China: slowing economy and inequality force new priorities for rulers

Leaders of world’s second-largest economy face some of their most difficult policy decisions in years in 2019

To make ends meet, Xu Yuan, 33, has to share a bed with her best friend in Shanghai where she works in marketing. A curtain marks her half of the bed. She stays at work as late as possible every day, going home only to sleep. “Neither of us is happy but we have to be tolerant,” she says.

Liu Xun, 26, a video editor in Beijing, does not watch movies in cinemas, buy new clothes, or date. “To be honest, I think having a girlfriend is too expensive,” he says. Hillary Pan, who works in media, says she no longer eats at restaurants and buys a meal from the convenience store 7-11 almost every day.

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from World news | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2SqbcGf