economics Archives - understand-culture

The Salt and Iron Debate

In the second month of 81 BC, the Han court held a debate on the state monopolies of salt and iron. On one side stood government officials led by the Imperial Secretary Sang Hongyang. On the other stood more than sixty “worthy and learned” men chosen from across the realm.

Under Emperor Xuan, the official Huan Kuan polished and expanded the records into a book, Discourses on Salt and Iron, in 60 chapters. A line often quoted from it reads: “In ancient times, people valued virtue and despised profit, prized righteousness and made light of wealth.”

Seven Years to an Investment Deal

Negotiations on an investment agreement between China and the European Union were formally launched in November 2013. The 35th round took place from December 6 to 11, 2020. On December 30, 2020, the two sides concluded the talks in principle. A Chinese report called the negotiations a seven-year “long run” (长跑).

On May 20, 2021, the European Parliament voted to freeze work on the agreement until China lifted its sanctions.

Market for Technology

The carmaker Beijing Jeep, a joint venture with a foreign partner, opened in January 1984. At that time, Rao Bin, vice minister of the First Ministry of Machine Building, put forward the formula 以市场换技术, “trade the market for technology.” Foreign carmakers would gain access to Chinese buyers, and China would gain their technology.

In April 2018, a Xinhua commentary drew a lesson: “Historical experience shows that the market cannot buy real core technology.”

Consult, Build and Share Together

On June 5, 2014, Xi Jinping opened the ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. He said that the Belt and Road should follow the principle of 共商、共建、共享, “joint consultation, joint construction and shared benefits.” People’s Daily later wrote that this speech was the first to set out the principle systematically.

In March 2015, the official vision document for the Belt and Road repeated it: “Belt and Road construction is a systematic project. It must follow the principle of joint consultation, joint construction and shared benefits.”

The Iron Rice Bowl

A very secure job is called tie fanwan, the iron rice bowl. The Handian dictionary defines it as “a very stable occupation or post.” The Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary’s example: “Many people think that a job in a government office means holding an iron rice bowl.”

The enterprise looked after much more than the job. In June 2017, four central government bodies issued guidance on this. State enterprises were to hand over, step by step, the water, power, heating and property management of their workers’ housing compounds to specialized companies or institutions. The same guidance called for “positive progress” in reforming the schools and hospitals that enterprises still ran.

The Information Gap

信息差, the information gap, is a Chinese term for how money is made. In 2024, the business site Jiemian wrote: “The information gap, simply put, is what you know and others do not. What others need, you can provide.” Turning such gaps into leads and selling them, the article said, “has become a way to make money.”

In September 2026, an article on the Beijing News site, credited to Rizhao News Network, asked what business had really been about for the past twenty years. “The information gap. You know a channel that others do not, and you make money.”

The Rat Warehouse

老鼠仓, a rat warehouse, is the popular name for trading on unpublished information obtained through one’s position, other than inside information, in breach of the rules.

The case of Ma Le, a fund manager at Bosera Asset Management, was reported as the largest of its kind in the country. He first received a suspended sentence. On December 11, 2015, on retrial, the Supreme People’s Court sentenced him to three years in prison and a fine of 19.13 million yuan.

Falsified Data in Liaoning

In January 2017, the government work report of Liaoning province stated: “The cities and counties under Liaoning province falsified fiscal data in the period from 2011 to 2014.” (辽宁省所辖市、县在2011-2014年期间存在财政数据造假)

A 2018 report in Yicai, citing People’s Daily, said that the inflated figures came to nearly 20 percent of fiscal revenue over that period. According to the same report, Liaoning’s general budget revenue fell by 33.4 percent in 2015.

The New Population Theory

In July 1957, the economist Ma Yinchu, president of Peking University, published his New Population Theory. He proposed controlling population growth. Mao Zedong, Kang Sheng and others opposed it. From the Anti-Rightist Campaign on, Ma was criticized across the country. In 1960, he was forced to resign as president, and he was placed under house arrest.

He was rehabilitated after the Cultural Revolution. In 1979, he was named honorary president of Peking University.

Taking Over a Parent’s Job

Under the planned economy, when a worker retired, a son or daughter could take over the post. The system was called dingti (顶替), “taking the place.” It began in the 1950s. From the late 1970s, it was applied across the country to ease unemployment among urban youth.

In 1983, a State Council notice set out to regulate and restrict it. A study of the system notes that some parents even retired early, before they met the legal conditions, so that a child could take over.