Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.68/No.14 i Beijing Review

Against a global backdrop of growing uncertainty, shifting geopolitical dynamics, trade disruptions and financial instability, recent high-level forums signaled China’s commitment to providing certainty and stability in a tumultuous world, as well as its intention to create new opportunities for global economic development. The China Development Forum 2025 took place in Beijing on March 23-24, with the theme Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of the Global Economy. Following this, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 was held in Boao, Hainan Province, from March 25 to 28, centered on the theme Asia in the Changing World: Toward a Shared Future. This year China has once again set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent. The Chinese Government has responded by expanding fiscal expenditure, stimulating consumption and implementing…

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 opened in Boao, a small town in China’s southernmost province of Hainan, on March 25. Since its establishment over two decades ago, the BFA has been committed to promoting economic cooperation and shared development in Asia and the wider world. Themed Asia in the Changing World: Toward a Shared Future, this year’s conference, which concluded on March 28, focused on promoting multilateralism, fostering openness and growth, and addressing global challenges with a special emphasis on Asia’s development. In the hope of gathering all countries to build a community with a shared future, the event also implemented agreements made at the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future, which was held at the UN headquarters in New York City last September, on…

While the United States may currently be divided on how best to address homelessness, both sides of the debate agree the nation is in the midst of a long-term crisis. In 2024, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the country reached a historical high of 771,480, or about 23 out of every 10,000 Americans. Insufficient affordable housing is now the primary cause of homelessness. According to a report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in March 2024, the U.S. has a shortage of 7.3 million rental homes that are affordable and available to renters with extremely low incomes—that is, incomes at or below either the federal poverty line, which stood at $31,200 for a family of four last year, or 30 percent of their area’s median income.…

Just months into U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, tensions between the world’s two largest economies have already risen, with the U.S. imposing a 25-percent additional tariff on all Chinese imports, and China responding with a 15-percent tariff on U.S. farm goods. In early March, during the Two Sessions, China’s major annual political event, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the U.S. to reassess the impact of its trade policies, indicating the country has incurred more losses than gains from the tariffs and trade wars in recent years. However, bilateral relations have not completely disintegrated. Since late March, China has initiated a series of diplomatic and people-to-people exchanges. A U.S. congressional member and American business leaders visited Beijing, engaging in discussions with senior Chinese officials overseeing government, diplomacy and commerce.…

In her third year as a deputy to the Hebei Provincial People’s Congress, a branch of the national legislature, high school history teacher Ma Ying is continuing to channel three decades of classroom experience into education policy proposals. Elected in 2023, the national award-winning educator’s suggestions as a deputy have been drawn from her frontline observations of students’ needs and parent feedback in middle and high schools in Hebei Province. “I’ve served as a history teacher since the 1990s, and for over half of my teaching career, I’ve concurrently fulfilled the role of class teacher. By serving as a Provincial People’s Congress deputy, I hope to make more contributions to the development of education in Hebei Province,” Ma told Beijing Review. Lifelong pursuit “This year, my proposal for the Hebei…

When I left Nashville in the U.S. state of Tennessee for Shenyang, China, in late 2008, my wallet was filled with cash and credit cards. Back then, hailing a taxi or buying groceries meant counting bills or swiping cards. Seventeen years later, my wallet gathers dust. My smartphone handles everything—scanning QR codes at street markets, splitting restaurant bills, and even paying rent. China’s transformation into a cashless society hasn’t just altered daily life here; it’s reshaping global conversations about money. In my early days in Shenyang, cash ruled. Today, even elderly vendors at the local market greet customers with super-app Weixin (WeChat) Pay QR codes. China’s mobile payment surge, driven by platforms like e-commerce giant Alibaba’s e-wallet app Alipay and Weixin Pay, has become a way of life. These systems…

The term “beautiful economy” refers to an economic model emerging from China’s new development philosophy. This model focuses on leveraging ecological resources, cultural heritage and local customs—both tangible and intangible—to drive economic vitality. By harmonizing industrial and capital utilization with these resources, the beautiful economy aims to create sustainable growth that benefits both society and environment. The concept of “beautiful economy” was first introduced by President Xi Jinping during his inspection tour in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, in May 2015. The beautiful economy initiative is part of a broader strategic vision for sustainable development. Key policies include combating pollution, accelerating the transition to green and low-carbon development, and advancing targets for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. These efforts have contributed to the high-quality economic and social development seen across China. According…

Many Chinese consumers hesitated to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) in the first quarter of 2025, due to concerns about frequent product upgrades and continuing price reductions: Developments such as these have been leaving many with buyer’s remorse just weeks or months after purchase. Among these regretful purchasers are some of those who bought Xiaomi EVs in 2024. In March 2024, Chinese consumer electronics maker Xiaomi launched its first EV, the SU7, which quickly gained popularity among young consumers with its sleek design and an attractive starting price of 219,000 yuan (about $30,000). In October 2024, the company began pre-selling the high-performance SU7 Ultra with an initial pre-sale price of 814,900 yuan (approximately $112,000). When the model, which surpassed the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT as the fastest mass-produced car officially recognized…

The Anhui Provincial Bureau of Statistics announced in early March that Hefei’s permanent resident population had reached 10.002 million in 2024, surpassing the 10-million mark for the first time. This achievement positions Hefei as the fourth most populated city in the Yangtze River Delta region, following Shanghai, Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. The Yangtze River Delta region is a vital economic engine of China, encompassing Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Despite occupying less than 4 percent of China’s land area, the region contributes approximately a quarter of the nation’s GDP. Hefei’s economic stature was once considerably weaker compared with other provincial capitals within the region. In 2014, the city’s permanent resident population stood at 7.696 million. However, through consistent investment in scientific…

Fight Against Tuberculosis The Beijing Chest Hospital is injecting new momentum into the global fight against tuberculosis (TB) with a series of groundbreaking innovations, addressing persistent challenges in diagnosis, treatment and prevention, Xinhua News Agency reported on March 25. From non-invasive sampling and AI-powered diagnostics to shorter treatment regimens and an mRNA vaccine trial, these breakthroughs demonstrate advances in China’s efforts to eliminate TB. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that TB had claimed 1.25 million lives globally in 2023, with 10.8 million new cases that year. In China, an estimated 741,000 new cases and 25,000 deaths occurred in the same year. Traditional sputum testing, the primary diagnostic method, has limitations, including difficulties in sample collection among children and HIV patients, and the risk of infectious aerosol exposure. To overcome…

WEALTHIEST PERSON IN CHINA Zhang Yiming, co-founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, tops the 2025 lists of China’s richest people on both the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List and Bloomberg Billionaires Index released on March 27. Forbes estimated his net worth to be $65.5 billion, placing him 23rd on the global billionaire list, while Ma Huateng, CEO of tech giant Tencent, and Zhong Shanshan, Chairman of bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, rank 27th and 28th, respectively. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates Zhang’s net worth at $57.5 billion, positioning him 24th globally, with Ma and Zhong ranked 25th and 26th. Zhang co-founded ByteDance in 2012. Now, its video-based social media app TikTok, launched in 2016, has an estimated 2 billion users worldwide. ByteDance-developed news aggregator Toutiao is one of China’s largest content creation…

In 1955, the Bandung Conference ignited a spirit of solidarity and cooperation, uniting 29 Asian and African nations with a shared vision of equality, peace and mutual respect. It was a transformative moment that empowered Asian and African countries to shape their own destinies and sparked a new era of global dialogue. Seventy years later, that spirit remains alive in the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), an essential platform connecting Asia’s economies with the world. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Boao, Hainan Province, south China, the forum was initiated by 29 member states. It continues to foster dialogue, understanding and progress in an increasingly interconnected Asia, which now faces rising geopolitical tensions, sluggish economic recovery, technological disruptions and urgent climate challenges. “Our world is experiencing far greater instability and…

The problem of homelessness in the United States has become increasingly pronounced in recent years. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), homelessness rose by 12 percent in 2023, and 18.1 percent in 2024. Currently, approximately 770,000 people in the U.S. are classified as “homeless,” though this figure is likely a significant undercount. The federal government measures homelessness by counting those people sleeping in shelters and on the streets during a single point-in-time survey each year. This method does not count the millions of people sleeping in the homes of family, friends or otherwise because they simply cannot afford the steep cost of housing. Modern homelessness in the U.S. can be traced back to a massive reduction in government spending for housing services beginning in the 1980s.…

As the world teeters on the edge of fragmentation—rattled by trade wars, simmering conflicts and fragile supply chains—three East Asian neighbors have turned to diplomacy. On March 22, Japan hosted the 11th Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo, bringing together foreign ministers Wang Yi of China, Takeshi Iwaya of Japan and Cho Tae-yul of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to reinforce regional cooperation. The meeting proved a pragmatic response to shared challenges, focusing on practical collaboration in trade, technological innovation and cultural exchange. One day earlier, on March 21, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hosted a meeting with all three ministers, where Wang cited an old Chinese proverb, “close neighbors are better than relatives far away,” underscoring the urgency of regional solidarity. Their March 21 dialogue laid essential groundwork for…