Big data changes life

  Between 4-7 April 2023, Dragon Trail Research surveyed 1,012 mainland Chinese  travelers about their travel plans and preferences, including willingness to travel  outbound in 2023, choice of destination, desired travel products, and top influences  on accommodation choice. 

  After nearly three years during which non-essential outbound travel was strongly  discouraged, mainland China reopened in January 2023. Official advice around  individual leisure travel changed, and passport renewals started up again. 

  Plastics began to be mass-produced in 1950. Thanks to their  light, durable and useful attributes, the plastics industry  quickly became the largest user of petrochemical products.  Today, the majority of the production capacity of China's petrochemical industry is used to produce the basic raw materials  for plastics: ethylene and propylene. Between 2016 and 2020,  2.2 billion tons of plastics were produced worldwide1 . According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, without actions to  control plastic use, the global production of plastic materials,  compared with 2014 levels, is expected to double and reach  600 million tons by 2035. The annual plastic production will  almost quadruple to 1.13 billion tons by 2050 .  

  The petrochemical industry referred to in this report is an  industry that uses petroleum as a feedstock for chemical  processing. The petrochemical industry has a direct bearing  on national economic development, people’s lives, and national  defense, supplying a multitude of chemical products ranging  from basic chemical feedstocks (olefins and aromatics) to three  major synthetic materials (synthetic resin, synthetic fiber, and  synthetic rubber) and other important chemicals. This study  does not cover industries that produce chemical materials  (olefins and aromatics) from non-petroleum-based feedstocks,  for example, the conversion of coal or methanol into olefins  and hydrocarbons.  

 For the world to meet the Paris Agreement, and for China to  ensure its own dual climate goals of carbon peaking by 2030  and carbon neutrality by 2060, the transformation of China's  economic structure, energy mix, production methods and  lifestyles towards low carbon pathways is essential. This  ‘green transition’ will not only be vital in safeguarding the  environment on which we all depend. It could also create  more than 3.6 million jobs in China’s clean energy sector  alone y.1 

  After decades of unprecedented growth China now needs a new growth model based on  innovation and higher value manufacturing and service. Focusing on the right areas to  enhance its innovation ecosystem will be important and SMEs may have to be at the center of  this; SMEs arekey drivers of innovation in most countries.  

  Reflecting on the challenges and changes from 2022, 2023 is a year full of opportunity and possibility as China undergoes a full revival. Since 2019, the luxury market landscape has evolved drastically through years of localized operations and digitalization. Chinese luxury consumers are now more closely connected with the domestic market, ensuring its resilience and steady growth over the coming years.