China was among the fastest in vaccine development, but its progress in actual vaccinations has not been satisfactory. In this “second season” coronavirus fight to recover economically and reopen borders, vaccinations will be key. Will China resort to the crude measures it used in the early stages of the pandemic fight to increase its vaccination rates? Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu reports.

Based on science, there is no firm understanding of the effectiveness of the vaccines or how long they last, so getting vaccinated does not mean immunity. Based on politics however, countries seem to be starting to use vaccine nationalism as a tool. Is it not enough to have two worlds split apart by different internets — now will we see a world divided into those who used the Chinese vaccine and those who used other vaccines? Viruses know no borders, but it’s looking like vaccinations will. 

The Covid-19 pandemic swept China and the world from late 2019. Amid tough battles with the pandemic and subsequent turning points, nationalism and patriotism is on the rise in China. The younger generation of Chinese born after the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s seem to have reaffirmed their belief in the Chinese system and some of them have even had their beautiful image of the West shattered. Will this make the new generation of Chinese more inward-looking and isolated from the outside world? Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu interviews Chinese youths and academics to find out.

Audience ratings of the CCTV New Year’s Gala give quite an accurate reflection of north-south divides, which judging by the latest economic information, are still very relevant in China today. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu casts a keen eye on the data.

Even as China talks of a “dual circulation” system and building a “super-sized domestic market”, it seems that its population of 1.4 billion has yet to translate into a strong consumer market. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu looks into what it will take for the Chinese government’s plan to work.

As Beijing prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, the spectre of human rights violations in Xinjiang looms large, with campaigners clamouring for the Games to be used to pressure Beijing. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu finds out how China is planning to handle the situation.

China has received favourable assessments from several quarters recently, from its handling of the pandemic to the way its economy is set to surpass the US’s earlier than planned. However, instead of revelling in such praise, China is keeping a relatively low profile. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu looks at why China is playing it cautious.

The passing of US scholar and China expert Ezra Vogel means one less voice among those in the West who have a deep understanding of China and who are able to provide an objective and realistic assessment of the country. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu breaks down what this might mean for the world, and for China-US relations in particular.

Even though the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will only be held in 2022, already there have been changes made this year to the top leaders of several provinces in China. More are expected in the coming months, with hot seats in Jiangsu, Shandong, and Henan — the three major provinces with larger economies and population size — closely watched. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu looks at the implications of this exercise in bringing in new blood.