logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
13m 43s

How did 6 million people in China buy ho...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

China is in the middle of a housing market crisis. Two of its top property developers, Evergrande and Country Garden, are struggling to pay back debt or fulfil their promises to build properties they have already sold to millions of people.

Fan Wang, a BBC reporter in Singapore, tells us about societal pressures young people face to be home owners in China.

Chen Yen, a journalist at BBC’s Chinese service in Hong Kong, takes us through the details of the housing market.

And as China is the world's second-largest economy, what kind of damage could a collapse of its property market cause? Nick Marsh, our Asia Business Correspondent explains how concerned we should be.

Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Benita Barden and Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Up next
Yesterday
Rare earths - The most important minerals you probably haven’t heard of
Rare earth minerals are vital to modern human life - but you probably haven’t heard of them. They’re in our phones, computers and cars. These minerals aren’t actually that rare, but they’re difficult to extract - and this process can be pretty damaging to the environment. Mining ... Show More
11m 48s
Jul 8
‘I replaced my therapist with an AI chatbot’
From drafting emails to planning trips, AI has become like a personal assistant for lots of people around the world. Now, the technology is playing a new role: therapist. Rather than waiting for an appointment or paying to see a professional, thousands of people are turning to AI ... Show More
14m 31s
Jul 7
Meet Velvet Sundown - the band that doesn’t really exist
The Velvet Sundown have become a viral hit. The band have over a million streams on Spotify and are generating much discussion across the music community. Except the band and its members don’t actually exist. After weeks of speculation about whether they were real or not, the ban ... Show More
11m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
A Threat to China’s Economy
Every once in a while a company grows so big and messy that governments fear what would happen to the broader economy if it were to fail. In China, Evergrande, a sprawling real estate developer, is that company.Evergrande has the distinction of being the world’s most debt-saddled ... Show More
30m 25s
May 2024
The Big Short: China Edition
For years, China’s real estate market was booming. Developers, home buyers and Western banks rushed to invest. But the boom turned into a bubble, which eventually burst. WSJ’s Rebecca Feng reports on the warning signs that were ignored and we speak to two people who saw the colla ... Show More
24 m
Aug 2022
Money Talks: Land, locked
Mortgage boycotts that began in Jiangxi, China have spread to nearly 100 cities across the country, threatening over 320 real estate projects. They add more trouble to a property market that was already in turmoil and portend future pain in the world’s second largest economy. On ... Show More
39m 11s
Sep 2023
Money Talks: China’s property crisis
Thousands of building projects across China have been halted or dramatically slowed as a rolling crisis engulfs the country’s property sector. The government’s “three red lines” policy sought to limit the leverage of property developers, but has now forced scores of them into def ... Show More
43m 16s
Aug 2022
Money Talks: Land, locked
Mortgage boycotts that began in Jiangxi, China have spread to nearly 100 cities across the country, threatening over 320 real estate projects. They add more trouble to a property market that was already in turmoil and portend future pain in the world’s second largest economy. On ... Show More
39m 11s
Sep 2023
Money Talks: China’s property crisis
Thousands of building projects across China have been halted or dramatically slowed as a rolling crisis engulfs the country’s property sector. The government’s “three red lines” policy sought to limit the leverage of property developers, but has now forced scores of them into def ... Show More
43m 16s
Jul 2023
China’s Economic Rebound Hits a Wall
When China suddenly dismantled its lockdowns and other Covid precautions last December, officials in Beijing and many investors expected the economy to spring back to life. It hasn’t worked out that way.Daisuke Wakabayashi, an Asia business correspondent for The Times, explains w ... Show More
22m 59s
Jul 2021
Why are China’s billionaires writing big checks to charity?
The biggest threat to China’s future prosperity may not come from the US, but from within as it wrestles with falling birthrates and rising inequality. How concerned is China about the widening gap between the country’s haves and have nots? Look no further than its billionaires, ... Show More
20m 16s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami