Drum Tower

Open up the balance sheet of a typical Chinese household, and you will see plenty to worry about on both sides of the ledger. Household debt is higher than it was a decade ago, while savings are concentrated in bank deposits or bricks and mortar. This conservative approach to saving may have worked in the past—but now it’s showing signs of strain amid a faltering property market, stagnant wages and growing debt distress.In a two-part series, we’re asking Chinese families, young professionals and business owners about their money troubles. This week, Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher, and Simon Cox, our China economics editor, explore how the dream of security through home ownership became a nightmare.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

When the Communist Party took power in 1949, China was a vast, multi-ethnic state with borders largely drawn during the Qing dynasty. To manage the country’s diversity, the party took a leaf out of the Soviet Union’s book, giving larger ethnic groups living near China’s borders their own nominally autonomous regions. Mandarin became China’s official language, but linguistic and religious diversity were not extinguished. That’s changing. In recent years China’s leaders have been peddling a far narrower notion of what it means to be Chinese. And as Emily Feng, a Chinese-American journalist, discovered over nearly eight years reporting in China, failing to conform can have consequences. Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher and Drum Tower producer, speaks with Ms Feng about her new book, “Let Only Red Flowers Bloom”, and what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping’s China. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Death is tough to talk about anywhere. In China, it’s often taboo. That’s a problem because ten years from now, a third of the population is projected to be over the age of 60. As rates of Alzheimer’s and cancer soar, the country needs to double down on its efforts to ensure the final days of the terminally ill are as comfortable and stress-free as possible. But is China ready to have those difficult conversations?Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent and James Miles, our China writer-at-large, visit hospices in Beijing and ask: how is a rapidly-ageing China dealing with end-of-life care?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Xi Jinping likes to call the world's dependence on advanced Chinese technologies his shashou jian. He means it's the ace up China's sleeve, but translated literally into English, shashou jian is “assassin’s mace”. Translation has been an issue since the beginning of America’s formal relationship with Communist China. And as relations between the two great powers enter a less-predictable phase, linguistic sleight of hand has the potential to become more consequential.Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher, and Corbin Duncan, our global correspondent, ask why Chinese is such a hard language to translate. David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, considers the real-world consequences when the message gets lost in translation.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Once dominated by Soviet knock-offs, plenty of high-tech Chinese weaponry is now on par with its Western equivalents. In some areas, the country may even have a technological lead. In the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, advanced Chinese weapons went head-to-head with Western and Russian counterparts for the first time—giving Pakistan a fighting edge.Jeremy Page, The Economist’s Asia diplomatic editor, and Shashank Joshi, our defence editor, ask: what role did Chinese weapons play in the latest India-Pakistan flare-up? And what might that mean for the future of warfare in Asia—and beyond?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Published in 1592, “Journey to the West” is the most famous novel in Chinese literature. Better known as “The Monkey King” outside of China, it is also one of the country’s most successful cultural exports. It tells the story of a pilgrimage undertaken by a monk and his three disciples—a monkey, a pig and a bearded muscly man. The tale has inspired countless adaptations across film, TV and video games. Most recently, Ne Zha 2 broke box-office records in China.For the return of Drum Tower’s film club, Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher, and Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence" and former China correspondent, analyse their pick of the adaptations. More than 400 years after “Journey to the West” was written, why is the story still so popular? And what does it reveal about China today?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

China recently got a boost in the popularity polls, courtesy of a popular livestreamer who hails from Ohio. IShowSpeed (whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr) made a whirlwind tour of the country, showcasing the best of its technology and history. His visit, which went viral, came at a time when Brand China is on the ascendant. Chinese technology, blockbuster video games and popular consumer brands have boosted the country’s image abroad—helping to build soft power.Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher and Gabriel Crossley, our China correspondent, ask: is China becoming cool? And what does the Communist Party have to do with it?Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

China has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. Meanwhile its population is getting older and its workforce is shrinking. By one estimate, China’s state pension will run out by 2035. This year, in a bid to get women to have more children, cash incentives and free preschool education were written into the Chinese Communist Party's annual work report. Rob Gifford, The Economist’s acting China editor, and Sarah Wu, our China correspondent based in Beijing, ask: why aren’t Chinese women having babies? And could paying them change that? Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

One of the Chinese diaspora’s most celebrated artists grew up poor but surrounded by literature and art. After a string of books in her native language Xiaolu Guo found her creativity constrained. In London she began writing and making films in English—most recently a reworking of “Moby Dick”. After half a life inside China and half outside, she has illuminating views on art, love, youth and womanhood. Rosie Blau, a former China correspondent for The Economist and a co-host of “The Intelligence”, our daily news podcast, visits Ms Guo at her home. They explore the author’s formative years, her bewildering move to the West and her thoughts on Chinese art and society today.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.