In Youth Power program Gen Z spells out its optimism on China’s economy

BEIJING, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — As spring is ushered in, and as eased pandemic control regulations take effect, China’s economy is moving back into top gear. The ninth episode of season two of Youth Power, titled “China’s economy: the best days lie ahead”, was broadcast online on Feb 28.

In the episode, Gen Zers from China, Egypt, Germany, Kazakhstan, South Korea and the United States gathered to discuss economic development in China and around the world.

A report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last year said the country has advanced reform, opening up and socialist modernization and has written a new chapter on rapid economic growth and long-term social stability. In discussing the progress and future of China’s economy, confidence was a word frequently mentioned by Gen Zers in the program.

Their confidence on how China’s economy will perform this year was based on the hard work of Chinese companies, as well as an environment of innovation, entrepreneurship and abundant opportunities.

“China has always been a vibrant place, and I also think there’s now this new wave of Chinese companies going global,” said Jonas Wolf, a young businessman from Germany. The emphasis on education and the learning capacity of Chinese are the main reasons why he is confident in China’s economy, he said.

Uldana Zhunisbek, an international student from Kazakhstan, said China’s technology is frequently used in her country. “You can see many Xiaomi scooters on the street … and we are importing a lot of cars from China, like Chery, one of the top ones right now.”

Moreover, in street interviews, Gen Zers in or from more than 10 countries spoke of their favorite Chinese brands, one observation being that many involve new technology or infrastructure. This proves that Chinese technology is advancing rapidly, powering an economy that is increasingly dynamic and competitive.

With constant innovation and perpetual hard work, more quality Chinese products will enter the international market, Gen Zers who talked to Youth Power said. Government incentives and a friendly business environment in China will attract young business people from all over the world, they said.

Wolf, impressed by China’s creative start-ups, said: “The theme of Chinese business parks is really big (in Germany). And I think for every entrepreneurial venture … these are great opportunities.”

A South Korean businessman, Kim Jun-bum, spoke of entrepreneur-friendly policies adopted by the Chinese government, including the cluster registration policy and the start-up visa policy. “I believe entrepreneurs will enjoy brighter prospects from China’s innovation-driven development,” he said.

Chen Shihua of Peking University said: “Today there are more than 48 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in China, and for every 1,000 Chinese there are 34 entrepreneurs. In the torrent of Chinese economic development, these invisible but significant entrepreneurs are millions of waves, dancing and blossoming in such a unique, beautiful and enthusiastic way.”

Yin Mingqi, a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said one of the most important sources of economic vigor in China is the government’s support for those starting up their own business. Yin, of Taiwan province, told of producing culturally innovative products and helping villages create brands. “What China does is to give full play to the important role of rural areas as consumer markets and also as sector markets.”

As China makes an ever greater contribution to world economic growth, Gen Zers worldwide have seen for themselves the changes brought by China to their countries.

Uldana Zhunisbek, the Kazakhstani, said her country is involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. “We get a lot of investment from China. It always helps us to grow. Another thing is that China is helping us with the infrastructure with a lot of machinery and with technology.”

Sarah Khattab from Egypt praised Chinese construction companies for their reliability and efficiency, and she listed several projects on which China and Egypt have collaborated, including the Chinese CBD project in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, a monorail project there, and the development of the Suez Canal.

Enoch Wong, a guest from the Hong Kong special administrative region, said that in the past decade the Belt and Road Initiative has resulted in significant economic growth for a large part of the developing world, further contributing to global development. He expressed excitement and confidence over such collaboration.

One view aired in the program was that when China does well, the world does well, and vice versa. The host, Zhong Yutong, who graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai and Cambridge University in England, said China’s development now has an even bigger impact on the world, which has benefited greatly from the country’s high-quality development, just as China has benefited from international prosperity.

This year China begins fully to implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, and Gen Zers talked about their expectations for China’s economy this year.

Great emphasis was put on China’s high-quality development, consumption and services. Young people from the US showed great interest in domestic and international dual circulation, a South Korea highlighted science and technology innovation and talent cultivation, and a German perspective was that the balance and coordination of China’s economic development is important.

The Gen Zers agreed that the economy has been highly resilient, vibrant and has tremendous long-term potential. As a generation focusing on innovation, hard work and opportunities, it is clear that Gen Zers will step forward and contribute to China’s economy with utter confidence.

Zhong Yutong said many business people, especially those from overseas, are excited about opportunities in China. “This confidence is very justified. In the past few years, China has opened its arms even wider to investors from outside the country, entrepreneurs otherwise not really known in China’s mainland.”

Youth Power, organized by China Daily and first broadcast in June 2021, aims to build a global platform of communication and exchange, focusing on the interests and ideas of Generation Z. The program comes in the form of interviews, forums and speeches, with topics related to anything of current interest in the world.