Professor Rana Mitter presents BBC Radio 4 documentary on China

Rana Mitter last week presented a documentary on how Chinas government is aiming to improve healthcare and housing, education and pensions for its 1.3 billion citizens, titled Chinas New Iron Ricebowl.

Drawing comparisons with the Maoist iron rice bowl - the cradle-to-grave welfare state in the early years of the reform era that was allowed to rust and fall away, Rana explores how over the last few decades, as market reform has driven its dizzying economic rise, China has primarily been known as a nation of producers. Yet now the Chinese Government is aiming to improve healthcare and housing, education and pensions, with the aim of fostering a nation of consumers. This, they argue, will help build a stable economy that buys its own goods, rather than relying on selling them to a recession-bound West. But that will only happen, the Government reasons, if people feel secure enough to spend rather than save.

This programme has been named Documentary of the Week and can be downloaded as a podcast here (available until Friday 28th September).

You can also find out more about the programme by clicking here.