What Dan Wang Saw on His Last Trip to China
About this episode
Dan Wang discusses his observations from his recent trip to China, highlighting the contradictions in the Chinese economy.
There's this weird contradiction that hovers almost all conversations regarding the Chinese economy. On the one hand, the growth and rising material prosperity is undeniable. And of course, Chinese industrial giants are at the frontier in all kinds of things, like batteries. On the other hand, you always hear about a soft domestic market, and a general state of unease among workers who fear that precarity is around the corner. So how is this contradiction explained? And how does it affect day-to-day life? On this episode, we bring back one of our regular guests Dan Wang, who recently returned from a long trip to Shanghai. We discuss his observations, the general ennui he saw, the signs of domestic weakness, and the way in which phone culture is reshaping Chinese society. Read more: It’s Too Soon to Breathe Easy on China’s Economy Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox, plus unlimited access to the site and app. bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
People in this episode
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Dan Wang
Topics covered
- Chinese economy
- industrial growth
- domestic market
- worker precarity
- phone culture
- societal changes
Keywords
- Chinese economy
- Dan Wang
- Shanghai
- industrial giants
- domestic weakness
- phone culture
- worker precarity
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Bloomberg
Places: China, Shanghai
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