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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.
Migrant workers wait to board a chartered train at Dingxi North railway station in northwest China’s Gansu province, in 2024. In 2025, China’s nearly 300 million migrant workers earned just 5,075 yuan (US$758) a month on average, up only 2.3 per cent from the previous year. Photo: Xinhua
China economy

Opinion | China has a much bigger priority than winning the AI race

China’s pressing economic problem is that ordinary people still have too little money in their pockets.

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China jobs

China’s gig economy

Mainland China

Letters | Why a Chinese farmer’s reunion with a US teacher moved me to tears

Chinese culture

Being Chinese | The unspoken reason my Chinese friends choose America

When friends say they can just ‘exist’ in the US, they mean they can stop performing to the Confucian expectations that define Chinese life.

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A noodle restaurant along a largely deserted pavement in Arcadia, California. Outside the Confucian system, there is no perpetual appraisal of your earning power, your waistline or your marital status. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
China jobs

Record graduate influx pushes China’s youth unemployment rate to 18.9%

Anxieties over AI’s growing threat to entry-level roles add to existing concerns about economic doldrums caused by weak domestic demand.

Mainland China

Opinion | Why women in China are still at risk of abduction and forced marriage

The latest incident has exposed many failings in local authorities’ work in a country where a mindset of favouring sons over daughters still exists.

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China consumption

End of the supermarket? Why China’s shoppers flock to small ‘community stores’

Young Chinese favour local grocery stores offering low prices and fast delivery, with some saying they haven’t been to a supermarket in years.

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A man shops at a supermarket in Beijing. Photo: EPA
China consumption

Improving migrant workers’ lives key to boosting Chinese consumption: HSBC

Report says reforms aimed at reducing their high precautionary savings rate could unlock US$95 billion a year in spending.

China education

China’s youth job crisis drives graduates to German vocational apprenticeships

Facing bleak employment prospects at home, some young Chinese workers are pursuing technical training abroad, but not all make it through.

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China's population

My Take | Why China’s shrinking population may be a blessing, not a curse

Research co-authored by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu finds labour shortages can spur, rather than slow down, productivity and growth.

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Children experience an intelligent assisted travel robot at the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo on August 29 in Guiyang, China. Photo: Xinhua
China’s private sector

China bans private tutoring. So why are cram schools still bleeding parents dry?

Five years ago, China imposed a sweeping ban on for-profit academic tutoring. But the sector has quietly made a comeback amid intense parental demand.

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Students attend class at a school in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Photo: Xinhua
China property

Rich Dad, Poor Dad author’s vast debts spark awe – and some anger – in China

Robert Kiyosaki’s claim to be US$1.2 billion in debt has sparked heated debate in China, where property investors have suffered steep losses.

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Artificial intelligence

Not a token effort: beer meets AI at bar in China’s capital

The AGI Bar in Beijing’s Zhongguancun tech hub offers free tokens to customers who order a drink.

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China birth rate

Even in the fertility heartland, China can’t stop its birth rate from falling

Economic pressure is outweighing traditional value of having large families in the Chaoshan area of eastern Guangdong.

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A woman and child at Zhongshan Park in Guangdong province. Photo: Shutterstock Images
China's population

China needs 600% child subsidy rise to prevent deeper birth crisis: scholars

China’s fertility rate could soon fall to world’s lowest unless action is taken, as current subsidies are ‘a drop in the bucket’, scholars warn.

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Children enrolled in a daycare programme learn a cheer routine at an activity centre in Zhaotong city, Yunnan province, earlier this month. Zhaotong has introduced free daycare for working parents needing workday childcare coverage. Under the plan, children are assisted with homework and participate in extracurricular activities. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China

Opinion | How a Chinese kitchen in the Middle East could stir up global cinema

Upending Hollywood’s ‘saviour-hero’ convention in war films, a tale about a humble chef offers a quiet, distinctly Chinese perspective.

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Women and gender

Opinion | Forcing women to drink at business dinners has no place in modern China

The alleged assault of a female employee in Hangzhou exposes how such unsavoury practices persist amid Beijing’s anti-extravagance campaign.

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Wellness

When the child you raised cuts you off. Why parental estrangement is on the rise

As more adult children in Hong Kong and beyond break contact with their parents, experts talk about causes and how to rebuild relationships.

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Parental estrangement is quietly spreading across Asia, including Hong Kong. Experts explain what causes it, how it can affect our health both emotionally and physically, and the conditions that facilitate reconciliation. Illustration: Henry Wong
Mainland China

Video | Live eels spill out on train floor in China

Viral video shows passengers trying, but failing, to retrieve the slippery eels from the floor of the commuter train.

China economy

Opinion | As China shows, liberal capitalism is not the only path

China has disproved one of the post-Cold War era’s most confident assumptions: that the Western model is the only route to modernity.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Opinion | Why Chinese film-goers are flocking to a movie they hate

Niu Lai’s runaway success is not an endorsement of its quality. Audiences are paying for the perverse enjoyment of seeing how bad it gets.

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A screenshot of Niu Lai, or The Arrival of the Ox, a little-known Chinese animated film that viewers have embraced despite it being described as “impossible to believe is a 2026 production”. Photo: Handout
Social media

Chinamaxxing: is it really about China or Gen Z fleeing Western fatigue?

From viral candy wrappers to hot water routines, Western Gen Z appears obsessed with all things China. But is it true love?

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Illustration: Dennis Yip
Chinese overseas

Why are some Chinese students choosing Spain despite its tough job market?

Relatively low tuition rates and a more relaxed lifestyle appeal to young adults, while scarce work, high rents and expanding Chinese investment shape their prospects.

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China consumption

High-spending counties offer a rare bright spot amid China’s weak demand

Lower costs, lighter debt and return-migrant capital are boosting household purchasing power in China’s smaller cities.

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Video | Why China sees ‘lying flat’ as a security threat

Nation’s spy agency accuses foreign forces of ‘brainwashing’ young people, but critics say ‘lying flat’ is a rational response to a broken system.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Chinese society’s resilient moral framework has lasted nearly 3,000 years

The Zhou-dynasty ideals of family responsibility, propriety and self-cultivation remain woven into the very fabric of China today.

The family has long lay at the centre of Chinese society’s moral universe, with respect for parents, harmony between siblings and the fulfilment of family obligations elevated from private virtues to the very foundations of society. Photo: Shutterstock
China’s internet censorship

China targets pseudo-history conspiracists who claim civilisations were stolen

Zhejiang agency says pseudo-historical claims – made worse by AI – reflect ignorance and fracture social cognition.

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Obituaries

Video | Remembering Zhu Rongji

Zhu had a major role in reshaping China’s economy, first as vice-premier and then as premier.

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