China news roundup / Nachrichten 2025-09-26/27

Between ‘Throwing Bombs’ and ‘Lying Flat’: The Psychology of China’s Economy

"Neijuan (“involution”) – competing ever harder for ever smaller returns – has become the defining malaise; from high-school exams to shrinking export orders. The state now preaches “anti-involution.” China saw a record 11.79 million university graduates enter the labor market in 2024, while persistently high youth unemployment rates – hovering near 19 percent – have intensified household anxieties across the country. Many respond with tangping (“lying flat”) or bailan (“let it rot”). Others survive through kenlao – “eating the old,” or living off one’s parents. [...] Taken together, these three windows reveal a society shifting from a growth mindset to survival mode – a response to both domestic strains and the geopolitical pressures China faces. Speed has stripped away the slack once available for course correction, while involution has become a structural drag on productivity and consumption. For the global economy, this psychological shift matters enormously. China’s demand once powered commodity cycles, shaped Australian mineral exports, and buoyed Southeast Asian supply chains. If households retrench and youth opt out, the ripples will spread from Indonesian palm oil plantations to German auto plants. A risk-averse China means weaker global growth, and demographic headwinds no stimulus can easily reverse."

--- Based on official numbers, but the conclusions are almost as bad as my own guesses.

China sets renewables goal it can easily surpass, analysts say

"Anders Hove, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said China's renewables challenge is not capacity but surging curtailment rates. Curtailment occurs when grid managers limit the power coming onto the grid to maintain a balance with demand or due to infrastructure constraints. Hove said China should focus more on ensuring that renewable power goes into the grid, displacing electricity from coal and gas."

--- That's the point. China can install as much green energy capacity as it wants. If it's not connected to the grid, it won't help anything.

China calls EU hypocritical over criticism of climate goal

"China earlier this week pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 7% and 10% by 2035 from the peak as part of its new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) targets. The European Union's Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra called the target "clearly disappointing". [...] The EU has not announced its new climate plan, months after an initial February deadline, although it had agreed to set a target for cutting emissions by somewhere between 66.25% and 72.5% by 2035 from 1990 levels. In its statement, China's foreign ministry called on the EU to change what it said was its habit of talking loud but acting small."

--- If the EU is acting small, what is China doing?

China's No. 2 leader, in debut of sorts on world stage at UN, echoes his nation's concern about US

"China’s continuing and vehement insistence on respect for other nations’ sovereignty is not only a publicly stated cornerstone of its foreign policy but a foundational ethos for the government of a nation that has traditionally struggled to maintain control at its edges"

Chinese electric cars are going global. A cut-throat price war at home could kill off many of its brands

"“A lot of EV makers are actually running at a loss right now. Most of their money comes from industrial funds or social capital, and they just keep raising new rounds to cover those losses,” said Shen Hong, an economics researcher at a Peking University think tank that advises the government. [...] The average profit margins of China’s automotive companies plummeted to 4.3% last year, from nearly 8% in 2017, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed. All the while, the utilization rate of its manufacturing capacity continues to stand at around 50% Years of price wars have trapped the industry in a vicious cycle with squeezed margins, declining quality and a supply chain plagued with payment delays"

--- & yet, some people in Europe see China as an example that should be followed by all the countries in the EU.

Drone maker DJI loses lawsuit to exit Pentagon's list of firms with Chinese military ties

"DJI had urged the court to order its removal from the Pentagon list designating it as a Chinese military company, saying it "is neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military.""

--- Well, but it is controlled by the CCP, which also controls the PLA.

Russia is helping prepare China to attack Taiwan, documents suggest

"supplying the Chinese airborne battalion with Russian amphibious vehicles, anti-tank guns, armored personnel carriers and command and observation vehicles would boost its capabilities to that of a conventional army unit"

--- Even if the Russian equipment works as advertised, they would still not make airborne units like normal arm units. I also wonder why the CCP wants to buy so much Russian equipment, if, as they did at their current military parade, they show off their own allegedly very modern airborne equipment.

--- China Uncensored featured their usual weekend news variety:

--- DW News: "Will China become the world's leading economic power?"

--- C.W. Lemoine: "Leaked Pictures of China's J-50"

Was von Chinas Klimazielen zu halten ist

"Nach wie vor erzeugt China rund die Hälfte des Stroms mit Kohle und baut sogar nach wie vor neue Kohlekraftwerke und will dies auch noch mindestens zwei weitere Jahre tun. Unter anderem, um Schwankungen bei Solar- und Windenergie ausgleichen zu können. Bis zur angestrebten Klimaneutralität 2060 ist es noch ein weiter Weg für die Volksrepublik. "Wenn man etwas mehr als drei Jahrzehnte hat und sagt, man kann im ersten Jahrzehnt nur sieben bis zehn Prozent der Emissionen reduzieren, dann trägt das nicht sonderlich viel zur Glaubwürdigkeit bei", sagt Klimanalyst Myllyvirta. Denn dann würde man auch versprechen, "die restlichen 90 Prozent in den folgenden zwei Jahrzehnten zu schaffen.""

--- Tja, mit Chinas Glaubwürdigkeit ist das so eine Sache.