Is GDP still a useful gauge of China's economy?

Jul 17, 2023
There is a longstanding debate about whether the data is accurate. Some are skeptical of government officials' projections of 5% growth.
Crowds at Chengdu city's Taikoo Li commercial district. Chinese shoppers are consuming more, but not enough to offset weakness in the real estate sector and boost the sluggish economy. (Jennifer Pak/Marketplace)
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

Revisiting a Beijing vegetable stand, more than 25 years after moving away

Jul 14, 2023
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal visits his former Beijing neighborhood and reflects on decades of rapid change in China's economy.
A delivery vehicle for Jenny Lou’s, a grocery chain in the Chinese capital.
Kai Ryssdal/Marketplace

A look at China's economic change from Beijing's Sanlitun neighborhood

"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal and Shanghai correspondent Jennifer Pak walk around Sanlitun, where Ryssdal lived in the 1990s.
Jennifer Pak and Kai Ryssdal walk in Beijing's Sanlitun neighborhood. IIn the 1990s, the area was made up of old apartment buildings, vegetable stands and small bars catering to Westerners. Now there are luxury retail stores like Chanel and Dior.
Charles Zhang for Marketplace

Yellen: U.S. intends to be "transparent about the actions that we've taken" when it comes to China

"Especially with COVID ... we've grown apart and misunderstandings have developed," Yellen says. "It's necessary to meet to discuss our differences openly."
"We fully expect to have more frequent communications at many different levels and have opportunities to explore concerns," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says of China. 
Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

In Beijing, Yellen aims to get U.S.-China relations back on an even keel

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen intends to steady U.S.-China relations while looking out for American companies.
Yellen is looking to steady the U.S.'s economic relationship with China while keeping American business interests front of mind.
Nancy Farghalli/Marketplace

In the race for electric vehicles, Chinese consumers are in the driver's seat

Jul 3, 2023
U.S. legacy automakers are losing ground to Tesla and Chinese companies like BYD in China, once considered a major new market.
"Tesla is still crushing it in China," says Tu Le, managing director at Sino Auto Insights. But  Chinese automotive giant BYD sold more cars than Tesla in the second quarter.
Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images

When Yellen gets to China, just sitting down and talking will indicate progress

Jul 3, 2023
But there's no shortage of issues to discuss between the world's two largest economies.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with Chinese officials this week.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Yellen's trip to China may start with finding economic common ground

Jun 27, 2023
In March, the Treasury secretary told Marketplace that the U.S. and China need to put a "floor" under their relationship.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to visit Beijing in July.
Lewis Joly/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

What it takes to lure IT workers back to the Chinese countryside

Jun 26, 2023
Some city-dwellers are heeding the call of China’s government for people to return and revive the countryside.
Ex-coder Hu Hang stands in a peach orchard he co-invests in. He quit the IT sector and moved from Shenzhen back to his hometown in central Jiangxi province a few years ago. (Christian Petersen-Clausen/Marketplace)
Christian Petersen-Clausen for Marketplace

Chinese investment in U.S. startups under scrutiny for espionage

Jun 21, 2023
The difficult relationship between the U.S. and China has many economic contours to it. One of the complaints on the U.S. side for years has been about theft of intellectual property. That tension is now extending into the world of investment, particularly startups.
“Unlike American companies, Chinese-owned companies are required by their government to support the military," said Andy Weber, a senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks.
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images