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Why do Chinese households start saving at just $8 a day, when in the US that threshold is closer to $60? And what would it take for China's 1.4 billion people to spend more?

In this episode of Data Talks, we're joined by Dr. Bert Hofman, a leading expert on East Asia who spent decades at the World Bank and lived and worked in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Bert first arrived in Beijing in 1992, when China's income was around $1,000 per person and the city streets went dark at night to save energy. He has followed the country's transformation ever since.

In this conversation, we explore:

• How reform, WTO entry, and investment in education and technology turned China into a manufacturing superpower
• Why Chinese households save around 35% of their income, and why companies keep their profits rather than paying them out
• The role of housing, the property slump, a thin safety net, and culture in keeping savings high
• Realistic policy paths to boost consumption, from healthcare and education to faster net-zero investment
• Why China's consumer market will keep growing through 2035–2040, and what demographics mean beyond that
• The BYD and Xiaomi story: how China's manufacturing ecosystem gets a car from idea to road in about 18 months
• What it all means for Europe, and why Bert's favorite number is "one"

Whether you run a business with exposure to China or simply want to understand one of the forces shaping the global economy, this is a conversation full of data, history, and perspective.

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Data Talks is produced by World Data Lab, bringing global data to life through insights, conversations, and stories that matter.