Good evening. China’s pension system is in crisis: According to one estimate, China’s basic state pension will have more outgoings than income by 2029. In response, as our cover story this week shows, Beijing has made an uncharacteristic turn to the private sector, including giving major international asset managers unprecedented access to Chinese markets. Elsewhere, we have infographics on Country Garden’s debt woes; an interview with Fuchsia Dunlop on Chinese cooking; a reported piece on Beijing’s pause on data decoupling; and an op-ed on China’s new global initiatives. If you’re not already a paid subscriber to The Wire, please sign up here.
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Aging Opportunity
Beijing and Western financial giants have a mutual interest: Fixing China’s pensions system. But can they figure out how to do it? Sean Williams reports.
The Big Picture: Debt Woes Spoil The Country Garden
The real estate giant, once thought to be among China’s strongest, has succumbed to the malaise plaguing the sector. This week’s infographics by Aaron Mc Nicholas look at the rags-to-riches — and back to rags — story behind Country Garden, and examine whether it has a path out of its present predicament.
A Q&A with Fuchsia Dunlop
Fuchsia Dunlop has been cooking and writing about Chinese food since the early 1990s, when she first traveled to the country. A fluent Mandarin speaker, she was the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Higher Cuisine. She has since gone on to deepen her knowledge of all types of Chinese cooking, pouring her experience into several books. Her latest, Invitation to a Banquet, is part-history, part-celebration of the world of Chinese cuisine, introducing readers to its often intricate processes. In this week’s Q&A with Andrew Peaple, she discusses the extraordinary diversity and creativity of Chinese cuisine, and why it could offer valuable lessons around a sustainable food future.
Fuchsia Dunlop
Illustration by Lauren Crow
Beijing Hits Pause on Data Decoupling
The Chinese government has relaxed some of its rules on transferring data overseas, but international companies still face uncertainty. Eliot Chen reports.
How China’s Global Initiatives Aim to Change the Way the World is Run
Beijing’s new foreign policy concepts add up to a call for more emphasis on state rights over those of individuals, argues Manoj Kewalramani in this week’s op-ed.
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