As economy stutters, China’s youth seek safety of civil service

As a physics student at the elite Peking University in Beijing, Lynn Lau was expecting big Chinese private sector companies to scour the campus this summer for upcoming talent. But with the world’s second-largest economy growing at its slowest rate in decades, many recruiters stayed away this year.

The wishes of Lau’s parents that she had a “safe” civil service career suddenly made more sense.