https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/509782/feed China has always placed a high priority on support for the jobs market, seeing a high level of employment as connected to overall social stability. In addition, the working element of the country’s 1.4 billion population is a key for driving economic growth. A major concern for Beijing is ensuring employment for the rising number of fresh university and college graduates who enter the work force every year, as well as the rising number of retires who need to be supported via the pension fund by... en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Mandy Zuo Mandy Zuo China has issued a draft of its first formal regulation to extend labour-law protections to the country’s rapidly growing ranks of gig and platform workers, a major segment of an expanding flexible workforce within the country’s tough job market. Platform workers, such as ride-hailing drivers and those engaged in food deliveries – a group totalling 84 million who often face irregular pay and intense workloads – will be entitled to basic labour protections covering pay, rest periods, workplace... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/policy/article/3370280/china-proposes-basic-safeguards-expanding-gig-worker-economy-gaps-remain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/policy/article/3370280/china-proposes-basic-safeguards-expanding-gig-worker-economy-gaps-remain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:00:28 +0000 Sherry Wang Sherry Wang As China seeks to build on its “engineer dividend” – the advantage created by a vast pool of engineers built up over decades – it is directing more talent towards artificial intelligence and other hi-tech fields central to its competition with the US. The push comes as fresh graduates face mounting pressure to find jobs, underscoring the challenge of aligning China’s expanding higher education system with the needs of its changing economy. But Beijing has a narrow window to act, an education... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3369754/how-china-planning-build-its-engineer-dividend-tech-war-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3369754/how-china-planning-build-its-engineer-dividend-tech-war-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:00:06 +0000 Xinyi Wu Xinyi Wu Primary schools and kindergartens in China are being converted into elderly care facilities, as falling birth rates and a shrinking youth population leave classrooms empty. According to data from the Ministry of Education, primary school admissions and preschool enrolments each fell around 10 per cent in 2025. The total number of educational institutions nationwide declined by over 6 per cent to 440,700 from the year before. Some of these vacant campuses are being repurposed to serve a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3368988/chinas-birth-rate-falls-vacant-schools-are-transformed-aged-care-facilities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3368988/chinas-birth-rate-falls-vacant-schools-are-transformed-aged-care-facilities?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Oct 2026 01:43:59 +0000 Chong Ming Lee Chong Ming Lee For China’s elite artificial intelligence researchers, Silicon Valley no longer holds the unrivalled appeal it once did. A growing number are opting to stay home to build their careers, helping China overtake the United States as the leading workplace for top-tier AI talent, according to a study released this week by the think tank Carnegie China. China employed 41 per cent of the world’s leading AI researchers tracked by the study last year, pulling ahead of the US at 34 per cent, according to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3368809/china-overtakes-us-top-workplace-elite-ai-researchers-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3368809/china-overtakes-us-top-workplace-elite-ai-researchers-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:30:17 +0000 Fan Hou,Haining Gao Fan Hou,Haining Gao – https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/article/3368452/chinas-gig-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/article/3368452/chinas-gig-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 02:50:59 +0000 Cheryl Arcibal Cheryl Arcibal Nearly one-fifth of surveyed companies in the Asia-Pacific region believe wider adoption of artificial intelligence will reduce their real estate needs, a new study by CBRE has found. More than half – 56 per cent – held a neutral view, believing either that AI had no impact on office space demand or that it was too early to determine its effect, according to the property consultancy’s poll of corporate real estate executives in the region. The remaining 25 per cent said AI adoption would require... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/article/3367940/will-ai-adoption-shrink-office-space-asia-pacific-firms-are-fence-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/article/3367940/will-ai-adoption-shrink-office-space-asia-pacific-firms-are-fence-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:00:06 +0000 Xinyi Wu Xinyi Wu China’s urban youth unemployment rose last month, as a record influx of university graduates struggles to find work in a job market weighed down by weak domestic demand and the growing adoption of artificial intelligence. The jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students, rose to 18.9 per cent in August from 17.9 per cent in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. This figure, as well as the identical number from August last year, represents... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/economic-indicators/article/3367869/record-influx-university-graduates-pushes-chinas-youth-unemployment-rate-189?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/economic-indicators/article/3367869/record-influx-university-graduates-pushes-chinas-youth-unemployment-rate-189?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:57:38 +0000 Simpson Cheung,William Yiu,Elizabeth Cheung Simpson Cheung,William Yiu,Elizabeth Cheung A new visa intended to attract international talent to participate in short-term training programmes in Hong Kong could become available as early as the first quarter of next year, the South China Morning Post has learned. The final policy address of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s current term also put the spotlight on five existing or soon-to-launch academies that would seek to train overseas professionals and organise international events. They and the new visa category were among a spate... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3367763/hong-kongs-new-training-visa-could-be-available-first-quarter-2027?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3367763/hong-kongs-new-training-visa-could-be-available-first-quarter-2027?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:15:30 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma China’s retail sales growth unexpectedly slumped in August, while industrial output accelerated more than anticipated, as the economy increasingly divides between a domestic slowdown and an export boom. August retail sales only rose 0.4 per cent, missing the 0.7 per cent forecast among economists polled by Chinese financial data provider Wind and slowing from 0.6 per cent in July. By contrast, industrial output jumped 5.2 per cent, beating the 4.7 per cent expectation and July’s 4.5 per cent... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3367587/chinas-worsening-retail-slowdown-bolsters-case-stimulus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3367587/chinas-worsening-retail-slowdown-bolsters-case-stimulus?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:17 +0000 Mandy Zuo Mandy Zuo Weeks after sparking a nationwide outcry over its mass dismissal of recent college graduates, Xingyu – a major automotive lighting maker in eastern China – has severely penalised four of its executives and promised to help the former employees find new jobs. Two of the firm’s top executives received salary deductions and two human resources managers were dismissed or demoted for their “misjudgment and hasty decision-making”, the company said in a lengthy statement detailing its recent “mistake”... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/companies/article/3367249/how-one-companys-choice-resignation-or-factory-left-chinas-young-workers-floored?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/companies/article/3367249/how-one-companys-choice-resignation-or-factory-left-chinas-young-workers-floored?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 04:00:06 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng China’s upper-middle-class families are spending more on their children’s local education to help them compete in a tight domestic job market at the expense of summer programmes aimed at gaining admission to foreign universities, a recent survey found. A survey of 277 affluent Chinese families by Babazhenbang, a parenting and education platform with a database covering hundreds of schools preparing students for overseas study, found that 84.5 per cent of families paid for subject-specific... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3367243/focus-jobs-sees-affluent-chinese-families-spend-more-tutoring-overseas-exposure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3367243/focus-jobs-sees-affluent-chinese-families-spend-more-tutoring-overseas-exposure?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat China’s hopes for a consumption boom may depend less on stimulus or wealthy households and more on improving living standards for 131 million migrant workers in its cities – a shift that could unlock spending equivalent to about 0.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to HSBC. In a report released on Thursday, analysts at the bank projected that the world would add about 1.2 billion middle- and high-income consumers by 2050, with Asia accounting for 77 per cent of the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3367166/improving-migrant-workers-living-standards-key-boosting-chinese-consumption-hsbc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3367166/improving-migrant-workers-living-standards-key-boosting-chinese-consumption-hsbc?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:18:07 +0000 Tan Poh Hwee Tan Poh Hwee Chinese manufacturers have long understood overseas barriers in visible terms: tariffs, market access, technical standards and geopolitical restrictions. The controversy surrounding Changzhou Xingyu Automotive Lighting System points to a quieter threat: a governance failure at home can follow a company into global markets. Online, the dispute has been cast as a story of young employees fighting back. According to media reports, Xingyu recruited 440 graduates but asked 107 of them – just over a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3366647/governance-must-be-new-competitive-edge-chinas-global-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3366647/governance-must-be-new-competitive-edge-chinas-global-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:30:05 +0000 Huizhao Huang Huizhao Huang Two years ago, Yuki Liu was a university student in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, studying traditional Chinese music and the pipa – a pear-shaped Chinese lute – weighing the usual paths considered by her peers: postgraduate degree or civil service exam. Today, her day begins at 1am in Germany. While many people sleep, she is already working as an apprentice at an industrial bakery in a small town outside Stuttgart in the country’s southwest, preparing the shop for the morning rush. The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3366392/how-chinas-youth-job-crisis-driving-graduates-german-vocational-apprenticeships?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/global-economy/article/3366392/how-chinas-youth-job-crisis-driving-graduates-german-vocational-apprenticeships?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Xinyi Wu Xinyi Wu Lan Xiaohuan is a professor of economics at China Europe International Business School. His book, How China Works: An Introduction to China’s State-led Economic Development, has sold millions of copies in China and has been translated into multiple languages. Here, he discusses the economic realities behind China’s record trade surplus, the case for a stronger social safety net, and how public data infrastructure shapes the artificial intelligence race with the United States. SCMP Plus readers... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3366300/how-china-works-author-data-economy-robots-and-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3366300/how-china-works-author-data-economy-robots-and-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 03:33:24 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat For four years, Beijing-based Clare Zhang worked as a research analyst at a corporate advisory firm, helping companies assess technologies and competitors for projects they planned to list – until late last year, when she was told that artificial intelligence had reduced the number of analysts the company needed and could afford. Her job involved combing through company filings and public records to produce market and competitor studies that sometimes ran to 500 pages. But AI could increasingly... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3365695/how-chinas-ai-race-shrinking-job-market-forcing-workers-low-paid-manual-roles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3365695/how-chinas-ai-race-shrinking-job-market-forcing-workers-low-paid-manual-roles?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 01:00:07 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat China plans to expand the scale of its sports industry to at least 7 trillion yuan (about US$1 trillion) over the next five years, turning to sporting events, outdoor activities and fitness spending to boost consumption and support local economies. The fresh target was detailed by officials at a press conference on Thursday as part of Beijing’s 15th five-year plan for the sports sector, and the goal represents a big jump from the 3.84 trillion yuan recorded in 2024, according to the most recent... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3366259/beijing-bets-us1-trillion-sports-boom-revive-consumption-job-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3366259/beijing-bets-us1-trillion-sports-boom-revive-consumption-job-market?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:00:06 +0000 Mandy Zuo Mandy Zuo One Shanghai family made an unconventional choice as they pored over college options this summer: rather than opting for overseas study or one of the many institutions within the borders of the financial centre, they picked a lesser-known university in a third-tier city – a Sino-foreign joint venture they felt would confer career benefits in the long run. Rose Hu said her son gained admission to the Guangdong Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in the coastal city of Shantou to study... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3366107/chinese-students-wary-geopolitics-seek-international-diplomas-without-leaving-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3366107/chinese-students-wary-geopolitics-seek-international-diplomas-without-leaving-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:00:15 +0000 Emma Ma Emma Ma After significant lay-offs by a key Chinese auto supplier in Changzhou city of Jiangsu province involving over a hundred new graduates sparked nationwide outrage and forced Volkswagen to launch an investigation, analysts note the episode could lead to an overhaul of corporate-governance practices across China’s enterprises. At the centre of the controversy is Changzhou Xingyu Automotive Lighting System, China’s biggest manufacturer of auto lighting components by revenue, based in Jiangsu... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3366007/volkswagen-launches-inquiry-changzhou-supplier-following-mass-graduate-lay-offs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3366007/volkswagen-launches-inquiry-changzhou-supplier-following-mass-graduate-lay-offs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:30:12 +0000 Sherry Wang Sherry Wang China’s factory activity improved in August but remained in contraction territory for a second straight month, as a pickup in orders could not fully offset the impact of overall weak domestic demand and disruptions from extreme weather. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was 49.8 in August, up from 49.2 in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday. The reading was largely in line with the 49.85 projection from economists polled by the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/economic-indicators/article/3365785/chinas-factory-activity-stays-contraction-august-despite-improvement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/economic-indicators/article/3365785/chinas-factory-activity-stays-contraction-august-despite-improvement?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2026 02:21:09 +0000 Sherry Wang Sherry Wang As more Chinese provincial-level regions raise minimum wages, economists say the increases could encourage lower-income workers to spend more, but were unlikely to significantly boost consumption or the broader economy and could add to the cost burdens faced by smaller firms. The provinces of Guangdong and Shanxi and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region announced this month that wage increases of around 10 per cent or more would be implemented later this year. The increases far outpace their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3365431/more-chinese-regions-are-raising-minimum-wages-will-it-help-boost-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3365431/more-chinese-regions-are-raising-minimum-wages-will-it-help-boost-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:00:08 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng A growing number of China’s top high school students are looking beyond traditional elite universities to smaller, newer, research-intensive institutions that offer curricula focused on technological innovation and its commercialisation. In Guangdong province, two-year-old Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology and one-year-old Great Bay University, in Dongguan, had minimum admission scores from the national entrance exam above 625 this year, higher than many departments at more established... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364848/exam-scores-reveal-increased-student-interest-chinas-newer-smaller-universities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364848/exam-scores-reveal-increased-student-interest-chinas-newer-smaller-universities?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2026 10:00:12 +0000 Michael Han Michael Han Every summer, China’s gaokao, the national higher education entrance examination, provides an unusually revealing snapshot of household expectations. The critical metrics are not average scores or admission volumes. They are the choices families make about how their children will spend four years of their lives. The 2026 examination attracted 12.9 million registered candidates. This is a decline from 13.35 million in 2025 and 13.42 million in 2024. Demographics explain much of this contraction.... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3364311/chinas-falling-gaokao-numbers-offer-revealing-snapshot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3364311/chinas-falling-gaokao-numbers-offer-revealing-snapshot?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:30:06 +0000 Sherry Wang Sherry Wang China’s youth jobless rate climbed to 17.9 per cent in July, as a record wave of university graduates enters an already crowded labour market, prompting Beijing to step up employment support. The jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students, rose 3 percentage points from 14.9 per cent in June – the last of three straight months of contraction – according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. The rate last July was 17.8 per cent and it then climbed to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364538/record-graduate-influx-lifts-chinas-youth-jobless-rate-179-july?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364538/record-graduate-influx-lifts-chinas-youth-jobless-rate-179-july?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Aug 2026 06:49:29 +0000 Xinyi Wu,Sherry Wang Xinyi Wu,Sherry Wang China’s economic imbalances continued to deepen in July, as sluggish retail sales and a fixed-asset investment slump highlighted persistent weakness in domestic demand, with analysts expecting more policy stimulus from Beijing to stave off downside risks. Retail sales, a major gauge of consumer spending, grew by 0.6 per cent year on year last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday. The lacklustre reading missed a 1.3 per cent rise forecast by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/economic-indicators/article/3364266/chinas-domestic-demand-stays-muted-july-retail-sales-miss-expectations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/economic-indicators/article/3364266/chinas-domestic-demand-stays-muted-july-retail-sales-miss-expectations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2026 07:00:14 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat For Daisy Chen, a graduate of one of China’s top medical universities, choosing Spain over Britain, the United States and Australia puzzled many of her friends. Instead of following the well-trodden path to an English-speaking country, she began a master’s degree programme in healthcare management in Barcelona. “I didn’t choose the US, the UK or Australia because they were too expensive, and I felt the competition there would probably be just as intense as in China,” she said. “I wanted to study... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364066/why-are-some-chinese-students-choosing-spain-despite-its-tough-job-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364066/why-are-some-chinese-students-choosing-spain-despite-its-tough-job-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Aug 2026 06:00:12 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat The southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen just recorded its wettest July in 31 years, with small businesses and airline passengers feeling the effects. Last month’s deluge was bad news for Yuan Zhang, who runs a small breakfast shop near a subway station in the city. Her monthly profit more than halved as weeks of persistent rain kept customers away. She spent 200,000 yuan (US$27,900) setting up the eatery, which opened last year, and made monthly profits of more than 10,000 yuan last... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364071/south-china-tech-hubs-wet-summer-puts-damper-small-business-profits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3364071/south-china-tech-hubs-wet-summer-puts-damper-small-business-profits?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:00:49 +0000 Sherry Wang Sherry Wang China’s marriage registrations fell 7.5 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026, underscoring the demographic challenges authorities face as they step up efforts to encourage nuptials and childbearing. Nearly 3.28 million couples in China tied the knot between January and June, down 264,000 from the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Wednesday. Divorce registrations also rose 3.9 per cent to 1.38 million. Marriage registrations are... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3363856/chinas-marriages-fall-75-demographic-crisis-deepens-what-it-spells-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3363856/chinas-marriages-fall-75-demographic-crisis-deepens-what-it-spells-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:00:13 +0000 Gaurav Kumar Gaurav Kumar At Jantar Mantar, New Delhi’s designated protest site, India’s future spent weeks enduring the heat and demanding change. But what kind of change, and why? These were young people, many of them highly educated but still without a job despite sitting numerous government recruitment exams. Their anger was not because they had been cheated. It stemmed from worse: their qualifications had simply stopped meaning anything. China has a word for this dilemma. India does not, and that missing word... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3363603/word-indias-cockroach-protests-missed-can-be-found-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3363603/word-indias-cockroach-protests-missed-can-be-found-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat Even as an undergraduate in his native Barcelona, Aitor knew he wanted to work in China. The young finance major reckoned an economy of such scale and speed had more to offer someone with his skill set than the market waiting for him closer to home. After moving to Shanghai to complete a master’s degree, he had what he came for: a supply-chain job in the bustling financial centre. What Aitor – a nickname, requested to protect the identity of his employer – did not expect was that getting a job... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3363329/chinas-aspiring-foreign-workers-getting-job-only-half-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3363329/chinas-aspiring-foreign-workers-getting-job-only-half-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Dake Liu,Sylvia Ma Dake Liu,Sylvia Ma When 22-year-old content creator Li Sichen beat nearly 3,600 applicants to become the first cloud observer at Laojun Mountain in Henan province, Chinese social media called it the ultimate dream job: earning 60,000 yuan (US$8,888) a month to simply “lie down and watch the clouds”. The reality proved far less casual, with early morning wake-ups, unpredictable alpine weather and relentless daily publishing deadlines quickly ending any illusion of a carefree holiday. Even so, Li’s temporary post... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3363353/chinas-viral-dream-job-tough-labour-market-fuels-rush-unconventional-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3363353/chinas-viral-dream-job-tough-labour-market-fuels-rush-unconventional-work?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:00:06 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng An organised ring that helped people in the central Chinese province of Henan cheat their way to government-sponsored jobs has been exposed. An official investigation concluded that a province-wide exam held to fill the posts last month had been compromised by “large-scale, organised cheating” with suspects paying officials overseeing the exam to obtain test papers and the correct answers in advance, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday. The case was the latest in a string of similar crimes... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3363354/chinese-exam-fraud-ring-helped-candidates-cheat-their-way-government-funded-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3363354/chinese-exam-fraud-ring-helped-candidates-cheat-their-way-government-funded-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:53:55 +0000 Zongshuai Fan Zongshuai Fan China’s Politburo has just set the country’s economic priorities for the second half of the year. The meeting took place against the backdrop of gross domestic product growth slowing to 4.3 per cent in the second quarter, its weakest since late 2022, and an increasingly K-shaped economy: strong exports and fast-growing hi-tech industries on one side, with weak domestic consumption, softening investment and slower growth elsewhere on the other. The official readout did not describe the economy as... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3362585/chinas-economic-shift-may-hinge-what-migrant-workers-do-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3362585/chinas-economic-shift-may-hinge-what-migrant-workers-do-next?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Aug 2026 01:30:05 +0000 Frank Chen Frank Chen A top theoretical journal of the Communist Party has acknowledged that a stark economic divide exists between China’s booming AI sector and its struggling traditional industries. And while arguing that this divergence was not unique to China, the Qiushi Journal stressed that rapid technological advances must not leave ordinary citizens behind. In a commentary published on its website on Sunday, the journal conceded that there was an obvious “gap in temperature” in the world’s second-largest... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362794/china-acknowledges-temperature-gap-between-tech-boom-and-traditional-slump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362794/china-acknowledges-temperature-gap-between-tech-boom-and-traditional-slump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:07 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng Guangzhou delivery vehicle driver Zhang Liang watches on warily as more graduates, former factory workers and other jobseekers join him plying their trade on the roads. “The streets are flooded with delivery drivers and payouts per order have plummeted,” Zhang said. “To make what we earned last year, we have to stay on the road longer and ride faster, leading to a sharp rise in traffic accidents among us.” Official estimates put the nation’s flexible workforce at nearly 300 million, most of whom... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362553/stronger-social-security-proposed-law-sparks-pushback-gig-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362553/stronger-social-security-proposed-law-sparks-pushback-gig-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Aug 2026 03:00:06 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng For five years, Alice Zheng, a former bank loan reviewer, followed the path expected of many young Chinese: securing a stable job and striving for middle-class comfort in the megacity Shenzhen. But after years of long hours, rigid corporate hierarchies and mounting stress left her physically and emotionally exhausted, she quit in 2021. Since then, the 36-year-old has lived in Yunnan province and the Yangtze river city of Jiujiang, taking advantage of low costs in smaller cities and sluggish... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362087/upside-downsizing-chinese-youth-leave-rat-race-more-affordable-small-towns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362087/upside-downsizing-chinese-youth-leave-rat-race-more-affordable-small-towns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:00:07 +0000 Frank Chen Frank Chen As China drafts policy to open the door wider to foreign schools that provide domestic work training in an effort to improve the skills of Chinese carers, countries with talent and expertise in related vocational education, like the Philippines, may stand to benefit. But industry insiders say vocational prejudices and Beijing’s strained ties with Manila may present hurdles. Last week, China gazetted a policy document to boost the supply and quality of home services. Among other measures, foreign... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362552/could-filipinos-benefit-china-opens-door-wider-foreign-domestic-work-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362552/could-filipinos-benefit-china-opens-door-wider-foreign-domestic-work-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Aug 2026 05:00:09 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Employers in China anticipate a slightly higher median salary increase next year as they push to retain top-tier talent despite financial pressures following a soft 2026, according to data published by a global advisory. Companies were budgeting for a median increase of 4.5 per cent in 2027, following 4.3 per cent growth in 2026 and 4.5 per cent in 2025, the advisory and broking firm WTW said in a new report. Even so, the three-year figure would still lag Asia-Pacific regional averages over the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362254/chinas-hi-tech-boom-pushes-firms-boost-pay-2027-keeping-talent-priority?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3362254/chinas-hi-tech-boom-pushes-firms-boost-pay-2027-keeping-talent-priority?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:41:17 +0000 Junjie Wang Junjie Wang China released its 15th five-year plan for expanding consumption on July 14, setting out the country’s priorities for strengthening domestic demand between now and 2030. It targets retail sales of around 60 trillion yuan (US$8.9 billion) by that year, and sets goals to increase the consumption of services and digital products, strengthen household spending power and improve the overall consumer environment. Key points are summarised below. 1. General strategy Make expanding domestic demand a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3361966/chinas-15th-five-year-plan-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3361966/chinas-15th-five-year-plan-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2026 02:44:05 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li Five years after graduating from a vocational school in the southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, Chen Hao found himself working as a salesman for a local electronics factory. His daily routine involved exhausting trips between corporate clients, and he had not seen a pay rise for years. The 26-year-old decided he wanted a change. “Everybody in Shenzhen is talking about artificial intelligence, so I want to find a job in the sector too,” Chen said. “I know my degree makes it impossible to get... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3361747/job-fears-changing-world-make-ai-hot-subject-chinas-vocational-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3361747/job-fears-changing-world-make-ai-hot-subject-chinas-vocational-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jul 2026 06:00:08 +0000 Emma Ma Emma Ma With China’s personal income tax revenue jumping more than 13 per cent in the first half of the year – outpacing income growth by nearly eight percentage points – analysts said the gains were largely driven by local tax compliance campaigns targeting higher-income earners. Data released by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday showed that personal income tax collections reached 898.2 billion yuan (US$132.7 billion) in the first six months of the year, up 13.1 per cent year on year. Estimates by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3361598/chinas-personal-income-tax-revenue-soars-13-top-earners-face-tighter-compliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3361598/chinas-personal-income-tax-revenue-soars-13-top-earners-face-tighter-compliance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Li Qiang Li Qiang On July 9, a fire burned through a shoe factory in Jinjiang, Fujian province, killing at least 28 people. The accident signals a larger problem: firms operating under financial pressure often cut costs by compromising safety. China’s low-cost business model needs reform, but why has change been so difficult? The plant that burned employed hundreds of workers, yet company filings for 2025 indicate that only a handful of them were enrolled in pension and medical insurance plans. A fire-safety... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3360533/why-chinas-low-cost-business-model-resists-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3360533/why-chinas-low-cost-business-model-resists-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Emma Ma,Xinyi Wu Emma Ma,Xinyi Wu China’s urban youth unemployment rate inched down in June, marking three straight months of decline, though the country’s labour market remains saddled with headwinds as soft demand persists and graduation season approaches. The jobless rate for the 16-24 age bracket, excluding students, fell to 14.9 per cent in June, a monthly drop of 0.7 percentage points, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This cooling in youth unemployment helped push the overall urban jobless rate... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3361289/chinas-youth-jobless-rate-edges-down-june-third-consecutive-month?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3361289/chinas-youth-jobless-rate-edges-down-june-third-consecutive-month?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jul 2026 03:28:09 +0000 Wang Huiyao Wang Huiyao Last month, 12.9 million students in China sat for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or gaokao, the number sliding for a second year, and down from 13.3 million last year. Given that births have fallen below 8 million annually to a record low, in 18 years, the country’s more than 3,100 universities will find themselves fighting over an even smaller cohort. This will coincide with a growing global competition for talent. In a knowledge-driven economy, the countries that prosper... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3360709/prosper-china-must-become-magnet-international-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3360709/prosper-china-must-become-magnet-international-students?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li Lu, a former professor of electrical engineering, recently stepped down from his job at a university in southwest China’s Sichuan province after hitting retirement age. But, in a break from normal practice, the 62-year-old’s long career at the school is far from over. In September, Lu will return to the faculty – this time as a research fellow. “The university hoped that I could continue working on some of the projects I haven’t finished, because I am one of the most experienced professors,” Lu... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3360972/chinas-state-agencies-are-hiring-retirees-workforce-rapidly-ages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3360972/chinas-state-agencies-are-hiring-retirees-workforce-rapidly-ages?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2026 01:00:07 +0000 Xinyi Wu Xinyi Wu Even a significant recovery in China’s fertility rate would still fail to slow down the country’s ageing process before 2050, a new report has found, though achieving higher birth rates remains critical to preventing a more severe crisis later. “A rapid increase in China’s ageing population rate before 2050 is inevitable,” wrote analysts led by Li Xunlei, chief economist at Zhongtai Securities, in the report. Under an optimistic scenario in which China’s total fertility rate rose to above 1.3... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3360816/chinas-population-ageing-seen-inevitable-2050-why-push-more-births?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3360816/chinas-population-ageing-seen-inevitable-2050-why-push-more-births?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:30:10 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. We refer to your July 5 article, “‘China shock 3.0’ is coming. And it’ll be AI-powered robots”. The scale and speed of China’s robotics development is stunning, as detailed in the article, and will have a huge impact on jobs. Where once a large and inexpensive workforce powered... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/letters/article/3359972/automation-must-be-designed-human-worker-mind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/letters/article/3359972/automation-must-be-designed-human-worker-mind?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hunched over sizzling grills and shrouded in smoke, trainees at the Yueyang Barbecue Academy in south-central China’s Hunan province roast skewer after skewer of succulent beef tendon, perfecting the skills that could land them a restaurant job. Zhang Tengfei, a former factory worker who spent a decade in the car industry, joined China’s first dedicated barbecue school, hoping to launch a career behind the grill. “When I was laid off … I was at a loss for a while,” says Zhang, 34, at the academy... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3359682/one-barbecue-stove-can-support-family-why-people-are-joining-chinas-barbecue-academy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3359682/one-barbecue-stove-can-support-family-why-people-are-joining-chinas-barbecue-academy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:15:05 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li China has made income growth and the reform of its wage-distribution system a priority within broader efforts to cushion the domestic job market against the impact of artificial intelligence over the next five years. A new blueprint released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Thursday laid out a detailed road map for the strategy, vowing to promote collective wage bargaining within the private sector, ensure steady wage growth, and tilt pay towards frontline... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3360145/china-head-ai-fuelled-inequality-lifting-salaries-narrowing-pay-gap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3360145/china-head-ai-fuelled-inequality-lifting-salaries-narrowing-pay-gap?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:00:11 +0000 Kun Tian Kun Tian This spring, American graduates did something commencement audiences rarely do: they booed the future being sold to them. At several universities, students jeered speakers who praised artificial intelligence (AI), so often that a National Public Radio report advised this year’s orators to avoid the subject altogether. That reaction is too easily dismissed as technophobia. These are among the most digitally fluent graduates ever. What they reject is not AI; they reject a version of it in which... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3359011/why-chinese-youth-arent-booing-ai-unlike-american-graduates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3359011/why-chinese-youth-arent-booing-ai-unlike-american-graduates?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2026 08:30:06 +0000