Tangping, the young people "lying flat" disillusioned by the Chinese model
With youth unemployment officially jumping to 21.3%, the movement against social pressure is growing. According to a document from the Guangzhou administration, 10% of young people agree with the "four nos" of this form of nihilistic protest. But from the Beijing authorities only invitations to "adapt" and slogans on the strengthening of the private economy without concrete openings.
Beijing (AsiaNews) - With the youth unemployment rate in China this year reaching a record level, the term "lie flat", in Chinese tangping (躺平), is becoming an increasingly popular meme on social networks.
Rising to prominence already two years ago, it expresses a form of silent protest by young people who reduce their desire and their expectations of consumption, responding with a life "at the minimum level" to the pressures of society.
The unemployment rate among 16-24-year-olds rose to an unprecedented 21.3% in June, according to official Chinese statistics, and analysts believe the real figure could be even higher.
After the three years of Covid, the Chinese economy has not had a real rebound and the recovery is still slow. Observers talk about the risk of deflation in China: the "consumption downgrade" is one of the most discussed topics online. China has tried to deal with it by lowering interest rates, but between the real estate crisis and numerous debts, Beijing doesn't have many options available to stimulate the slowdown in the economy.
Graduates cannot find an adequate position in the difficult labor market; so many of them choose to become "full-time sons and daughters", staying in their parents' homes with no commitments to education, employment or training. According to research by Zhang Dandan, associate professor of Peking University, published in Caixin Media, the real unemployment rate of young people in March would have reached 46.5% even including the 16 million young people who do not attend schools or universities .
The research also found that the percentage of college graduates out of work is on the rise. And unemployment is expected to continue rising in July and August as a new share of students graduate during that time.
Independent economist George Magnus, an associate professor at the China Center at the University of Oxford, noted in the Financial Times that a country with a rapidly aging population and a plummeting fertility rate like China should be in a shortage of manpower, especially among young people. Instead, the opposite is happening.
Magnus explains that the disillusionment and pessimism of young people can become a serious problem for the economy and society, as young people are an important group of consumers. The proportion of low-paying, low-skilled and informal sector jobs is growing in China. But this reflects the skills mismatch between graduates and employers, as job and wage expectations are unrealistic.
The economist criticizes the fact that the Chinese authorities focus on supply policies and that the growth model depends on state-owned enterprises; they are all factors leading to lack of demand. To solve the problem, China would need an overhaul of the development model and a reform of income redistribution, social security, education and taxation to give priority to the private sector.
On the contrary, the authorities only invite educated young people to do manual jobs and the official media urge graduates to take on flexible jobs such as street vendors and deliveries. The number of civil servants exam takers has increased rapidly in recent years, but the number of hires remains roughly the same. On average, 60 participants compete for each position.
The idea of "flattening out" has therefore taken root among young people in the context of disillusionment, weak economy and lack of mobility of social classes. Furthermore, the concept of "letting rot", in Chinese bailan (摆烂), seen as a silent and desperate rebellion, is spreading.
The authorities are not ignoring these trends. An official document from the southern city of Guangzhou states that the "four no's" ("no dating, no marriage, no buying apartments, no having children") are becoming popular and nearly 10% of young people surveyed would recognize themselves in these positions . The document suggests that the authorities transform the "four no's" into "four wishes", namely: "wanting to go out with someone, get married, buy apartments, have children". But the news about this document has done nothing but arouse new irony on social networks.
Two years ago, Chinese authorities began cracking down on the after-school industry that employs millions of young graduates. The campaign that targeted big tech companies also led to job losses and a shrinkage of capital in the tech industry.
Last week, Beijing tried to send the message of a U-turn, pledging to make the private economy "bigger, better and stronger" in a bid to spur economic recovery. The Communist Party of China and the State Council released a series of policy documents on Wednesday reiterating the importance of private enterprises for growth and vowing to protect the property rights of private enterprises. Some entrepreneurs have extolled these policies in the official media. But outside this bubble, the comments speak of empty slogans, without practicable and concrete measures.
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