Laying the groundwork for an era of new ideas

Wang Yanlin
From the shared economy of bikes to the development of a cashless society, China staked its claim to being a recognized pioneer in adapting technology to a changing world in 2017.
Wang Yanlin

From the shared economy of cars and bikes to the development of a cashless society and lean-energy vehicles, China staked its claim to being a recognized pioneer in adapting technology to a changing world in 2017.

At the vanguard of this frontier is the campaign to find new and better ways to improve industry, trade and social progress.

This year was the prelude to the dawning of a new era for the nation under the leadership of Xi Jinping, who was re-elected Party chief at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October.

While the nation’s leaders maintained a steady keel on economic growth this year, the road to change hasn’t always been equally stable on the commercial front.

The fast expansion of companies in the “new economy” has produced hiccups. The spectacular fall of LeEco, a video-streaming portal that expanded rapidly into cloud computing, smartphones and electric cars, sent a stern message about the pitfalls of business based on boasts. And troubled bikesharing firms like Xiaoming, 3Vbike, Coolqi and Bluegogo have exposed a glaring lack of sensible regulation.

“China, as well as the world, has entered a phase of nursing its growth instead of over-stimulating it,” said Huang Jun, chief Chinese analyst at Forex.com. “Investors won’t see aggressive measures any more, but they can anticipate stable growth in China and around the world with mild policy support.”

China has been proceeding cautiously with deeper reforms to address what is seen as imbalance and inadequate development in face of the public’s growing expectations for a better lifestyle.

Xi’s policies have laid the foundation for a new round of upgrades in China’s industries and its social programs.



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