Digitally ordered trade from the PRC is already successful. This is thanks to a thriving CBEC (cross-border e-commerce) sector (e.g. BtoB: Alibaba.com, DHgate.com, Made-in-China.com and BtoC Shein, Temu, Aliexpress). Now accounting for some six percent of total PRC trade, the sector has doubled in value since 2019, according to customs data.
Party and public control—how the CPC disciplines its members and how it constrains PRC citizens—are converging. Party disciplinary units are ever more brought in to solve everyday local issues and grievances. This has implications for governance, social stability, and modernisation. Such integration aims for efficiency but struggles to balance control with effective practical governance, above all, given the greater frequency and scale of protests.
Boosting domestic consumption shot from third (2024) to first place in Premier Li Qiang's 李强 Government Work Report for 2025. A ‘Special action plan on consumption’, issued 17 March, filled out the detail. With more incentives than ever for income growth, paid leave, domestic and overseas travel, childcare subsidies and coupons for big-ticket items, it is the biggest boost so far.
State-market relations are changing. This was in full view at a Party-led symposium attended by top business leaders on 17 February 2025. They heard a clear message from Xi Jinping 习近平 that Chinese-style socialism, the PRC’s unique brand of state capitalism, creates opportunities for the private economy; firms must, in exchange, find their place within national objectives