Day: July 16, 2021

Jul 17th 2021 IT IS BECOMING clear that China will not, or perhaps cannot, re-open its borders soon. The reasons are many. Chinese leaders have declared that zero tolerance of covid-19 is a mark of good government. Officials are fired if cases are found on their patch, so they lock down whole cities to crush even tiny outbreaks. Ordinary Chinese associate the virus with fear and stigma, knowing that a single infected person may force thousands of neighbours, colleagues or classmates into quarantine. Listen to this story Your browser does…

Advertisement China’s digital yuan, or eCNY, is a trailblazer in the realm of central bank digital currency, getting off the ground at a much quicker speed than counterparts pursued in the West and Japan. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the de facto Chinese equivalent to the Federal Reserve, backs the currency, which can then replace cash in circulation. The revolutionary new currency has thus far made its debut through lottery systems, which allocate funds to users who are randomly selected. Typically, these “winners” receive a set amount of digital…