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Economy/Resources

China’s Population Decline Continues with Notable Variance Among Regions

According to the recently released 2024 China Statistical Yearbook, China’s population decreased by 2.08 million people in 2023. The country’s natural population growth rate fell to -1.48 per thousand, marking a decline of 8.8 percentage points from the previous year. The national birth rate dropped to 6.39 per thousand, meaning fewer than 7 births per 1,000 people.

Among China’s 31 provinces and regions, only eight maintained positive natural population growth rates. These areas included Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Guizhou, Tibet, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. Among these, Guangdong Province stands out — despite being highly urbanized (ranking 4th in urbanization nationwide), the province achieved a birth rate of 8.12 per thousand, making it a significant exception to the general trend where higher birth rates typically correlate with lower urbanization levels.

Guangdong has maintained its position as China’s leading province in terms of births, being the only province to record over 1 million births (1.03 million) for four consecutive years. Population experts attribute this to several factors. Dr. Dong Yuzheng, president of the Guangdong Sociological Association, points to strong family values and traditional influences in the eastern (Chaoshan) and western regions of Guangdong. Additionally, Peng Peng, Executive Chairman of the Guangdong System Reform Research Society, notes that while fertility intentions are declining across the board, these regions maintain relatively higher birth rates due to cultural factors and a large, young migrant population of childbearing age.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 10, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202411100108.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

International Schools in China Face Closure Amid Economic and Demographic Challenges

Recent reports indicate a growing trend of prestigious international schools closing across China, with Beijing Fangcao Foreign Language School being the latest casualty. Industry insiders point to two main factors behind these school closures: China’s rapidly declining birth rate, which has significantly reduced the student population, and the country’s economic slowdown, which has impacted household incomes. As a result, many Chinese families can no longer afford the substantial costs associated with international education.

Fangcao Foreign Language School, established in 2018 in Beijing’s Shunyi District, was a collaborative venture between Bohua Education Group, Phoenix TV, Tencent Education, and Britain’s Kingwood School. The institution offered education from preschool through high school, with annual tuition fees around 100,000 yuan ($14,000).

The school’s closure follows a pattern of similar school closures across China. Notable examples include Beijing’s Nord Anglia School in Fangshan District, which closed in July after just five years of operation. In the same month, Shenzhen’s first private school, Haude Academy, reportedly accumulated debts of 170 million yuan. August saw the closure of Chengdu Foreign Language School’s Renshou campus despite nearly 1 billion yuan having been invested in the school.

The situation at Fangcao School became apparent when multiple wage dispute notices appeared at the local labor arbitration committee, and students began transferring out during the previous semester and summer break. The school’s last public communication was in June 2023, announcing a student-teacher art festival.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 8, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202411080029.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Unveils “Strategic Plan to Strengthen Industrial Workforce and Foster Master Craftsmen by 2035”

Recently, China issued a document titled “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council on Deepening the Reform of the Industrial Workforce Development.” The document outlined “strategic and comprehensive measures to strengthen reforms in building the industrial workforce.” It set a goal that, by 2035, China will have developed 2,000 national-level master craftsmen, 10,000 provincial-level craftsmen, and 50,000 municipal-level craftsmen, with the aim of fostering more top-level craftsmen to lead the development of a world-class industrial workforce.

Currently, China’s industrial workforce faces challenges, such as generally low skill levels and an overall shortage of skilled workers. Xinhua reported that that “manufacturing is the foundation of the country’s strength and prosperity. To advance new industrialization, it is essential to encourage and support more workers, especially the younger generation, to enter the manufacturing sector.”

Source: Xinhua, October 27, 2024
http://www.news.cn/mrdx/20241027/34912838d32c4033963df4492a10faf8/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Chinese Local Governments ‘Deep-Sea Fishing’ Scheme: Cross-Regional Law Enforcement for Revenue Generation

Local governments in China have reportedly been engaging in a practice dubbed “deep-sea fishing” (远洋捕捞) wherein they conduct law enforcement operations outside their jurisdictions to address local budget shortfalls. This practice involves, for example, freezing company assets or imposing fines under pretenses such as fraud allegations.

The issue is particularly severe in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong. According to a research center in Guangdong, nearly 10,000 businesses in Guangzhou, mostly private enterprises, have been affected by these cross-jurisdictional law enforcement actions since last year.

A notable example is the Guangzhou Yijiankang Group, a company with annual revenue of 2.423 billion yuan (approximately $334 million). The company was targeted by Henan police under fraud allegations, which prevented its planned Hong Kong IPO. Despite having original case amounts of only 600,000 yuan (approximately $83,000), authorities froze 64 company accounts, forcing the company to withdraw its IPO application and halt factory operations.

This trend is reportedly driven by local fiscal pressures, with local governments using fines from these cases to determine budget allocations for law enforcement departments. The practice has severely damaged the business environment and government credibility.

The issue has caught Beijing’s attention. On October 8, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zheng Shanjie, called for standardizing cross-jurisdictional law enforcement and preventing selective and profit-driven enforcement. On October 30, the Ministry of Public Security issued new regulations to standardize the freezing of assets in criminal cases.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 4, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202411040041.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Doctor Mysteriously Dies After Exposing Alleged Organ Harvesting at Xiangya Second Hospital

On May 8, Luo Shuaiyu, an intern doctor in the transplant department at Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University, in Changsha City, Hunan Province, mysteriously fell to his death. Before his death, Luo had reported the hospital’s director and others for allegedly harvesting and selling human organs. Luo’s parents suspect that he was murdered. The Epoch Times obtained some of the evidence Luo had collected before his death, which indicates that the hospital was seeking child donors for transplants and research.

In one audio recording made by Luo, someone at the hospital assigned Luo the task of finding child donors, specifying requirements: “Children aged 3-9, divided into 3-5 and 6-9 age groups, with three boys and three girls in each group, totaling six per group.” The individual, identified as a “liaison,” mentioned on the phone that the project was led by the hospital director and was intended to be a long-term project.

Another recording captured an on-site conversation when Luo was sent to a hospital to procure organs. Luo specified that he needed only the kidneys, not the liver. Then, the surgeon asked others if they wanted liver, suggesting that representatives from other hospitals were present to collect organs as well.

An insider mentioned that Luo was killed because he reported the misconduct of doctor Liu Xiangfeng and other doctors in the transplant department. Luo refused to find 12 child donors; the day before the incident, they pressured him again, and he became upset and threatened to report them. The next day, the doctors conspired to have him killed. Luo also mentioned (in one recording) that mysterious deaths had been occurring at the hospital.

Source: Epoch Times, October 31, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/10/31/n14361508.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

Zurich University of the Arts Ends Partnership with Military-Affiliated Chinese University

After years of controversy and reevaluation, Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK) terminated its collaboration with the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) on a joint education program in China, the Shenzhen Institute of Design (SISD). The been partnership had been planned to continue for 30-years. In early 2023, ZHDK conducted a risk analysis of this partnership project, which led to the termination decision. The two main reasons cited were barriers arising from differences in degree standards and “operational risks.”

The decisive factors in ending the collaboration were not related to faculty or degree quality, but rather to HIT’s ties to the Chinese military. HIT is one of China’s “seven defense universities” with close ties to the military. Much of its research funding comes from China’s Ministry of National Defense.

Thomas D. Meier, the former president of ZHDK and a proponent of the partnership, acknowledged HIT’s ties to the military in a 2019 interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, but he argued that this connection should not hinder cooperation.

However, some ZHDK faculty and students criticized the project from the start, expressing concerns that the partnership would restrict artistic and academic freedom. They feared that foreign faculty teaching in Shenzhen could face risks if they voiced criticism of China and whether Chinese military will use the products developed on the Shenzhen campus. ZHDK has also received scrutiny from the state government and multiple parties in parliament.

Source: Deutsche Welle, October 29, 2024
https://www.dw.com/zh/风险太高-苏黎世艺术大学终止与哈工大合作办学/a-70632329

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Economy/Resources

China Eyes Exporting High-end Medical Equipment Overseas

China held its 90th China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) at Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province recently. Nearly 4,000 companies from China and abroad showcased tens of thousands of medical device products.

People’s Daily reported that China has made significant strides in the high-end medical equipment area, such as ventilators, sleep apnea machines, AI-based medical imaging processing, and surgical robots. In recent years, Chinese medical device companies have been advancing steadily into the global markets. According to data from China’s General Administration of Customs, China’s total exports of medical devices reached 484 billion yuan (US$ 68 billion) in 2023, among which, medical equipment exports grew 5.4 percent year-over-year and were up 54.8 percent compared to 2019.

The CMEF event organizer, Reed Sinopharm Exhibitions, signed a cooperation agreement with the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM). Next year, the two parties will jointly host an exhibition in Malaysia, aiming to bring more Chinese medical device products to the international markets.

Source: People’s Daily, October 22, 2024
http://health.people.com.cn/n1/2024/1022/c14739-40344083.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources