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Coming up, President Xi Jinping calls for a new model for China's urban development.
Chinese and Australian leaders are seeking to cement improvement in bilateral ties.
China's economy grows at a steady pace despite U .S. President Donald Trump's trade war.
And NVIDIA will soon release H20 AI chip cells to China following U .S. government assurances.
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day. Chinese President Xi Jinping has laid out the overall requirements, key principles and priorities for urban work.
He made the announcement while delivering a speech at a recent Central Urban Work Conference in Beijing.
The Chinese leader said the goal is to build modern cities that are innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient and smart.
The two -day day meeting called for a more measured approach to urban planning and the acceleration of a new model for property development.
It has also advocated incubating vitality and innovation in cities.
For your information, China's last central urban world conference was held back in the year 2015.
So for more, joining us now on the line is Dr. Yao Shujian, Changkong Professor of of Economics with Chongqing University.
So thank you very much for joining us today, Professor Yao Shujian.
When China's first Central Urban World Conference was held in 2015, the country's urban population had exceeded the rural population back then.
By last year, by 2024, the proportion of permanent urban residents had risen to 67%.
So compared to a decade ago, what do you make of the new situation with regard to China's urban development uh with the basic statistics you just mentioned over the last 10 years this is a the so -calledropic urbanization process in the development history of China because China is the you know we have 1 .4 billion people so So the urbanization scale is also unseen in the human development history.
It is a kind of urbanization miracle in a sense, because so many people are moving into the cities.
Not only the permanent residents, but also the flow population, which is close to 300 million people at the moment.
They go to the city, walk in there, there are now more and more requirements for providing social services, especially medical care, children's schooling and so on and so forth.
This means that the development of the urban sector is highly critical for China's modernization process.
process, you will see in the next ten years, there will be still an annual growth of 1 percentage point of urbanization populations, driving from the countryside to the urban area.
This process will continue.
But because urbanization has developed so quickly, there are many houses, buildings, building, transportation system, we also found out there are some issues that need to be addressed.
First of all, at the moment, I think over the last two years or so, or even longer, we see the some sorts of structural surplus of the housing sector.
We build too many houses in some sense, which have not been efficiently digested by the consumers.
On the other hand, You know, the new build, they are, you know, erecting many very quickly, but the older buildings, especially the building before the turning of the centuries, the year 2000, is now over 25 years or even some buildings.
They are over, you know, 40 or even 50 years.
There are a lot of need to, you know, to renovate, it to make the quality of the, you know, the dwellings for the modern standards.
And this is a tremendous task.
The other things is a land area is always a biggest constraint for urban development because in the past we expanded so quickly.
So some of the land have not been fully utilized or in a sense, it could be wasteful.
So this meeting is to send a very strong signal that in the future it's not just enlarging the urban area but increasing the quality of the existing urbanization area, utilize the land more efficiently and make the living environment in the urban sector more amicable, more likable by the people.
So policy -wise, how do you think the government policy can shift towards focusing more on the quality and efficiency of the existing urban areas?
I think it's government policy and regulations and also the direction of investment into the urban area.
For example, there will be more investment to renovate the older houses to make the older houses That is, better quality and some of the houses may have to be demolished and rebuilt.
It was a high standard. So the city landscape, the city living environment, will be gradually improved.
It's not to use the so -called green area, it's to use the so -called brown area – the brown area which already has been used but is not used to the way that does not suit to meet the modern needs of high quality urban development.
And also some sorts of government policies, for example, local government may control the new area to be built for new buildings, they may focus more on the unused or less underused land area within the urban area.
and also innovation and providing better services, better living environment.
So these are the concepts of future direction of investment in particular.
I take a point. So talking about China's mission to advance renovation of those so -called urban villages, so to speak, we know there is actually a pledge made by the government sometime last year to renovate 1 million homes in older or rundown dwellings in large cities.
So what does the task here mean for the property sector?
And what is your understanding of this new model in the property development laid out by this latest meeting?
Yes. In the past, if we want to buy houses, we want to buy a new house.
and the developer if they want to sell the houses they build a new building and they sell but with the new direction it may not be the case the case would be we innovate the old houses make them either demolish or they use a you know decoration or improve the quality of the houses and there are two ways to do it the so -called urban villages is a very good example you go to shanghai you go to beijing you go to the top building you see underneath there are lots of old houses low low story you know one story two stories or three story they may have to you know to be demolished in the past you know
by demolishing like this urban village is very expensive because the residents live there, so they require lots of compensation.
So this is a difficult task for the local developers, for the local governments.
So how to come up with efficient, cost -effective way of innovating the urban villages and all the SEBI houses, how to share the cost, how to, you know, divide the benefit.
This will be some sort of, you know, policy direction that needs to be done, you know, for the coming years.
Because it is a very complicated, involves lots of, you know, complicated interest issues, not only the local government, the local village, the street government, and also particularly the residents.
residents in, you know, how to share the cost and up to the cost sharing, how to divide the new building space.
You know, these are the kinds of complicated policy issues and who is going to invest and whether they can get a return from the investment.
In terms of incubating vitality and innovation in cities, what can be done to create the the right kind of environment for that very direction?
Yeah, the incubation and innovation of urban sector.
I mean, from the theoretical point of view.
Nowadays, China has lots of metropolitan cities.
There are also the so -called Innovation Pole, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, you name it, and the other bigger cities like for example, like Chengdu and Chongqing, they are bigger cities, they are lagging slightly behind.
So from the country's point of view, how can we do it?
In number one, we should focus on the so -called technologies that are suitable for the local economic and social development.
And we should invest in human capital, the talents.
We also invest in some space, for example, like the Innovation Park.
or scientific park, which can attract different elements of innovation and scientific research, and also policy to attract talents, whether it is within China, within the city, or from other cities or from abroad.
You need to attract people.
people and then you have to set up the objective of how you're going to create an innovation capability within the city you know innovation is very important for the the high quality development in the past you know we we simply duplicate some sort of processing industry lots of technology are available from abroad or from the major cities.
And local, you know, most of the local urban area, they just set up the factory, produce the larger, you know, general quality product.
Nowadays, with high -quality development, you have to innovate and make the product much higher quality with better values.
but in the same time, you have more technical contents.
And in order to have the technical contents, you have to innovate in a local area.
And city to city, I mean, the last city they have innovation capacity, and the spillover effect is actually diminished due to the physical distance.
So as the distance goes further, you know, the kinds of spillover effect of technological technological and innovation gets smaller and smaller so that you have to, you know, built up different city in different places.
In those city they become the center of innovation.
In the past we were talking about economic growth center.
Nowadays we're talking about the innovation center, or they are combined together economic and innovation together in order for the city to be able to produce, but also to produce better, high -quality products.
The final question, professor Yeo, we know one priority laid out by this meeting is to enhance urban resilience.
How do you understand urban resilience and in what ways do you think a resilient city can benefit its local population?
Resilience can be understood in different perspectives.
That is, for example, people living in the city, they got to have a better environment and they should be able to tolerate some sort of natural disaster or some sort of emergency health condition, for example, the COVID -19, and also the water, the high water, and the storms and also other natural disasters.
These are the kinds of resilience that the city had to build.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Yao Shujie, Chang Kong Professor of Economics with Chongqing University.
Coming up, Chinese and Australian leaders are seeking to cement improvement in terms of the bilateral ties.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is willing to work with Australia to further advance bilateral ties.
The top Chinese leader made the remark in a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Beijing.
Xi Jinping said with joint efforts, China -Australia ties have emerged from a low point and taken a positive turn, bringing tangible benefits to the two countries' people.
He has also called for adhering to the principle of mutual respect seeking common ground and pursuing cooperation and for his part prime minister anthony albinezi said australia very much values its ties with china and will continue to advance the ties in a calm and consistent manner so joining us now on the line is professor cheng hong director of australian study center was east china normal university thank you very much for joining us thank you thank you So first of all, professor, what do you make of the benefits that have been delivered to both China and Australia, and most importantly,
their people over the past several years when bilateral ties between Beijing and Canberra have achieved a significant turnaround?
around. The turnaround, stabilization, and improvement of China -Australia relations have delivered significant economic and diplomatic dividends.
Australia's re -engagement has stimulated the key trade flows, particularly in commodities such as iron ore, gold, LNG, liquefied natural gas, agriculture, and husbandry produce, seafood, and of course services such as international education and tourism, China, as you know, remains Australia's largest trading partner.
Bilateral trade exceeded $325 billion or $3 billion last year.
So restoring and improving stable ties has protected jobs and ensured economic resilience amid global uncertainties.
Additionally, the normalization of high -level dialogue has opened doors for cooperation on climate change, regional stability, and multilateralism, this turnaround reinforces the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship between China and Australia when differences do not obstruct practical engagement.
So looking back, what do you think are the key lessons that should be learned from the twists and turns of the bilateral ties?
There are several key lessons.
First, political trust needs to be cherished and nourished and requires careful management.
The rapid deterioration in ties between mid -2017 and mid -2022 showed how miscommunication and unilateral actions such as Australia's blanket ban of Huawei and imposition of restrictive measures on Chinese investments, such actions can escalate into long -term diplomatic arrangements.
Second, decoupling economic cooperation from political differences is crucial.
Australia's attempt to follow a strategic alignment with the United States and economic engagements with China model works only when both sides respect their boundaries of sovereignty and non -interference.
And third, dialogue mechanisms are essential.
The recent restoration of such dialogues, in particular high level dialogues, illustrates illustrates that even strained relationships can recover rapidly through consistent communication and mutual respect.
So by the way, Professor Chen, how do you understand Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's comment that his government is going to advance ties with China in a calm, consistent manner?
What kind of consistency here do you expect?
El -Bainisi's calm and consistent approach reflects a practical shift from previous years of volatility in Australia's China policy.
If we do discourse analysis, calm, calm, the word calm, suggests avoiding inflammatory rhetoric, the so -called megaphone diplomacy, which is not diplomatic at all, or policy grandstanding that during those years very often unnecessarily provoked China's basic the basic red line.
Consistency implies that Canberra will seek to maintain a predictable foreign policy, not easily swayed by partisan or external pressures, in particular, from Washington.
The expected consistency lies in three areas, I think.
First, commitment to dialogue.
Second, adherence to establish trade frameworks such as the China -Australia Free Trade Agreement, the chapter, and also the separation of strategic alignment from economic decoupling.
For China, consistency also means Australia will not repeat the abrupt hardline shift that marked the Morrison era.
In other words, there needs to be a predictable, logical and prudent guideline to ensure the bilateral relations sustain and also grow.
Now, judging from the prime minister's visit to China this time around, it seems there were There are signals that the Chinese side might be interested in expanding a decade -old free trade deal between China and Australia.
In the meantime, China also seems to be interested in cooperation with Australia in the field of artificial intelligence, AI.
Do you see possibility in this regard?
Yeah, both areas are promising, provided the political atmosphere continues to improve.
The China -Australia Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in 2015, could benefit from an upgrade to reflect the changing nature of global trade, including digital services, environmental goods and high tech industries.
Artificial intelligence is particularly relevant as both countries have strong research capabilities and interests in AI governance, With AI now becoming a critical part of national development strategies through academic exchanges, regulatory dialogue, or ethical AI frameworks, bilateral cooperation could help set shared standards and also reduce geopolitical friction over emerging technologies.
That said, we should, or should I say, Australia should adopt a more rational mindset with regard to technological cooperation with China, you know, avoid over -politicization or even over -securitization.
Yeah. After all, our memory about its banning Huawei is still there today, even though the page has been turned around.
So, of course, Professor, you are talking to me from Shanghai and I'm talking to you from Beijing.
But apart from our two cities, a third destination during Prime Minister Albanese's ongoing trip to China is actually the southwestern city of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan province.
So when we talk about Chengdu, what kind of cooperation opportunity can the city offer to the Australian side?
First of all, I think for Avanesi the Chengdu -Lake office trip is his way to say a big hello or a big good day to the vast population of China beyond the coastal area.
You know, Australia is apparently looking into the enormous and promising Chinese market beyond the coastal line.
Meanwhile, beyond the symbolisms, there are some very practical deliberations, I think.
As you know, Chengdu represents an emerging hub of innovation, regional development and international connectivity, under China's Western Development Strategy.
For Australia, Chengdu offers opportunities in several sectors.
Chengdu has a rising demand for premium imported food, wine and dairy, which is Australia's strength.
The city hosts many leading universities and has shown interest in partnerships with Australia's institutions.
On top of that, Chengdu is positioning itself as a smart city, with growing investments in AI, green technology and biotech, you know, these areas, you know, align with Australia's innovation agenda with direct flights and also increasing middle class spending power.
Chengdu could serve as a gateway for Australia's tourism and education sector into Western China.
Moreover, Chengdu has been, you know, pushing for a green development strategy which would intersect with Australian expertise in energy transition and also environmental governance.
So the inclusion of Chengdu practically reflects the widening base of China -Australia relations beyond the first -tier cities.
The final question before we let you go, and very briefly, do you think the current global trade pattern, the kind of uncertainty, turbulence we're seeing because of Washington's trade policy could be a factor to prompt China and Australia to further enhance their trade?
I think actually there are possibilities that international atmosphere or environments could change.
There are a lot of unpredictability and uncertainties around.
But for China and Australia, where we share common interests and also common values in particular with the commitment to improve the economy and also people's livelihood.
With that as set, as the guideline, I think both Most countries will not easily be swayed by changing, you know, environmental, you know, international environments and also commit to joint efforts of collaboration and also mutual development.
Your point is well taken.
Thank you very much for joining us, Professor Cheng Hong, director of the Australian Study Centre with East China Normal University.
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China's economy grew at an annual rate of 5 .3 % in the first half of 2025.
In the second quarter of this year, China's GDP expanded by 5 .2 % compared to last year's Q2.
Retail sales of consumer goods expanded by 5 % in the first six months Fixed asset investment rose by 2 .8 % during this period while the surveyed urban jobless rate stood at 5 .2 % China's National Bureau of Statistics says the economy maintained steady growth with good momentum, showcasing strong resilience and vitality So for more, joining us now on the line is Dr. Li Lun, Assistant Professor of Economics with Peking University.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Thanks for having me.
So at the start of the year, there was actually some very, let's say, downbeat expectation for China's economy over the course of this year.
With that in mind, how would you assess this half year performance?
performance? Yes. Overall, when we look at the statistics, the first half's GDP growth of 5 .3 percent really, I think, exceeded many of the downbeat expectations that you mentioned.
I think one of the keywords of this first half's growth is robust. So if you look at, for example, the GDP growth for Q1 and Q2, they're 5 .4 percent and 5 .2 percent respectively.
So pretty stable over the first two quarters and if we compare with the same time with last year that they're you know all a 0 .3 percentage point higher than last year when we look at for example other statistics like unemployment rates there it's usually between 5 to 5 .4 percent if you look at CPI it's you it's it's basically within a point one percent of change positive and negative So when we look at all of these, you know, general statistics, we're seeing that our, you know, economic outlook is pretty robust. And that is a good thing because, you know, there are a lot of challenges internationally,
especially with regard to trade.
trade. Now, in terms of the trade data released on Monday this week, some people say exports of China benefited from the trade war -triggered front -loading in the first quarter.
But generally speaking, do you think the trade data held up better than expected during this period as a whole yeah so um yeah some people do say that you know the u .s tariff uh by front loading uh people mean you know when you know importers in the us expect the tariff to uh to to raise they kind of buy things upfront but if we analyze the data we will see that first um uh you know the The total export of China hit a record 13 trillion yuan, which is a 7 .2 percent year -on -year growth.
And even if we count front loading, it can't be that much. And if we analyze, for example, the share of import and export by, for example, ASEAN countries and BRI countries, the Belt and Road Initiative countries actually take more than 50 percent of total trade And actually, you know, in Q2, we all know that trade to U .S. declined by 20 percent.
So I think maybe some of that story is true, at least in first quarter.
But in second quarter, we're seeing actually a structural transformation from, you know, U .S. and, for example, EU to BRICS countries or BRI countries.
So I think that's what's, you know, more promising and more, you know, kind of the trend towards the future.
Yeah, I take your point.
In the meantime, domestic consumption contributed to 52 % of China's GDP over the course of the first half of the year.
So do you think this kind of momentum in terms of the consumption we saw during this period is something sustainable?
Why or why not? So at this point, it's slightly more difficult to tell because we all know that in the first half, there are, you know, several subsidy and policies that kind of stimulates consumption.
But what we're seeing right now is that, you know, consumption contributes to over half of GDP growth.
So at least what we are seeing is that the policy are effective.
And also we are seeing that the revenue for service is increasing at around 5 .3 % as well.
So we're seeing an increasing, a fast expanding share of service sector, which is a good thing looking forward. Now, some people, some analysts are cautioning that the second half of the year could prove to be more challenging for the Chinese economy.
What is your take? Yeah, so if you look at the, for example, why does the consumption for the first half is, you know, supports over half of GDP growth is that, as I mentioned, the service sector is, you know, dragging some of the growth and also, you know, in the tourism sector, in the restaurant sector, in, for example, the green energy, the new energy sector.
So these things are very likely to be extended to the second half because we have the October 1st, you know, holiday.
We have we can expect that some of that to to, you know, extend into the second half.
But in terms of policy, I think, at least according to the press conference given by the National Bureau of Statistics, you know, there's going to be continued support of consumption, you know, stimulus.
So I think at least some part of that is going to, you know, be addressed by these new policies.
Yeah. So exactly about stimulus, I guess that's one thing investors are watching closely, like whether there could be new stimulus unveiled by the Chinese government in the second half of this year.
And some people are even saying that this could likely to become, this is likely to shape China's economic policy for the remainder of the year.
So realistically speaking, Professor Li, do you think the economy needs fresh stimulus right now?
Yeah. So I think everyone is very, you know, focused on the second half, you know, the economic trend.
And I think part of the unknown right now is also, you know, Trump's tariff policy with respect to some of the, you know, other countries that, you know, it's an ongoing story.
And also, you know, many different institutions and different investors have different outlook and prospects for China's economy.
So overall, I think, especially for some of the consumption stimulus that is proven to be effective in the first half, I think there's no reason not to continue the policy into the second half.
And also what we are observing is that I think people sometimes underestimate the achievement that China's economy is able to maintain a 5 percent increase despite of all the challenges and all the uncertainties of the first half.
So this resilience in our economic growth, in our supply chain, I think will be proven to be, you know, very important in the second half.
Because, you know, when, for example, the holiday shopping season is all, you know, other countries will increase their import from China.
and our supply chain and our resilience in our industrial system were proven to be helpful for the trend in the second half.
So overall, I think, I don't know about fresh stimulus, but for the ongoing policies, I think there's no reason not to continue them in the second half.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Dr. Li Lun, Assistant Professor of Economics with Peking University.
Coming up, NVIDIA is going to soon release H20 AI chip sales to China following U .S. government assurances.
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U .S. tech giant NVIDIA has won the approval from the Trump administration to sell its advanced H20 computer chips to China.
NVIDIA CEO Jason Huang says half of the world's artificial intelligence researchers are located in China, China, adding that the country is so innovative and dynamic, that it's really important that American companies are able to compete in this market.
The H20 chips of NVIDIA had been designed specifically to bypass earlier US export controls on Beijing.
So, for more, my colleague Xu Yaowen earlier spoke with Andy Mak, technology analyst and senior research fellow with the Center for China and Globalization.
Jinseng Huang has announced that the company has received approval from the U .S. government to sell its advanced G20 AI chips in China.
So how soon do you anticipate these chips will be delivered to Chinese customers?
Well, Yao Wen, I think the short answer is everyone hopes as soon as possible.
So clearly, in China, there is a well -developed ecosystem of developers, companies that have used NVIDIA chips and the entire ecosystem it's developed.
So I think they are, of course, looking forward to this.
NVIDIA very much is looking forward to this, not only from a revenue perspective, but as I'm sure we'll talk about, from Jensen Huang's perspective as the CEO of NVIDIA, they see U .S. chip sanctions against China as posing a dual strategic threat, meaning two strategic threats.
And I honestly think even the Trump administration is looking forward to these chips arriving to Chinese customers as soon as possible.
Because here, the way I describe Jensen Kwong is he is the man of the hour who is doing well by doing good in that I think he is uniquely positioned to play a positive role in de -escalating the standoff between China and the U .S. And here's what I mean when I say the Trump administration is also, I think, pleased to see these chip sales resume as quickly as possible.
Were you surprised by the U .S. government's decision to approve H -20 chip exports to China?
What does this policy shift signify for the U .S.-China tech relationship?
You know, I think, Yaowen, that in a way, I am not surprised that this has happened.
And, you know, again, I think of Jensen Huang as the man of the hour, meaning that he is really one of a kind.
First of all, he's the CEO and co -founder of a company that produces the most critical input to artificial intelligence.
But he also has a bicultural background that allows him to establish trust and credibility with the U .S. and with China at the highest levels.
So given, as you mentioned, this standoff that the United States and China are locked in, that he plays a unique role, sui generis, one of a kind, in his ability to help bridge this gap.
And when I say that he is doing good by doing well, now, of course, selling more chips anywhere, but especially to China, is very, very valuable to NVIDIA for two reasons.
First of all, companies like NVIDIA spend about 20 % of their revenue to fund the next generation of chips.
So losing significant amounts of revenue could actually undermine NVIDIA's technology leadership.
The second reason is that by creating a vacuum in the Chinese market, and Jensen Huang has said this many times, this could give rise to local competitors that not only would challenge NVIDIA in China, but eventually globally.
So he's helping de -escalate the tension between China and the U .S., while at the same time helping his own company prosper again, which is why I describe him as the man of the hour who is doing well by doing good.
You know, this week here in Beijing, we're going to have this 2025 China International Supply Chain Expo and NVIDIA is about to participate as an exhibitor.
What message do you think the company is sending by engaging directly with Chinese supply chain stakeholders at the event?
And also, what do you believe they hope the U .S. policymakers will take away from their presence here in China?
Well, I think Jensen Fong is clearly aware of his role, not just as the CEO of NVIDIA, but again, this one of a kind go between between China and the United States.
And I think he is using his position very thoughtfully and very skillfully by attending this event.
So he has said that, in fact, what the U .S. is doing with these sanctions is actually backfiring and undermining American tech leadership.
And in fact, what the U .S. should be doing is engaging with China as openly as possible.
So I think this is the symbolism of his presence at this event.
And we only need to look at the development of DeepSeek as an example of how China has been able to make remarkable advances in artificial intelligence in the face of these sanctions.
And I think this, again, demonstrates that Jensen Huang's description and his prognosis for what should be done is correct.
Well, Andy, do you see there is the possibility that the U .S. policy could shift again?
And how is NVIDIA preparing for that, potentially restricting chip sales to China?
Well, you know, what we've seen certainly in the second Trump administration is a lot of back and forth.
And I think many people just explain this as a escalate to de -escalate strategy by President Trump.
given that. I believe, and I certainly hope, that we will not see a reversal of this.
And I have a couple reasons for saying this.
So, first of all, I think it has become very clear to the United States that it is vulnerable to measures that China can take in areas such as rare earth metals, but other areas as well say the market for boeing aircraft is another that it really needs to treat china with respect and as an equal so i think this is one reason why we might not see a reversal second i think again given jensen huang's credibility both as a domain expert in this field of gpus but also i think that that his ability to speak to both sides make it less likely that there will be a reversal.
But that being said, we really never know.
And lastly, Andy, so looking ahead, what do you foresee as the key challenges and opportunities for NVIDIA in China, especially in light of this evolving geopolitical dynamics and the competitive landscape?
As you also mentioned, Jensen Huang himself said that it's so innovative and dynamic here in China that it's really important that American companies are able to compete and serve the market here in China.
So your thoughts on that?
Well, yeah, if I step back and, you know, we look at AI, you know, it's generally recognized as a civilization changing technology.
and because of this, and it brings also many dangers as well, that working together to both advance the technology frontier, whether that's to AGI or ASI, artificial super intelligence, is very important for the entire human race.
At the same time, doing it in a safe way is very important.
So I think this is probably the most important goal and NVIDIA, of course, has a very important role to play here so reducing barriers reducing mistrust allowing china the us europe anyone that can contribute to work together i think is very very important i think from nvidia's commercial perspective being able to sustain maybe even recover market share in china will be very important for its stock price of course but i think also to tap into to the enormous talent pool in China.
So I think Jensen Fang has also said something like 50 % of the top AI talent in the world is in China.
Even in the United States, many of the top AI scientists, engineers are from China.
So this is something that I think is very worth paying attention to and certainly can benefit NVIDIA and other American companies that are able to work productively with China and with its talent ecosystem.
Andy Mauck, Senior Research Fellow with the Center for China and Globalization, talking with my colleague, Xu Yaowen.
Coming up, we're going to take a look at the 2025 World Youth Skills Day.
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Jean. The United Nations is highlighting the importance of youth empowerment through artificial intelligence and digital skills as Tuesday marked the 10th anniversary of the World Youth Skills Day.
This year's theme, quote -unquote, Youth Empowerment for a Digital Future, underscores the growing global urgency to equip the younger generation with the skills to keep up with the digital trends so and in the meantime across China activities have promoted skilled work encouraged the vocational training and supported the development of a stronger professional workforce so joining us now in the studio is my colleague Song Rui Xin thank you very much for joining us hello Ding Heng so many people may not necessarily be so familiar with this particular day called the World Youth Skills Day.
Why was this date established in the first place?
So the United Nations started it back in 2014 to shine a spotlight on something that affects young people everywhere, and that is to have the right skills to succeed in today's world.
Think about it. The job market is changing fast with new technology, automation and global shifts.
So it's not just about getting a degree anymore, it is about having practical, adaptable skills.
So this day is meant to raise awareness about helping young people gain those skills, whether it's for finding a job and starting a business or just feeling prepared for the future.
So it also calls attention to a big issue that is youth unemployment.
I mean, millions of young people around the world struggle to find decent work.
And a big part of the problem is the gap between what they learn and what jobs actually require.
So World Youth Skills Day is a reminder that we need to invest in training, education and opportunities so young people can build better lives for themselves and contribute to stronger communities.
So really, it's about giving youth the tools that they need to, I mean, to not just to survive, but to thrive?
Yeah. So the employment for the young people, that's a vital issue in terms of political stability, social stability.
If you think about the root cause of the Arab Spring more than a decade ago, well, yeah, that's really a big issue.
Now, some people may feel overwhelmed by the the speed of technological change.
So, Reiji, in your opinion, how can we ensure digital inclusion, especially for students in rural community or in those under -resourced regions?
So a lot of countries have realized that the rapid pace of technological change can leave some people behind.
And I mean, China is definitely working to make digital technology more accessible in remote and rural areas.
for example, in agriculture, there's more support now for selling products online and sharing technical knowledge.
So this year, I actually covered the report on the two sessions, I mean, which is China's annual political meetings and many representatives brought up the need to close this kind of, let me say, digital divide.
So one example that really stood out to me was an interview with Dr. Margaret Chan, the former UN official.
She talked about smart elderly care and emphasized that digital progress shouldn't come at the cost of excluding certain groups.
I really agree with that.
So how do we bridge that gap?
I mean, I think it depends on government policy.
so some schools are already taking steps to improve access to digital education i for me myself i'm from a small city in northwest china and compared to some super or major cities in like beijing or shanghai the tech education there is still catching up so but recently i heard that schools are having invited some university researchers and experts in digital science to give talks so this gives students the chance to to explore new technology planting the seeds of curiosity and innovation for the future so i mean for china broadly say skilled workers are a vital force supporting made in china and created
in china initiatives and skilled workers also make up an important part of the middle income group.
So that's why it's essential to strengthen training for skilled talent, raise wages, and attract more high quality professionals to join the skilled workforce.
So nowadays with university admissions, the annual university admissions in China and elsewhere going on, many young people actually feel a bit of uncertainty certainty about their choosing majors.
So although, Reixin, you graduated from colleges three years ago or so, are you following the current trends for the job market for, I mean, for the recent graduates?
What kind of trends are you witnessing?
Yeah, definitely. I've actually been keeping an eye on the job market for recent graduates.
According to a survey by Zhao Ping in China, the proportion of 2024 graduates choosing freelancing or taking a slow employment approach has increased.
Specifically, the percentage of graduates opting for freelancing rose from 13 .2 % last year to 13 .7 % this year.
So I mean, one thing I've really noticed that is today's students are more likely to follow what they want when choosing a major rather than just just chasing what's actually hot.
And that makes sense.
What's popular now might not be in demand by the time they graduate.
So, for example, when I was applying to university, computer science was a top choice for science students and law was really popular among arts students.
Majors like civil engineering also had super high entry scores because of its strong job prospects.
But a few years later, now the market had already shifted.
I'm sure you have seen something similar, Ding Hung, maybe for your generation, like how linguistics used to be more popular.
But now with the rise of AI, it's not quite as in demand as it once was.
us. So when it comes to career choices, I've noticed that young people today aren't just sticking to jobs related to their major.
Many are choosing based on their personal goals like some prioritize income, especially in the short term.
Others are chasing passion projects even if it means earning less.
So overall, I think there's a growing trend of people trying to to build a life that feels meaningful and enjoyable.
And that's a pretty refreshing mindset.
Now, very, very briefly, what kind of skills do you think the younger generation really needs for the future?
Like I've just mentioned, I think the most important skill for the future is actually knowing what you really want.
I mean, what really matters is learning how to use AI or some so -called digital technology more effectively, not fearing it.
Thank you. That was my colleague Song Rui Xin joining us in our Beijing studio.
Unfortunately, that's all the time for this edition of World Today.
To listen to this episode again or to catch up on our previous episodes, you can download our podcast by searching World Today.
For further discussion, you can follow us on X at CGTM Radio.
I'm Dinghan in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now. you
