China’s financial rocket ride appears to be coming to an end, or at least slowing down. After the property developer Evergrande collapse in 2024, growth dropped from 8.4 % in 2021 to 4.5 % today, youth unemployment increased to 16.9 %, and cities are rife with unfinished buildings.
On Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Red Note, a term has been circulating for a while to sum up what’s happening: “garbage day.”
It is used to refer to the final days of a match whose goal is already known. The best athletes don’t play. The chair people assume the lead. Because there is less at stake, no single tries as difficult.
The phrase seemed to get a combination of anguish and dark humor last year and seemed to have caught on. Citizens then generally seem to have less expectation. Not so much an economical fall as a sluggish decline in hope.
This is a significant change for those who were born in China during the 1980s and 1990s and who were raised there during its four years of rapid development. Jobs in technology and funding are harder to find, homes are falling in value, and wages are not rising.
However, “garbage time” is even making room for younger and middle-class Foreign to redefine victory and joy. A creation is reevaluating what is most important in a changing economic environment as fine jobs, luxury goods, and house ownership are now more difficult to obtain.
From Prada to “living lighting”
Many middle-class people in China were pursuing lofty goals ten years ago when they sent their kids abroad for education. Former president Deng Xiaoping when said,” Getting wealthy is glorious.
Some Taiwanese people totally embraced this notion. In a study of millennial consumption habits conducted in 2021, 7.6 million young Chinese spent an average of 71, 000 yuan ( US$ 10, 375 ) on luxury goods, accounting for 30 % of the global luxury market.
They now appear to be altering their course, putting that type of saving on maintain due to financial strain.
Get the “tang ping,” a growing trend that is causing more young people to reject hustle culture while embracing “living light.” Or the phrase “run xue” or “run idea,” which actually refers to the study of leaving China.
Young Chinese are getting married afterwards, also, with rising wedding expenses and changing attitudes toward traditional home values being the main causes.
Shopping practices appear to support these trends. In 2024, China’s largest used-goods owner Xianyu reached 181 million customers. Selling surpassed one trillion yuan, or ten times that of 2018. BYD, a Chinese automaker, then outsells expensive overseas companies.
More important than simply saving money is what this is about. Traditional Chinese culture values family status and career success, but job shortage and falling house prices challenge these outdated stereotypes.
Fresh Chinese are then questioning the worth of hard work in a program that may no longer reward it. They place more value on individual well-being over throwing position. If the pattern persists, it might lead to the development of a new perception of middle-class personality.
Vibrations strike the globe
The international effects of all of this are important. International businesses take notice when 500 million people alter their spending patterns.
Apple, a once-favorable manufacturer, has lost ground, while Huawei, a regional brand, gained. Li Ning, a local apparel manufacturer, is challenging Nike. Firms that had anticipated apparently endless Chinese development are now having to recalculate. Planning is made more difficult by this, along with other governmental and political complexity.
Both school and work are changing, also. Some individuals have criticized China’s rigorous education program, and its “996 work society” ( 9am to 9pm, six times a week ) is waning.
Nevertheless, China’s financial growth is sapping at a more steady rate. And the state faces significant challenges as a result of the world’s declining economic model.
China’s imports dropped at the start of this year because Donald Trump’s tax laws were looming in the background. Export increased significantly slower, but at a slower rate.
The remarkable growth of China was both the product and the beneficiary of its members of the middle class. Strong consumer confidence may be assumed because 40 % of them have seen their riches decline in recent years.
For the time being, it seems as though a new financial identity is emerging. Whether this is a long-term trend or just a proper adjustment. In any case, one thing is sure: all feels it when the country’s second-largest market changes how it spends.
Christian Yao is a mature teacher at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Management.
This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Study the article’s introduction.