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China (English)

Hongkong Lee: Grundsatzrede

Hong Kong: compliant in principle

Parallel to the National Party Congress in Beijing, Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee delivers the first keynote speech of his term in office. The former police officer plans to create housing and solve the shortage of skilled workers. But the central element remains national security, which brought large parts of the political opposition behind bars.

By Marcel Grzanna

Nothing new in Xi's speech

Our "China Perspective" column is written by authors from the People's Republic who wish to remain anonymous. In this episode, our writers tackle the topic of the ongoing party congress.

By Experts Table.Briefings

Hu Chunhua Premier?

Hu Chunhua: A jack of all trades as future premier?

The question of who will be China's new premier in March 2023 is an important one, especially for the German economy. The earliest indication of who might become premier will come at the end of the current 20th Party Congress: When the new Politburo Standing Committee presents itself to the public. Businesses see one candidate particularly promising to get China's economy back on track: Vice-Premier Hu Chunh

By Frank Sieren

Zero-Covid remains a dilemma

China’s zero-Covid policy is criticized due to its unsustainability in maintaining normal social activities and the damage it causes to economic growth. However, at this point, the government faces a real dilemma regarding whether to relax Covid restrictions. The low vaccination rate among the elderly population plus an insufficient level of medical treatment capacity could translate into disastrous death rates if dropping the current covid measures. Therefore, it is highly improbable that existing covid restrictions will be removed in the short term.

By Experts Table.Briefings

Nis Grünberg

Climate policy under Xi: much light, much dark

China is the world's largest carbon emitter. Emissions per capita in the People's Republic are now at a similar level to those in Germany. Climate protection is important to Xi Jinping, also as a prerequisite for the CCPs claim to power, explains Merics researcher Nis Gruenberg. But in the short term, other goals rank even higher on Beijing's agenda. The interview was conducted by Nico Beckert.

By Nico Beckert