英文摘要

《财经》杂志   

2021年01月04日 13:38  

本文3525字,约5分钟

China’s Chip Industry is Picking Up Speed Against Adverse International Environment; New Automakers in China Reach Record High Market Value. But will the Bubble Burst at Any Time?; Wuhan Seeks Return to Old Life Despite Seismic Changes; China is Determined to Raise the Retirement Age

China’s Chip Industry is Picking Up Speed Against Adverse International Environment

In 2018, Chinese chip companies were sanctioned by the US government—this forced the industry to embark on a new starting point. Since then, China’s chip industry has experienced three years of unprecedented development and turmoil. In 2018, some well-informed chip industry veterans and investors began to show some interest in the opportunities in China’s chip industry. Driven by state policies and the market in 2019, the industry became magma hot, and a large amount of capital began to flow in. Over 2020, SMIC International, a leading Chinese semiconductor foundry company, was publicly-listed on the STAR Market.

Established in 2019, the STAR Market was designed to enhance technological innovation while piloting the registration-based IPO for the first time. As a result, China’s chip industry was able to procure new platforms for capital, smoothing the way for its development. Caijing reporters have extensively interviewed people in the investment and chip industries, trying to present the overall perspective on these past three years of developments.

 

New Automakers in China Reach Record High Market Value. But will the Bubble Burst at Any Time?

New energy vehicles are a rare market with promising growth prospects. But they are also becoming a battlefield of fierce competition from many automakers. In terms of global market rankings of auto-companies, two Chinese firms are part of the top ten. While these might appear to be influenced by short-term factors, they actually reflect expectations from capital markets.

New players in China’s auto production account for less than 1% of sales over established auto companies, that being said, they have a market value that is several times that of the established ones. Stock prices of new energy auto companies have really subverted previous valuation models. Many industry observers point out that the current bubble in stock prices of new energy vehicle makers is too big and fragile.

 

Wuhan Seeks Return to Old Life Despite Seismic Changes

Earlier this month, a Caijing reporter revisited Wuhan Central Hospital and discovered many changes. Cai Li, who was once fiercely condemned by the public, no longer serves as the party secretary of Wuhan Central Hospital. Young doctors who also criticized the management of hospital have chosen to leave. However, most of the medical staff stayed.

It has been more than 8 months since the end of the war against the epidemic in China, despite small flair ups here and there. During the epidemic, 68 doctors and nurses in the hospital were diagnosed with COVID-19. Six of them died in the line of duty. The most tragic hospital in Wuhan’s fight against the epidemic is recovering from the trauma. Daily life in Wuhan has returned to normal like the old days. However, there are some changes hidden in the dark of people’s hearts which are hard to detect—and perhaps shall remain buried as long as they live.

 

China is Determined to Raise the Retirement Age

It’s becoming clear that China is determined to raise the retirement age as the population ages fast. In China, the retirement age has remained unchanged for over four decades. The proposal of postponing the retirement age involves not only the pension gap problem, but also possible changes in the job market. Raising the retirement age obviously means that the elderly will stay longer on the job. To what extent will this put pressure on job opportunities for young people?

The policy proposal to delay retirement has fueled public discontent— which resulted in the slowing pace of implementing it. However, the retirement system needs to be reformed. But there is no consensus regarding more specific standards and details of how this might be done. Some scholars support this reform. They believe that postponing retirement actually means a lifestyle change. At the same time, as the life expectancy of the population increases, the number of years old people receive pensions has increased correspondingly. Therefore, the amount of pensions has also increased.