The anxiety rattling China’s youth

China’s economic landscape is shifting from the exuberant middle-class spending of previous decades toward a "deflated" consumer mood characterized by high youth unemployment and falling property prices. As the National People's Congress convenes to set a GDP growth target of approximately 5%, the government utilizes these figures as critical signals for industrial investment rather than mere retrospective data. While exports in high-tech sectors like drones and electric vehicles remain at record highs, the International Monetary Fund warns that China must pivot toward consumption-led growth to sustain long-term stability. However, young citizens are increasingly "lying flat" (tangping) or eschewing traditional milestones like marriage and homeownership due to job anxiety and stagnant wages. To counter these domestic headwinds and U.S. technological decoupling, Beijing is doubling down on industrial self-sufficiency and tech innovation, though these sectors may fail to provide the high-paying human jobs required to satisfy a record 12 million annual graduates.