https://www.scmp.com/rss/515848/feed Beata Mo is an undergraduate student at Hong Kong Baptist University, majoring in international journalism. She is currently a summer intern at the Post. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Grace Wang wakes every morning around 6 to spend her day planting trees in the Finnish wilderness. Laden with baskets brimming with saplings, Wang and her fellow planters trudge down an uneven dirt road strewn with weeds and branches. With each step towards the designated area for planting, the weight of the basket presses harder on her weary shoulders. “I had never done this type of physical labour before,” said the 21-year-old, who came to Finland last year to pursue an undergraduate degree in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3237063/chinese-families-cut-costs-studying-abroad-goes-chopping-block?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3237063/chinese-families-cut-costs-studying-abroad-goes-chopping-block?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Oct 2023 02:00:13 +0000 After taking an international English proficiency test for non-native speakers six times in a year at the cost of over 10,000 yuan (US$1,387), Jennie Zhan finally achieved her desired score in February. The 22-year-old, who graduated from the biological science programme at university in Fujian province in June, needed a minimum score of seven out of nine on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to pursue her postgraduate ambitions. And in May, Zhan received an offer from... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3231698/chinese-students-join-rat-race-study-abroad-job-prospects-dim-amid-slowing-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3231698/chinese-students-join-rat-race-study-abroad-job-prospects-dim-amid-slowing-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Aug 2023 16:01:08 +0000 This is the fourth in a series on how a tumultuous first half of 2023 featured economic pitfalls and headwinds that have left China struggling to shake off years of Covid-induced rust. Two months after being laid off by a film and television company in Shenzhen in May, Deng Jun returned to his hometown in Hunan province to take up a job in the domestic service industry. The 21-year-old, who started work in December before graduating in June with a major in post-production having, is in the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3228848/china-jobs-gen-z-graduates-turn-cleaning-beijing-looks-domestic-services-mop-unemployed-youth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3228848/china-jobs-gen-z-graduates-turn-cleaning-beijing-looks-domestic-services-mop-unemployed-youth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2023 04:00:11 +0000 China’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer aims to deliver between six to eight of its home-grown, narrow-body passenger jet by the end of the year, after commercial operation of the sole C919 started with a passenger seat occupancy rate of 82 per cent since May. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) delivered the first C919 to China Eastern Airlines in December and it completed its maiden commercial flight in May between Shanghai and Beijing. The aircraft, which can carry between... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3228851/chinas-c919-seat-occupancy-rate-tops-80-cent-8-more-home-grown-passenger-jets-be-delivered-2023?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3228851/chinas-c919-seat-occupancy-rate-tops-80-cent-8-more-home-grown-passenger-jets-be-delivered-2023?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:30:18 +0000 This is the second in a series on how a tumultuous first half of 2023 featured economic pitfalls and headwinds that have left China struggling to shake off years of Covid-induced rust. When Zhang Chengying first told her parents that she and her husband would not be having children, the reaction was one of shock as they asked Zhang if there was something wrong with her. Nothing, the 32-year-old explained. They just want to be a DINK couple – double income, no kids. They are momentarily two... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3228374/chinas-self-aware-dink-couples-no-kids-could-prolong-demographic-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3228374/chinas-self-aware-dink-couples-no-kids-could-prolong-demographic-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jul 2023 23:00:26 +0000 Faced with mounting concerns over the safety of edible imports from Japan, mainland China has vowed to take “all necessary measures” to abate the worries of its consumers. This includes extending a ban on imports from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, while also deciding to fully screen all shipments from other regions, instead of just spot checking, amid concerns of residual nuclear contamination. Mainland China’s General Administration of Customs said the plan to discharge the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3226873/china-screen-all-japanese-food-imports-amid-anger-over-fukushima-water-release-plan-vows-protect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3226873/china-screen-all-japanese-food-imports-amid-anger-over-fukushima-water-release-plan-vows-protect?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jul 2023 05:40:10 +0000 This is the first story in a three-part series about China’s employment environment, from migrant workers and fresh graduates to new job sources. For Li Jiamei, the monotony of labelling data for hours on end is matched perhaps only by the ambivalence she feels after grinding away like a machine every workday. But work is work, and the 22-year-old is just happy to have an easy job to make ends meet. At 9am, Li stands in front of a facial-recognition camera at the Baidu Intelligent Cloud Data... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3226813/china-jobs-struggling-youth-embrace-emerging-gigs-will-tedium-zonk-them-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3226813/china-jobs-struggling-youth-embrace-emerging-gigs-will-tedium-zonk-them-out?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jul 2023 22:00:22 +0000 China convened the Global Digital Economy Conference on Tuesday in a bid to forge “open and win-win” international partnerships amid growing geopolitical tensions. Representatives of 18 cities around the world, including the American cities of San Francisco and Irvine, as well as London, were invited to attend the event and jointly sign a cooperation initiative that vows to promote an open and innovative network that will bolster the digital economy. The move came as Beijing’s policymakers have... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3226657/china-courts-international-partnerships-digital-economy-push-amid-hi-tech-frictions-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3226657/china-courts-international-partnerships-digital-economy-push-amid-hi-tech-frictions-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:30:47 +0000 China’s top economic planner hears the pleas of private business. It wants to make that clear as they continue to endure persistent struggles and a lack of policy awareness. On Monday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) sat down with some prominent private firms to “listen to their operations, difficulties and suggestions”, while also discussing practical solutions to achieve the strongest possible post-Covid recovery. The NDRC has put in place a new communication mechanism to... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3226535/china-opens-direct-line-private-business-who-wonder-when-clarity-and-support-are-coming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3226535/china-opens-direct-line-private-business-who-wonder-when-clarity-and-support-are-coming?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jul 2023 12:30:14 +0000 “Mum, remember to come back home early after work,” Mia Fan’s six-year-old daughter says every morning before heading off to primary school. Fan would normally respond with a nod and a smile before leaving her house around 8.30am in a scene replicated in a lot of households as parents head out for work. But for Fan, after being laid off from her job as an administrator in the financial industry in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou in early May, the 35-year-old takes her own milk or water to a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3225276/chinas-middle-aged-jobseekers-face-age-discrimination-unfriendly-market-economic-unemployment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3225276/chinas-middle-aged-jobseekers-face-age-discrimination-unfriendly-market-economic-unemployment?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jun 2023 22:00:11 +0000 After fishing for more than 50 positions across various job portals, Connie Xu finally got a nibble – the chance to interview for an internship with a company in a major Chinese city. The 22-year-old, who graduated this month with a degree in Chinese language and literature, considered herself a good candidate for the position, with the necessary skill set and classroom experience from projects at university. So, the Guangdong native travelled 90 minutes for the interview, anticipating that this... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3224211/chinas-blank-paper-graduates-fear-years-remote-learning-and-no-experience-make-them-unemployable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3224211/chinas-blank-paper-graduates-fear-years-remote-learning-and-no-experience-make-them-unemployable?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jun 2023 22:00:19 +0000 China has pledged to defend its supply-chain dominance with a new grand expo planned for November, but for now its endeavours remain haunted by the reality that many multinational companies are reshoring, and that even some Chinese firms caught in geopolitical fragmentation have headed as far as Mexico to secure orders. The latest sign of decoupling derives from new-energy vehicle giant Tesla, which has reportedly demanded that Chinese suppliers set up plants in Mexico to support its proposed... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3223798/shunned-us-china-investors-use-mexico-keep-grip-north-american-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3223798/shunned-us-china-investors-use-mexico-keep-grip-north-american-market?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2023 12:00:08 +0000