In the face of economic turbulence, China's youth are struggling to find jobs that are suited to their skills and can give them the life that they want and were promised. While China's government strives to alleviate youth unemployment, societal and cultural factors pose significant challenges. China's young people are reacting in unpredictable ways - finding alternate ways to get jobs, taking time out to become full time kids, or forging their own paths altogether. Chapters  00:00 Background: Employment in China vs the West 03:50 Reasons for youth unemployment in China 08:55 Crazy job r ..read more

The newer and nimbler players in Chinese e-commerce are pushing buttons in the West. Rock-bottom prices, fast fulfilment and addictive interfaces are pushed to their limits to take China's dopamine economy global. What's going on, where does AI fit in the picture and what can we do to take on these new standards of consumption? Support the show Sign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442 Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/ Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinob ..read more

Yoghurt bowls. Lululemon leggings. Ugg slippers. More young Chinese women embrace what they identify as the "white woman aesthetic" as an antidote to the pressures of high maintenance beauty standards and material achievement. As more Chinese women question the grind and settle for less, is the "white woman aesthetic" really an innocent social media fad or a deeper awakening of class consciousness?  Chapters  3:15: Introduction to the "White Woman aesthetic" 12:00 Chinese middle class anxiety 14:31 Defining the Chinese middle class 21:05 Morality and responsibility of the Chinese mi ..read more

This is part 2 of 3. In this episode we discuss the gaokao exam, the toll it takes on young people, and the increasing divide between those from richer, more developed areas and students from the margins of society. In part 1 we explored life for middle schoolers racing to the top of an increasingly steep hill: https://youtu.be/hg86rP15eOE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources The Mental Health Camp Treating China’s Troubled ‘Gaokao’ Kids, Sixth Tone Choice of Higher Education Institutions: Perspectives of Stude ..read more

China's housing market has been shaken by a series of crises in recent years, with events such as the Evergrande default scandal threatening to bring the whole system crashing down. But the truth is the property market in China was built on shaky foundations, and the government has trapped itself in a presale system from which it may not be able to escape.  Will China's housing bubble pop, bringing the economy down with it? Or will the government and CCP be able to find a solution to a system riddled with corruption and bad practices? More importantly, will those who bought homes through ..read more

Guanxi can be loosely understood as instrumental social relationships that form a network to be used by individuals for their personal benefit. Guanxi is a long-enduring part of Chinese society, but how is it used in a modern context. Is it still important for doing business? How should foreigners understand guanxi? And is guanxi now doing more harm than good in modern world? Chapters 00:00: Intro 2:18: Definitions  of Guanxi 11:39: Origins of Guanxi 19:03: Building Guanxi Relationships 31:51: Guanxi in China's Business World 40:58: Guanxi goes abroad? 44:27: Negative Societal Effects of ..read more

I was gifted a copy of The Decisive Decade by Jonathan Ward and this is my review!  Read the first half of the review here: https://sinobabble.substack.com/p/book-review-the-decisive-decade-by Description of the book from Amazon: In The Decisive Decade, Dr. Jonathan D.T. Ward―China scholar and founder of the Atlas Organization, a consultancy focused on US-China global competition―offers a comprehensive framework for how the United States can, and must, defeat China on the world stage economically, diplomatically, militarily, and ideologically. International security and American suprem ..read more

**APOLOGIES FOR THE BAD AUDIO, IT'S BEEN UPDATED NOW** Peter Zeihan is a famous American geopolitical who recently appeared on episode 1921 of The Joe Rogan Experience (full episode here https://open.spotify.com/episode/406fOiiKMU0ot5AS1AIwve). He talks about a lot of topics, but I want to discuss what he says about China and specifically what he gets wrong. Zeihan is keen to predict China's collapse, and his supporters are clearly even keener for his predictions to come true. But I'm not so sure Zeihan can see the future, as his grasp on the present (and past) seems shaky at best. Let's tal ..read more

China is on a mission to build world peace, but why now? What qualifications do they have to be a mediator? Will the peace they bring about be a stable, lasting one? Are they better than the UN? Is neutrality a core feature of a good third-party mediator? What do they stand to gain from the Saudi Arabia-Iran deal? Is their plan for peace between Ukraine and Russia viable? Is democracy a prerequisite for peace in the modern world? Will globalisation perish or flourish as a result in the rise of transactional peace? So many questions. About 2, maybe 3, answers. 00:00 Intro 00:57 Context questi ..read more

The biggest meeting of China's government just took place. This historic Two Sessions saw Xi Jinping elected to an unprecedented third term as president, the new government staffed with his followers, and changes to legislation that will see the Chinese Communist Party gain an even tighter grip on power. What do the proclamations about the economy, foreign relations, Taiwan, the United States, and domestic policies tell us about China's policy direction for the next five years?  00:00 Intro 01:43 What are the NPC and CPPCC? 05:37 Personnel (non)changes 13:33 Government reform 22:30 Econo ..read more