"The essence of 'rat race competition' is often unfair competition," said Zhang Yi, a member of the 14th National Committee ...

Rat race, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary: “A way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power; an exhausting, usually competitive routine.” ...

The problem, he says, is that his competitors have the same idea. "It will only result in a mad rat race," said Fang, expecting his firm will have to reduce prices and accept lower profit margins.

The generation that is most affected by a sense of being stuck in the rat race of socioeconomic stagnation is the post-’90s generation. In 2020, a record-high of 8.74 million university graduates ...