There exists a 'temporal inequality' in China where younger people perceive that opportunities to change one's life (via property ownership, job market entry at favorable times) have disappeared, creating widespread malaise in the population summarized by the Chinese phrase 'shang' (catch the train) with fewer trains to catch.

factualpending

Speaker

David Rennie

Evidence Quote

it's also a sense of temporal inequality if that's a phrase that there was a sense that there were times when if you got on the property ladder 15 years ago or you entered the job market at the right time that there are opportunities the ladders are just disappearing...there are just Chinese use this phrase about shang catch the train change your life there just fewer trains to catch

Source

The Challenge of ChinaThe Aspen Institute
Created: 8/11/2026, 6:26:02 AM

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