- Shenzhen introduces green growth indicator
- Foxconn and Xiaomi push into EV market
- Interview: Parag Khanna on the meaning of European sanctions against China
- 5G: Italy limits deployment of Huawei and ZTE
- Asylum for Hong Kong activist Nathan Law in the UK
- Finance ministry plans to actively push property tax
- EU MEP under investigation over Chinese sponsorship
- Beijing: 10,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2025
- Johnny Erling: steel rush euphoria
Whether it’s forest dieback or the threat of climate collapse, for decades, almost everything in economic policy has revolved around GDP growth. While the introduction of a “happiness indicator” in Germany came to nothing, Shenzhen is trying out a new eco-indicator. Frank Sieren introduces it and the hopes associated with it.
With Foxconn and Xiaomi, two industry giants are entering the EV market. Xiaomi is investing $1.5 billion, Foxconn has developed its own software and hardware platform. Christiane Kühl has the details.
The sanctions against China have made big waves. In an interview with Michael Radunski, Parag Khanna explains why they hardly affect China. Barack Obama’s former foreign policy advisor believes that the massive growth is enough for Beijing to insure itself.
Johnny Erling looks at the Chinese “steel addiction”. China now produces more than half of the world’s steel and is threatening to flood the global markets. Now Beijing also wants to reduce overcapacities because of climate promises. Johnny Erling suspects: As with previous efforts, this will remain an empty promise.
I wish you many new insights and a nice weekend!
Nico Beckert
Feature
Shenzhen introduces green growth indicator
Shenzhen has become the first metropolis to introduce a gross domestic product (GDP) alternative. The so-called gross ecosystem product (GEP) is designed to take into account not only what is sold and produced in a state or city, but also factors such as clean water, clean air, and intact green spaces. In this way, the GEP is intended to say more about human well-being than the GDP, which is based on material possessions, and to draw attention to green and sustainable economic development.
As a result, the GEP should then in turn help to ensure that more is invested in sustainable projects and nature conservation in the future. The calculations are based on a system developed by the United Nations, making Shenzhen “a world leader,” says Zhang Yali, deputy head of the Shenzhen Ecology Department. The ideas and techniques of the new measurement system are based on environmental and economic accounting methods of the UN Statistical Commission. They will be “used as a reference” in Shenzhen, Zhang said. The launch was preceded by a six-year pilot phase. Shenzhen’s economy is bigger than Norway’s, Belgium’s, or Singapore’s. And twice the size of Greece’s.
‘Impressive combination of sustainability and growth’
In 2019, the UN organization Habitat produced an in-depth study on the sustainability of the city as a model for the world. And back in 2002, the UN awarded Shenzhen a prize for “the impressive combination of sustainability and growth”.
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