Newshour Is China’s social contract under pressure?
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Oct 22, 2025 Laura Bicker, the BBC's China correspondent, discusses the deepening housing crisis and youth unemployment in China, highlighting the growing discontent among citizens reliant on the ruling Communist Party’s social contract. She examines the impact of economic strains and the collapse of major developers like Evergrande. Also joining is Katie Razzle, who interviews author Philip Pullman about imagination, AI, and his new book featuring Lyra, shedding light on the moral implications of AI in literature.
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China's Social Contract Under Strain
- China's economic slowdown threatens the unwritten social contract linking prosperity to one-party rule.
- If rising prosperity stops, the Party's legitimacy faces growing social and political strain.
Buyer Detained Over Unfinished Apartment
- Peng Zhou shows an unfinished, flooded apartment he bought five years ago and can't occupy.
- He was detained when he tried to protest the developer's collapse and the stalled project.
Housing Crisis Deepens Public Anxiety
- The Evergrande collapse left millions of empty homes and worsened public anxiety.
- Slumping housing, job insecurity and youth unemployment are eroding public confidence in the Party's economic promise.
