In A Drastically Changing World, China is Rising As a Great Power
On December 12, 2020, at the Sanya Forum, Wang Boming, the editor-in-chief of Caijing magazine, the former Minister of Finance of China Lou Jiwei, and the founder of Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio had an enlightening dialogue.
In Dalio’s view, China’s rise is one of the three ongoing major changes in the world. At present, China is already a major trading country. But in terms of indicators of a great power (such as being an international financial center), China is clearly behind the United States. However, while the US has heavy funding, and some could say over-investment, China has many equally attractive markets. Moreover, China’s financial markets are continuously opening up to the world. Lou Jiwei also believes that 2020 is a turning point, with a lot of cross-border investment entering China. That being said, it is still too early to judge whether or not China can become an international financial center and a true reserve currency country.
Tight Job Market Makes College Graduates Turn to A Dark Web for Internship Opportunities
Many Chinese college students firmly believe that without an excellent internship experience, it will almost be impossible to find a job with a famous company. This concept is so popular among college students and job seekers that it breeds a “dark web” of human resource predators. Some intermediary companies claim that college students who need a job should get “proof of internship experience” that is sufficient to support their resume. Naturally, they charge these desperate, anxiety stricken college students money to procure them “internships.”
Affected by the pandemic, the employment situation this year has been particularly severe. A veteran in the education industry commented to a reporter from Caijing that paid internships are a sign of college students’ difficulties in obtaining jobs. To solve this problem, enterprises and society need to create more employment opportunities for young people—and offer authentic internship training with proper mentors and transparency.
In 2021, China Will Put Forward New Reform Concepts
In 2021, China’s macroeconomic policies will return to normal, meaning a new turning point is coming. At the beginning of 2020, the pandemic broke out and spread across the world. Under the impact of the coronavirus, the global economy has plunged into a deep recession, and the international financial market has fluctuated wildly. Facing the unprecedentedly complex new pandemic and the international political and economic situation, China’s economy has staged a miraculous rebound. On December 11, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to analyze and discuss the economic work plan for 2021, and for the first time put forward the concept of “demand-side reforms”.
The “demand-side reforms” were proposed, but the key to sustained expansion of domestic demand lies in consumption, and the biggest challenge will be expanding consumption—as it holds the possibility of exacerbating the polarization between rich and poor. Therefore, the focus next year will be to improve the income structure of residents, increase residents’ income, promote consumption upgrades.
Cross-Border Medical Service Industry Was Hit Hard by the Pandemic
The cross-border medical service industry has been developing steadily for ten years, with a tendency to leap into the fast lane. But like everyone else, it unexpectedly encountered the 2020 pandemic.
It took nearly three months for some patients to obtain a Japanese medical visa, which in the past only needed a few weeks. These patients are generally well-off and can afford up to millions of yuan in overseas medical treatment costs. But the epidemic has blocked their way to go abroad. Practitioners predict that after the Spring Festival next year, it may be able to return to the pre-epidemic levels in March. Overall, the coronavirus crisis has brought the cross-border medical care industry into the darkest moment—but it has also reshaped the industry with a new focus.
