China’s economy is losing momentum as weak consumer spending, falling property values and slowing investment increasingly outweigh the country’s strong export performance. As economic confidence fades, terms like 「躺平」 (“lying flat”), 「內捲」 (“involution”) and 「平替」 (“budget alternatives”) have become symbols of a generation grappling with shrinking opportunities and declining expectations. At the same time, Beijing is betting that advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and technological self-reliance can revive growth under its new Five-Year Plan, even as tariffs, trade tensions and geopolitical competition intensify. Can China escape a prolonged economic slowdown — or is it entering a period of structural stagnation? In this episode, we examine what’s really driving China’s economic pessimism and what it means for Xi Jinping, global markets and Taiwan.
*Recorded on June 25, 2026 at 2:00pm Taiwan Standard Time
Host: Wen-Ti Sung
Producer: Miguel Yang
Our guests:
Lin Tzu-li
- Tunghai University Department of Political Science Research Professor
Tsai Jung-hsiang
- National Chung Cheng University Political Science Professor
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