How China builds consensus, boosts growth via consultative democracy - CGTN
Committed to addressing the difficulties regarding people's livelihood through the rule of law, Pi Jianlong, a lawyer and a national political advisor, has spent years going deep into factories, workshops, law firms and juvenile probation and rehabilitation centers, making sure that his proposals, grounded in rigorous field research, are precise, practical and responsive to real needs.
Noting the predicament faced by food delivery riders, including the lack of contracts, social security and basic protection, he proposed targeted suggestions such as innovating social security models and strengthening platform responsibilities. In 2025, platforms such as JD.com and Meituan successively introduced social security plans, providing full social insurance coverage for full-time riders and accident and medical insurance for part-time riders.
Awarded for his outstanding performance in 2025 by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee recently, Pi exemplifies the commitment of thousands of CPPCC members to serving the people
Reading China’s 15th Five-Year Plan Through “Investing in People”
“Investing in people” refers to directing greater fiscal funding and public resources toward livelihood-related sectors such as education, employment, healthcare, and social security, and toward enhancing human capabilities, safeguarding health, advancing career development, and unlocking individual potential, so as to drive high-quality economic development through the release of consumption potential and the strengthening of human capital.
Chinese countryside’s quieter strains - by Yuxuan JIA
China’s high-end industries keep chalking up technical breakthroughs. But one Spring Festival trip back to the countryside suggests that, at least in some parts of the country, many people are still waiting to feel the benefits. In a personal homecoming essay, the author describes a local economy where casual work has dried up, wages feel under pressure, and many low-skilled workers face increasingly precarious ways of getting by.
The social fallout, as seen through the author’s hometown, is equally stark. Decades of son preference have left villages full of unmarried men, driving bride prices higher and sustaining a shadow market for “Vietnamese brides” that can slide into fraud, coercion, and trafficking. Young people, especially young women, are drifting away from rural patriarchy and the obligation-heavy world of kinship and “face”, while the influencer economy and short-video apps offer fantasies of easy money to teenagers with weak school prospects.
Local Interview: "Nail Houses" in Shanghai's Old City
You’ve heard of Chinese “nail houses” - those local residents whose unwillingness to sell their property block the aspirations of real estate developers, highway builders, and city planners. Contrary to much popular imagination, Chinese property (and land) owners enjoy fairly robust legal property protections and it can be quite difficult to dislodge a resident who is determined to not leave.
The most famous stories are often in rural areas, where standalone nail houses are striking and obvious, requiring highways or railways to make awkward detours to avoid the holdout property. But anyone could become a holdout, including someone in an apartment in the Shanghai old city.
Joshua serves as volunteer building manager in Shenzhen
This video from Joshua Johnson, the ABCF Coordinator in China, is in Chinese with English sub-titles.
Reminder: free Mandarin tutorials available
The ABCF is offering free tutorials, in association with the Barbados-China Returned Students Association, to tutor Barbadian and other Caribbean students up to the level of proficiency in Mandarin that is required to qualify for scholarships offered by the Chinese government, provinces and universities. Our program also includes promotion of opportunities to study in China, support for the university and scholarship application process, support for students studying in China, and information on career prospects for graduates. To apply, please contact us at by WhatsApp at +1 (246) 288-1356 or by email.
This weekly newsletter is put together by DeLisle Worrell, President of the ABCF. Visit us at Association for Barbados China Friendship | (abcf-bb.com).
Thanks to everyone who sent contributions for this week’s Update. Please send items of interest to me via the contact page at ABCF-BB.com or to info@DeLisleWorrell.com
The ABCF mission is to build a deeper understanding between the Chinese people and Barbadians and Caribbean people from all walks of life. The association’s focus is on personal experiences, people-to-people contact, cultural exchanges and exchanges of ideas, and the facilitation of travel, business and study. From the outset we aim to learn from and build on the experiences of the Caribbean and China, and to develop mutual understandings and support that will be to the benefit of both sides.
