Briefings - 102. page

China has issued regulations allowing foreign universities and vocational schools to establish independent schools in the Hainan Free Trade Port, but only in the fields of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, and they must offer courses on the Chinese constitution and the country’s situation. The rules, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and the Hainan provincial government, allow foreign institutions that have an independent legal personality to set up schools in the region. Unlike existing Sino-foreign cooperative schools, foreign universities and vocational schools are not required to collaborate with Chinese educational institutions to establish schools in the Hainan Free Trade Port. Other organizations or individuals inside and outside China can participate in education by providing resources such as land, buildings, and funds. In terms of governance, the decision-making body of the school, which includes the president of the school, the head of the party organization, and representatives of faculty and the public, is represented by the foreign higher education institution.

According to the regulations, the school should provide courses on the Chinese constitution, law, civic morality, and the country’s situation, as well as comply with China’s public welfare principles and not harm China’s national sovereignty, security, and social public interests. The regulations also require the introduction of foreign high-level education institutions with good academic reputations and high international visibility, as well as with advantages in the fields of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, and whose graduates have good employment quality and positive industry evaluations. The school should have Chinese Communist Party activities in accordance with relevant national regulations. The regulations went into effect on March 24, 2022.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 23, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202304230097.aspx

China has announced that it has completed the unified registration of real estate. This means that from urban housing to rural homesteads and from real estate to natural resources, all real estate property rights within China’s national territory have been registered in a unified manner. However, concerns have been raised that the unified registration system may facilitate the government’s accurate knowledge of property ownership information, becoming a basis for determining the tax rate and collection of “property taxes.” It is an indication that the introduction of property taxes may be getting closer.

The goal of the unified registration system is based on the Civil Code of China, with the “Interim Measures for Real Estate Registration” as the core, as well as the supporting implementation rules, operating norms, local regulations, and other aspects of the real estate unified registration system. The reform task of “four unifications” for registration agencies, registration books, registration bases, and information platforms have been accomplished.

According to statistics, over the past decade, China has issued more than 790 million real estate ownership certificates. The unified registration system is expected to provide basic data support for the collection of property taxes and facilitate the government’s accurate grasp of property rights information. However, some Chinese financial, real estate, and public figures believe that the move will improve the operability of property tax collection, indicating that the introduction of property taxes may be getting closer. Property taxes have been viewed as a variable affecting China’s housing market and a burden on homeowners.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 25, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202304250327.aspx

According to the latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the total number of employed urban residents in China’s cities fell from about 180 million people in 2013 to 170 million people annually between 2019 and 2021. At the same time, the number of public sector employees, including education, public administration, social security, and social organizations, increased from about 33 million to about 40 million, and the proportion of public sector employees in the total employment population increased from about 18% to 23%.

The number of people applying for civil service positions in China has also increased significantly, from nearly 1.37 million in 2013, with an average competition ratio of 66:1, to 2.5 million this year, with an average competition ratio of 60.5:1, a new high in nearly 10 years. The number of people applying for civil service positions is expected to increase by 500,000 between 2021 and 2023.

The Chinese government claims that it hires approximately 200,000 civil servants annually, but in February 2023, news emerged that several provinces planned to expand civil service recruitment by more than 50%, including Gansu, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Inner Mongolia, with Gansu’s recruitment scale reaching 79.7% and Yunnan’s almost 60%.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics has not released any statistics on the total number of financially supported personnel since 2008, but it is estimated that the number of civil servants and public sector employees has increased year by year, with estimates ranging from over 60 million to 80 million people, meaning that on average, 10 to 30 Chinese people support one civil servant. In 2016, China’s Communist Party media, People’s Daily, reported that China had about 50 million financially supported personnel, with an average of 11 Chinese people supporting one civil servant, citing Professor Zhu Lijia of the National School of Administration.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 24, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/cn-public-04242023115737.html

China is expected to see a record number of college graduates in 2023, with an estimated 11.58 million students graduating from national universities. In response, China’s central and local governments are implementing measures to create employment opportunities for graduates. Data shows that the proportion of fresh graduates among the total applicants for the National Civil Service Examination has risen from 39.17% in 2019 to 67.4% in 2023.

A recent paper published by a professor and doctoral student at East China University of Science and Technology analyzed the impact of the post-epidemic era on job security. The study found that high-risk workers were experiencing high rates of job loss and pay cuts, highlighting the vulnerability of modern life and reinforcing traditional concepts of occupation. This societal shift has contributed to a growing faith in the government sector among young people, who see it as a stable and secure workplace amidst an abnormal job market characterized by overtime culture, fierce competition, and unstable income.

In 2023, nearly 2.6 million people applied to take the national civil service examination, representing a 25% increase from the previous year. The ratio of the number of successful exam takers to the number of available positions reached 70:1.

However, some experts are concerned about the long-term impact of an increasing number of graduates entering government employment. Tian Xianpeng, an associate professor at Jiangnan University, warned that the government can only provide a limited number of positions, and the influx of graduates is likely to intensify competition for these positions.

Li Chao, chief economist of Zheshang Securities, pointed out that the fundamental issue contributing to high youth unemployment is the mismatch between the education system and market demands. In reality, the labor market and education system are not sufficiently aligned to ensure a strong match between graduates’ skills and market needs.

Source: news.china.com, February 27, 2023
https://news.china.com/socialgd/10000169/20230227/44549288_all.html

China’s central government has issued a one-time subsidy of 10 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) to actual grain farmers in order to support spring farming and stimulate the enthusiasm of farmers to plant crops. According to official data, China has approximately 500 million farmers, including 300 million rural migrant workers and fewer than 200 million permanent residents. This is the first time the government has offered a one-time financial subsidy to farmers. The subsidy targets those who actually grow crops, including those who use their own contracted land, large-scale households, family farms, farmers’ cooperatives, agricultural enterprises, and individuals and organizations that provide full-cycle socialized services for grain cultivation and harvesting.

However, some agricultural experts claim that China’s food security situation is severe and this subsidy is not enough to solve the problem. Yang Hua, a retired lecturer at Yunnan University, claimed that the subsidy would only provide 66 yuan (US $9.60) per person to approximately 150 million grain farmers, which would only be enough to purchase 20 kilograms of rice. Meanwhile, Cai Shenkun, a senior financial commentator, stated that, in recent years, there has been a significant shortage of rural labor in China. The phenomenon of farmland abandonment is very serious, particularly in coastal areas. In this situation, farmers have no incentive to grow crops since the more they grow, the more money they lose. As a result, the government must increase grain prices to support farmers and ensure food security.

Additionally, Chinese customs data for the first two months of 2023 revealed that the price of grain and of edible vegetable oil imports has risen significantly, indicating a further strain on China’s food security.

Source: Radio Free Asia, April 17, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/gt2-04172023050715.html