Entrepreneurship

Pedestrians in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, on 20 December 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Tug of war: Taiwanese businesses in China tussle with decoupling and integration

While investments by Taiwanese enterprises in mainland China have declined due to geopolitical factors and Covid-19, many still have one foot in the massive domestic market. As a result, a number of Taiwanese enterprises have turned into “new mainland enterprises” as they integrate into the mainland’s domestic market. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han looks into where Taiwanese enterprises are moving towards.
A screen showing a video of Chinese President Xi Jinping in an exhibition area at the Siasun Co. facility in the Lingang Special Area in Shanghai, China, on 25 August 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

A new breed of technocratic elites in the Xi era: Countdown to the 20th Party Congress

Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, observes that a new breed of technocratic elites — the “technocrats 2.0” — have rapidly risen to the national leadership in China. What are the major differences between technocrats in the Jiang-Hu eras and the Xi era?
Graduating students wearing face masks attend a commencement ceremony at Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications in Chongqing, China, 22 June 2022. (CNS photo via Reuters)

[Future of China] Chinese youth under Xi Jinping’s Red Flag: Political participation as a route to riches

Under President Xi Jinping, the CCP has encouraged greater youth participation in politics, but on their terms, such as bringing in new blood through the “selected graduate” (选调生) system. However, both the youths and the Communist Party know that this is an expedient relationship that may not be for the long term. This is the fourth in a five-part series of articles on the future of China.
A commuter rides his bicycle through an older neighborhood in Shanghai, China, on 30 August 2021. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Every individual counts: China should go for ‘common development’ rather than ‘common prosperity’

Rather than wealth redistribution per se, the deeper issue lies in achieving social justice and equal opportunities for all. Going by the US example, it might not be wise or even feasible to curtail the riches of the wealthy or to straitjacket their business environment. Instead, they and other members of the community can be encouraged to help bring about equitable access to education and a better life.
A worker stands in front of Mao Zedong sculpture at Dandong station at the border city of Dandong, in China's northeast Liaoning province on 11 August 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP)

China's growing north-south gap: Can the north catch up?

Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes the growing gap between northern and southern China in terms of economic and population growth, as businesses and people become more concentrated in the south. How will the central government tackle this imbalance?
A mother and her baby play on a slide at Wukesong shopping district in Beijing, China on 11 May 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP)

China’s rising property prices have serious social consequences

Han Heyuan asserts that rising property prices in China are not just the “biggest grey rhino” in terms of financial risks as some policymakers have said, but also a catalyst for a slew of development and social issues such as the lack of entrepreneurs, negative attitudes to work, and falling birth rates.