There are two competing narratives about China's economy: One is about economic decline, and the other is about growing economic and technological power. These narratives may appear contradictory, says RAND's Gerard DiPippo, but both are true.
China's economy has slowed substantially. Local governments are straining under debt burdens. The property sector has nearly collapsed. Consumer confidence is poor. And China's GDP is no longer catching up to that of the United States.
But China remains the top global manufacturer, leading exports of many goods. Beijing also invests heavily in high-tech sectors and innovates rapidly. (The artificial intelligence company DeepSeek is just the latest example.) The booming tech industry, however, isn't large enough to offset overall weakness in China's “old economy.”
What does all this mean for Western policymakers? The main lesson is to not confuse macro and micro trends. Even as China's overall economy faces headwinds, the smaller slice represented by high-tech industries will still present strategic problems for the United States for the foreseeable future, DiPippo says. “It's critical to avoid conflating an economically slowing China with an industrially and technologically weaker China.”
In California, heat waves are becoming more frequent and more severe. In some cases, these events can be deadly, especially for older adults and young children. To reduce deaths from heat waves, Los Angeles County is considering a policy that establishes a maximum indoor temperature for rental units. To help inform the discussion, RAND researchers ran more than 1,000 simulations, assessing a variety of different cooling strategies and requirements across different weather conditions. The goal: find solutions that can keep people safe in severe heat without putting too much strain on the power grid.
America's health care and public health systems are not well integrated. According to RAND experts, closing this long-standing gap is key to securing a healthy future for the nation. They outline actions that could be taken now to enhance system efficiency, facilitate timely recognition of diseases, and generate cost savings that benefit all Americans. These measures include enhancing health data systems, strengthening coordination related to chronic disease management, and creating a shared workforce between the health care and public health sectors.
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