China wants to become carbon neutral by 2060 and reduce its emissions from 2030 at the latest. The 14th Five-Year Plan must contain the first concrete measures to achieve this. The announced draft gives the topic a lot of space, but details are available only in the plan itself.
Von Christiane Kuehl
If you look through the list of names of the members of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party, you will see 女 in brackets behind some of the names – the sign for "female". Although women make up nearly one-third of the party, they are rarely found in top offices. Xi Jinping's return to Confucianism reinforces this tendency because it envisions a patriarchal order.
Von Ning Wang
In China, too, there is hardly a political topic as emotionally discussed as the high housing and rental prices. The new Five-Year Plan addresses the issue and promises more affordable housing. Despite rapidly rising prices, the burst of a bubble is considered unlikely. Beijing is too worried that social unrest could occur in such a case.
Von Redaktion Table
China looks back on a long history as an agricultural civilization – and is thus very different from the geographic fragmentation and political competition historically seen in the West. The lines between Chinese central planning and the democratic capitalism of the West no longer run clearly. A new global social contract must promote a shared narrative within the framework of which each country defines its role within the global collective.
Von Redaktion Table
The US gaming platform Steam was launched in China a few weeks ago. With a dramatically slimmed-down supply. Although China has the largest market and the world's largest gaming company, the hobby is unpopular with the authorities and subject to a variety of restrictions. Foreign companies, meanwhile, run afoul of their Western buyers when they bend to Chinese regulations and restrict gamers' freedom of expression.
Von Redaktion Table
Many older Chinese feel left behind by the country's rapid digitization. China's government wants to close the "digital divide" between young and older people by 2022. This means more social integration, but also more consumption – and thus follows the logic of the 14th Five-Year Plan. For companies, at any rate, the target group of senior citizens is a long underestimated growth market.
Von Frank Sieren
