Episode description

This week thousands of delegates from across China arrived in Beijing for the biggest political gathering of the year. But this time, the government’s message about the economy is less upbeat than it has been before. The growth forecast has been reduced, again. A new plan to boost the economy includes greater government spending, increasing foreign firms' access to the Chinese market, and billions of dollars in tax cuts. But will the measures work? There is more trouble on the horizon, as industries struggle to find skilled workers, and deal with the fallout of the trade war with the United States. Celia Hatton is joined by a panel of expert guests to discuss whether the Chinese economy is robust enough to weather the challenges.

(Photo: A female worker in a textile factory in Lianyungang in China's eastern Jiangsu province, February 2019. Credit: AFP/ Getty Images)