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China society

China society
Latest news, features and opinion on all aspects of society in China, including crime, education, health, culture, technology and tourism, and the impact of the one-child policy, an ageing population and mass internal migration on the country and its people.
Li Ganjie is head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department and a member of the now 22-man Politburo. Photo: Xinhua
China’s Communist Party

China must ‘strengthen education’ of Tibetan Buddhists, Beijing official says

On inspection tour, Li Ganjie urges local authorities to promote new ‘unity’ law to ethnic minority groups.

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China jobs

China’s youth unemployment crunch deepens as record graduation season looms

China jobs

Shanghai mobilises seniors to work longer amid China’s demographic crisis

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Gender

Opinion | By voicing their needs, Chinese women are normalising them

In films and on social media, women in China are openly advocating for themselves and fighting taboos around women’s health.

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Women eat lunch in a female co-living space in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, on July 14, 2025. Photo: AFP
China’s Communist Party

The winners from China’s growing intercity football rivalries may surprise you

Lighthearted contests between areas with different customs, dialects and cuisine encourage local pride but ultimate control is elsewhere.

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Chinese culture

Opinion | Chinese youth are embracing Ching Ming with cultural confidence

Young people visiting the graves of historical figures reflects a cultural shift and the pursuit of a sense of continuity with the past.

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US-China relations

Growing Pains meets the ‘kill line’: a new Chinese hot take on the American dream

Internet commenters retrofit the viral metaphor to US movies and TV to highlight financial and social insecurity.

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The US sitcom Growing Pains revolved around the lives of the Seaver family. Photo: Warner Bros. Television
Mainland China

Video | Paper AI robot offerings for tomb-sweeping festival

One online review notes ‘times change fast, I hope my grandfather likes it’ for paper OpenClaw offering.

China property

Opinion | Reinflate the property sector? No, China wants an ambitious redesign

Beijing is attempting a difficult pivot: transforming real estate from a debt-driven growth engine into a pillar of a consumption-led economy.

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China inflation

Video | Iran war sends Chinese costs soaring

Businesses contend with soaring energy, raw material and freight costs, while Chinese consumers queue at petrol stations amid price hike fears.

Businesses contend with soaring energy, raw material and freight costs, while Chinese consumers queue at petrol stations amid price hike fears.
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Mainland China

Opinion | Why China’s AI automation push is a risky social experiment

Without reforms to improve wages, housing access and childcare, automation could entrench a low-fertility crisis and destabilise the social contract.

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A robot helps with a task during a media tour to the Beijing Humanoid Robot Pilot Verification Platform, in Beijing on March 20. Photo: EPA
Job hunting

Video | Why is the gig economy sweeping China?

The country has over 200 million gig workers who make a living from various temporary jobs.

Human trafficking

China’s infamous ‘Aunt Mei’ arrested after decade-long hunt for child trafficker

Police identify the woman, surnamed Xie, as the intermediary who brokered the sale of nine children in Guangdong province.

China economy

Opinion | China’s high household savings reflect old values and new anxieties

Economic uncertainties strengthen the deep cultural instinct for thrift. Policies must address the anxieties that make saving feel necessary.

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Shoppers test sofas outside a mall in Beijing. Retailers in Beijing and other major Chinese cities are increasingly moving product displays into public areas to boost spending. Photo: AP
China jobs

China’s youth unemployment falls for sixth consecutive month in February

But young job-hunters say they are still struggling to find work in a testing post-holiday labour market amid rising global economic uncertainty.

Young people line up at career guidance booths during a job fair in Beijing on March 14 as China’s youth unemployment rate grows amid a testing post-holiday labour market. Photo: Reuters
Two Sessions 2026

Editorial | China’s ethnic unity law can foster a shared sense of belonging

The law seeks to bridge ethnic divides for social stability and national development while safeguarding diversity.

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China’s OpenClaw mania driven by fear of missing next tech gold rush

Fear of missing out and people riding new technology waves to success are familiar narratives, but how will AI agents turn potential into profits?

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Food and Drinks

Video | Robot goes haywire in hotpot restaurant and refuses to stop dancing

Three restaurant staffers try to restrain the robot, but are powerless to stop it.

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Chinese history

As I see it | Rescuing a key Confucian text from centuries of ignominy

The release of an authoritative translation of Kongzi Jia Yu finally places a once-suspected forgery among the traditional canon.

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China consumption

Beijing urged to boost rural pensions as lawmakers fight for farmers’ fair share

Appeals highlight a long-standing lack of benefits for elderly citizens outside cities, and proposals include leveraging state assets and new taxes to bridge the vast disparity.

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Video | Chinese dating app lets parents set up dates for their kids

‘Perfect In-laws’ allows parents to communicate with each other to set their kids up, often without them knowing.

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Ageing society

Being Chinese | In China, some of us are keeping elderly care in the family – for now

My extended family has taken time to reach a decision about my grandma’s daily care. As the rest of us age, I’m also preparing options.

A daughter feeds her mother at a community elderly care centre in Suzhou, Jiangsu province in 2020. As families grow smaller in China, different generations face different decisions on elderly care. Photo: Xinhua
Chinese history

Opinion | Why a TV hit in China about waging peace resonates so deeply

Swords into Ploughshares can tell us a lot about Beijing’s approach to the crisis in Iran, cross-strait relations and this year’s ‘two sessions’.

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Animal rights in China

Opinion | Quietly, steadily, animal rights campaigners are making headway in China

With national laws the ultimate goal, progress is being made, one local regulation and court case at a time.

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China consumption

Boom or bust? China’s Lunar New Year spending data is in – here is what we know

Initial figures show record travel, shifting spending patterns and a weak box office.

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Customers choose mobile phones at a consumer electronics store in Zaozhuang, east China’s Shandong province, on Saturday. Local authorities rolled out a series of stimulus programmes and policies to help boost consumer spending during the holiday. Photo: Xinhua
Sexual harassment and assault

Video | Is ‘family’ becoming a legal shield for rape in China?

More troubling concerns surface in a high-profile case involving a man who fathered children with a mentally ill woman, lawyers say.

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Chinese culture

Opinion | Lunar New Year doesn’t need a home-cooked feast to be full of flavour

The most important thing isn’t if you cooked the food yourself or followed tradition to the letter – it’s being with people you care about.

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Lunar New Year

Video | Chinese tourists have a new favourite country this Lunar New Year

Arrivals by Chinese tourists to South Korea are expected to rise by 52% in February 2026.

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