The Chinese Communist Party has quietly admitted that the youth "lying flat" (躺平) movement — mass disengagement from careers, marriage, homeownership, and consumption — has become a national security threat, revealing the scale of China's consumption collapse.
For years, the regime dismissed lying flat as laziness among a few bad apples. Now it's impossible to ignore. Young people are opting out en masse, not out of choice, but because they see no viable path forward. When a generation concludes that hard work no longer leads to upward mobility, the rational response is withdrawal. When housing, education, and healthcare costs keep rising while opportunities shrink, consumption becomes the first casualty.
China's lying flat is fundamentally different from Japan's low-desire lifestyle. In Japan, strong social safety nets, affordable healthcare, and institutional trust allow people to step back without falling apart. You don't have to strive hard to live a decent life, but if you do want to strive, opportunities exist. China's version is forced disengagement — a collapse of trust in the system itself.
Instead of addressing root causes, the CCP is shifting toward blaming "external forces." But consumption is driven by confidence. Confidence comes from trust in the future, in institutions, in the system. Once that trust erodes, no amount of stimulus or political framing can sustainably revive demand.
In democratic societies like the US, economic frustration spills into the political system via elections, public discourse, and policy change. There are release valves. In China, even discussing personal hardship can be reframed as a national security issue. That creates something far more dangerous than slow growth: silent disengagement at scale, with internal resentment and pressure building without any release valve.
When tens of millions of young Chinese quietly opt out — in a system that now defines not struggling as a public offense — the economy stalls from within and the fertility rate keeps plunging. Beijing's empty malls are not just a retail story. They are a signal of collapsing household wealth, declining confidence, and structural damage that goes far beyond the capital.
IMO, as someone who has lived in China and been engaged ever since, WE really NEED to be WORRIED about the WEST until we at least catch up to where China is now. I dont know who is paying this guy to make us feel sorry for the Chinese?
The Chinese Communist Party has quietly admitted that the youth "lying flat" (躺平) movement — mass disengagement from careers, marriage, homeownership, and consumption — has become a national security threat, revealing the scale of China's consumption collapse.
For years, the regime dismissed lying flat as laziness among a few bad apples. Now it's impossible to ignore. Young people are opting out en masse, not out of choice, but because they see no viable path forward. When a generation concludes that hard work no longer leads to upward mobility, the rational response is withdrawal. When housing, education, and healthcare costs keep rising while opportunities shrink, consumption becomes the first casualty.
China's lying flat is fundamentally different from Japan's low-desire lifestyle. In Japan, strong social safety nets, affordable healthcare, and institutional trust allow people to step back without falling apart. You don't have to strive hard to live a decent life, but if you do want to strive, opportunities exist. China's version is forced disengagement — a collapse of trust in the system itself.
Instead of addressing root causes, the CCP is shifting toward blaming "external forces." But consumption is driven by confidence. Confidence comes from trust in the future, in institutions, in the system. Once that trust erodes, no amount of stimulus or political framing can sustainably revive demand.
In democratic societies like the US, economic frustration spills into the political system via elections, public discourse, and policy change. There are release valves. In China, even discussing personal hardship can be reframed as a national security issue. That creates something far more dangerous than slow growth: silent disengagement at scale, with internal resentment and pressure building without any release valve.
When tens of millions of young Chinese quietly opt out — in a system that now defines not struggling as a public offense — the economy stalls from within and the fertility rate keeps plunging. Beijing's empty malls are not just a retail story. They are a signal of collapsing household wealth, declining confidence, and structural damage that goes far beyond the capital.
SOURCE: https://x.com/Ken_LoveTW/status/2050827667415679155
IMO, as someone who has lived in China and been engaged ever since, WE really NEED to be WORRIED about the WEST until we at least catch up to where China is now. I dont know who is paying this guy to make us feel sorry for the Chinese?
How?
That level of withdrawal really signals theyve had enough. These are people whonwould starve before they give their blood to the CCP.