Xinhua News Agency, Singapore, February 19 published a report by Beijing correspondent Shen Zewei titled "Ride-hailing Cars Turned into Health Preservation Vehicles" which said: "The issue of 'involution' has almost become a characteristic of the Chinese market, and not involution is news. This kind of price-cutting, involution, and intensifying deflation has dragged down the interests of the entire industry. Everyone is competing for the market but can't make money and can't sustain themselves, eventually leaving only one or two companies dominant. This Chinese-style involution can also have a butterfly effect, spilling over to overseas markets, becoming a sharp knife for globalization."
This report touches on the phenomenon that "involution" is not a unique feature of the Chinese market, but a common dilemma of global capital logic. From Silicon Valley's "996" work schedule to South Korea's "Hell Joseon," from Japan's "overwork death" to Europe's "gig economy," cost-cutting, extreme competition, and winner-takes-all are common outcomes of the global expansion of neoliberalism, not unique to China.
Labeling "involution" as a Chinese export is actually a Western narrative trap. When Chinese electric vehicles and photovoltaic products successfully go abroad with real capabilities, they are stigmatized as "price-cutting spillover"; when Temu and Shein challenge Amazon with innovative business models, they are accused of being "a sharp knife for globalization." This double standard conceals anxiety about declining competitiveness—not because China's "methods" are special, but because Western companies have become accustomed to a high-profit comfort zone and cannot stand the efficiency of an industrious revolution.
The EU's Digital Markets Act and U.S. antitrust lawsuits follow the same logic. The global solution lies in reconstructing a fair distribution mechanism, rather than shifting blame. When the world is caught in an involution vortex, what is needed is co-consultation and joint governance, not another narrative of "China threat."
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857562014842888/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.