti-graft crackdown on the semiconductor industry. (iStock)

Five things to know about China’s scandal-struck chip industry ‘Big Fund’

An anti-graft crackdown targeting the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund is rattling the entire semiconductor industry. What is the "Big Fund" and how does it work? What are its most recognised and controversial projects and how did it play a role as a fund of funds? And what’s the role of Sino IC Leasing Co. in all this?
People take pictures of the Forbidden City after an overnight snowfall in Beijing, China, 22 January 2022. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Fewer Chinese academics in the US will worsen US-China disconnect

With rising US-China tensions and American society’s dissatisfaction with China, as well as a shrinking higher education market, Chinese academics teaching China-related humanities subjects in the US and their already-marginalised departments and courses have been affected. US academic Wu Guo believes that the future generation’s understanding of the Chinese language and of China's culture and history will deteriorate as a result and worsen the disconnect between the US and China.