CHINA-ECONOMY: RECORD NUMBER OF YOUNG CHINESE APPLY FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS
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Foreign Policy magazine (October 28) reported that a record 2 million applicants have registered for the
Chinese civil service examinations next month, the first stage in a conventional career as a government
official. That is up from 1.5 million applicants last year, which was already a record, illustrating the growing
trend of young Chinese seeking official jobs rather than employment in the private sector. It added that
under Xi Jinping, China has followed a consistent pattern of “the state advances, the private sector
retreats”—a slogan originally coined to describe state-owned enterprises’ advances that is now
ideologically pushed from the top. It’s not surprising that a cynical generation of young people are seeking
the comfort and stability of government positions. It also suggests that despite a decade of anti-corruption
campaigns, the official and unofficial perks of government jobs remain substantial.
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