(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The German TV station ntv’s web page news focused on the stagnation of China’s economic growth. A comment titled “Chinas fette Jahre sind vorbei” (Chinas fette Jahre sind vorbei) pointed out: “The leadership of the Communist Party has almost Gone are the days when growth could be ‘conjured’ at will.”
The article begins by describing the current situation in China: “Months of lockdown paralyzed metropolises, a wave of new crown infections late last year, combined with a bursting housing bubble, rising commodity and energy prices, and weakening export demand following the global economic downturn. .Given the impact of the above events on the Chinese economy last year, it is not surprising that the GDP growth target (5.5%) set by the Communist Party leadership fell short. However, according to official figures, economic growth still reached 3%. If the crisis can be handed over With such a report card, is it possible for the Chinese economy to return to its previous growth rate after the shock has passed?”
The author of the review believes: “On closer inspection, this seems unlikely. Last year’s growth rate was the worst in about three decades, not so much a manifestation of a crisis period as a new normal. Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) )’s analysis of China’s economic prospects mentioned: “The era of high-speed growth is over. In the future, China’s GDP will maintain an annual growth rate of only 2% to 3%.””
The author cites Max Zenglein, chief economist at the Mercator China Institute, as saying that the past year has shown where the pain points of the Chinese economy lie. “First, the bloated real estate industry accounts for a quarter of the entire Chinese economy. Under the industry’s huge debt burden, many companies large and small have closed down. The collapse of the housing market and housing prices has hit millions of middle-class homeowners, This indirectly reduces their desire to spend.”
“The loss of jobs and income during the lockdown has also weakened domestic demand, and at the same time, foreign demand for China’s core export products has weakened significantly. As Zeng Lin said, the Chinese leadership has lost the ability to manage the economy and The ability to “change growth”. For example, in 2008, China successfully fought the global economic crisis at that time through a huge spending plan, especially in infrastructure spending. Zeng Lin mentioned that today “China’s economic There has been a structural change, and you can’t send unemployed college graduates to construction sites.’”
“After China successfully doubled its GDP per capita between 2010 and 2020 as planned, the official goal is to double economic growth again by 2035, which requires an annual growth rate of nearly 5 percent. According to Zeng Lin, It is quite difficult to achieve this. Today, China continues to face the risk of falling into the “middle-income trap”. This phenomenon, which initially stops the process of rapidly catching up with industrialized countries, can also be seen in other developing countries. Zeng Lin said that China It faced this situation earlier than other countries. South Korea is currently experiencing a similar development, however, the local GDP per capita is three times that of China.”
The German Editorial Network (RND) explored the background factors of women’s participation in the White Paper movement in an article entitled “After the historic protests in Beijing: Why are the police mainly arresting young women?”
The article cited Cao Zhixin, editor of Peking University Press who participated in the Liangmaqiao protest in Beijing, as an example. Before she was arrested, she took a confession video and said: “Hi everyone, I am Zhixin. When everyone saw this video, I already Taken away by the police, like several other friends of mine.”
“The anti-COVID-19 campaign on Liangma Bridge in Beijing played a major role in China’s subsequent easing of lockdown, but many young women who participated had to pay a high price for it,” the authors noted.
“At least so far, the worst fears have not come true. As far as is known, there have been no widespread arrests and many demonstrators have been released after being briefly interrogated by the police. However, some sources believe that some 40 People end up in pre-trial detention – often in undisclosed locations. Furthermore, in some cases defendants are forced to sign arrest warrants without even knowing exactly what crime they have committed.”
“There has been talk among some human rights groups that the police are clearly trying to make an assumption that feminist groups organized the protests. This has little credibility and is likely to be a scapegoat created under pressure by the authorities. After all, many Those arrested were not fierce activists, but politically interested millennials with a strong sense of justice. Most of them were just entering the workforce, but now, they may be dealing with a precarious middle class Life.”
“It is certainly not a coincidence that many women were involved in the Liangmaqiao protest movement. Because in China, educated young women often experience the dark side of the patriarchal system at a very early age. As daughters, they are not valued by society , the denial of many career opportunities, and the strict repression of feminist ideas by censors at universities, these experiences heightened their awareness of justice and morality.”
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