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China's social credit system

Opinion | China’s path to sustainable growth goes beyond economic stimulus

The path to sustained growth requires an approach that goes beyond short-term intervention and addresses underlying issues.

11 Oct 2024 - 2:47AMvideocam

How China’s social credit system actually works – it’s not how you think

8 Jan 2023 - 9:03PM

US ‘smart city’ tech highlights contrasts with China over privacy, control

29 Jun 2022 - 9:39AMvideocam

China Briefing | China’s health QR code system is ripe for abuse and must not outlast Covid

A recent scandal in Henan province that saw protesters issued bogus red health codes to restrict their movements shows how open the system is to misuse.

18 Jun 2022 - 9:00AM

A medical worker scans a QR health code before taking a swab sample in Shanghai’s Huangpu district on June 1. Photo: AFP

Shades Off | Time for Hong Kong to drop its mask mandate

A respite from wearing masks in summer makes sense, although we should still wear them on crowded public transport. Such a move does not mean dropping our guard. It is more a statement of confidence.

17 May 2022 - 10:19AMvideocam

Unesco unveils global guidelines for ethical use of AI

The UN agency’s recommendations come more than a month after China introduced its own set of ethical guidelines governing artificial intelligence.

30 Nov 2021 - 12:11PM

US, EU meet to forge trade and tech alliance to reduce dependence on China

Trade and Technology Council is an effort to counter China’s often disruptive global footprint through multinational partnership, a goal of President Joe Biden.

30 Sep 2021 - 11:11PMvideocam

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend the inaugural Trade and Technology Council meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg

Editorial | Communist Party rule is steadfast, a confident Xi tells nation and the world

President’s address at centenary celebrations makes clear that the nation, its people and the party are inseparable and that no force, domestic or foreign, can change a system that has delivered so much.

1 Jul 2021 - 11:54PMvideocam

China mulls closing decades-old gender gap in retirement age

China is considering narrowing the gender gap in retirement age, a move that will also mean a realignment of state pensions and childcare provisions.

4 Mar 2021 - 7:02PMvideocam

As its rich get richer, China’s Xi reiterates need for ‘common prosperity’

Beijing’s campaign to eliminate absolute poverty, which started in 2015 and was said to have been accomplished last year, also coincided with a rise in inequality.

14 Jan 2021 - 10:20PMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the government to tackle problems such as income inequality to improve people’s sense of “gain, happiness and security”. Photo: EPA

China’s social credit system punishes girl for dead father’s debts

Daughter of a man executed for murder is found liable by a Chinese court for his debts, and when the nine-year-old cannot pay, she is sanctioned under social credit system. After an outcry, the court reverses its decision.

24 Dec 2020 - 8:45PM

A Chinese court’s punishment of a nine-year-old child unable to pay her dead father’s debts highlights growing concern with the country’s social credit system. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

China on track to set up second personal credit ratings firm

A company backed by Xiaomi, JD.com’s fintech unit and AI unicorn Megvii is set to become China’s second personal credit ratings agency.

9 Dec 2020 - 4:42PM

How AI and big data helped China’s tech giants dominate consumer finance

The aim is to build a much more accurate picture of a user’s credit profile by using a range of online data as opposed to traditional credit scoring.

27 Nov 2020 - 10:22AMvideocam

China’s netizens scoff at city’s plan to score people’s ‘civility’

The Suzhou Civility Code, still under trial, earns comparison with Black Mirror and outdated ideas of governance in the Qing dynasty.

8 Sep 2020 - 10:43PMvideocam

A man walks past Beijing’s Second Ring Road crowded with cars on March 24. Photo: AFP

Explainer | What is China’s social credit system and why is it controversial?

China’s social credit system is a set of databases and initiatives that monitor and assess the trustworthiness of individuals, companies and government entities.

15 Dec 2020 - 11:53AMvideocam

China’s State Council first outlined the plan for the social credit system in 2014 covering individuals, businesses, social interactions and judicial administration, with the system expected to be rolled out by the end of 2020. Photo: AFP

China wants to keep health codes after the pandemic but users aren’t so sure

Some officials are looking at options to tie health codes to fitness, education and pension services, but it’s fueling data privacy concerns

3 Jun 2020 - 9:24PM

Lying about coronavirus in Beijing now affects social credit scores

China’s taking tougher measures to screen travelers coming in from overseas, where coronavirus cases are soaring

17 Mar 2020 - 3:56PM

Hiding your coronavirus history can give you bad social credit

Shanghai wants to punish those who conceal contact with coronavirus patients

14 Feb 2020 - 5:38PM

The new coronavirus has been devastating for China, but it’s also been a catalyst for novel tech solutions to fight the epidemic. (Picture: AFP)

Top 10: trade war dominates 2019’s most read economy stories

China’s trade war with the US dominates the most read economy stories of the year along with the Hong Kong dollar peg to the US dollar, China's social credit system and Huawei.

1 Jan 2020 - 12:20PMvideocam

China’s social credit system shows first signs of abuse, report says

Legislation needs to be in place to stop abusive use of social credit, a state newspaper says

11 Dec 2019 - 2:28AM

China’s blacklist that companies pay US$2,500 an hour to avoid

Companies fear inclusion in China’s corporate social credit system, which can result in punishment for bad behaviour.

9 Dec 2019 - 9:46AMvideocam

China’s corporate social credit system is a public repository of good and bad behaviour by every company in the world’s second-largest economy. Photo: Xinhua

China’s social credit system expands to target benefits fraud

Social security ministry says individuals and companies that break law could face credit blacklisting on top of criminal penalties.

28 Nov 2019 - 6:35AMvideocam

A blood donation centre in Shenzhen. Officials are being urged to incentivise volunteers. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s social credit systems to cover rental housing and blood donation

Netizens are increasingly vocal about the country’s broadening social credit programs

27 Nov 2019 - 5:04PM

They founded three hot tech companies, but now they’re on a country-wide blacklist

Founders of Ofo, LeEco and now Smartisan have to navigate China’s punishing debtor blacklist

12 Nov 2019 - 10:22AM

Could China’s social credit system jeopardise EU investment treaty?

China’s corporate social credit system is feared by foreign governments and business figures and is a growing topic of conversation in Donald Trump’s White House.

6 Nov 2019 - 5:50AM

China’s corporate social credit system will require companies to report enormous amounts of data to Chinese officials, including information on their business partners. Photo: AP

Citizens shrug at China’s social credits because rewards are too small

Rewards on offer in two non-punitive test schemes not enough to generate broad community interest, researcher says.

27 Oct 2019 - 11:20PM

Xiamen in Fujian province is testing a rewards-based social credit system. Photo: Shutterstock

Letters | Why Huawei surveillance cameras are a bad idea for Serbia

24 Oct 2019 - 1:00PM

China is using social credit apps to ‘gamify government’

Through blacklists and awarding points, China's social credit system is an experiment in social engineering

21 Oct 2019 - 10:00AM

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China's social credit system

China’s government has started developing a “social credit system” which some observers believe will increase the collection and sharing of data about Chinese citizens, public officials and companies. Meant to improve governance and market order, the system is being tested using “blacklists” – or, in some communities, point “scores” – to incentivise citizen and corporate behaviour.

last updated:

9 September, 2024