Even as China floods the world’s markets with electronics, electric cars, and other high-tech goods, its own domestic demand for most products remains stubbornly weak. Retail sales are low. Oversupply ...

But the supercharged competition driving that trend is causing problems within China itself, including deflation and thin or negative profit margins. China’s government has recognised the problem, but ...

Chinese EV giant BYD slashed prices on May 23, prompting regulators to speak out. Despite that, analysts say that little can be done about the market competition. Falling prices of Chinese car exports ...

In economic policy documents, Beijing’s leadership used the term “involution”, neijuan in Chinese, in efforts to combat excessive competition in market segments such as photovoltaics and lithium ...

The word “involution”, or neijuan – referring to excessive competition in social and economic life – has become a common slang term in China. Students, workers and even business leaders have been ...

Gaoyuan Liu’s suggestion to compare answers was rejected outright after a difficult math exam. “Don’t involute yourself,” her classmates told her. Gaoyuan Liu, an LSA transfer student who then studied ...