Page 14 - China Economy

China's extreme weather takes bite out of produce as prices rise sharply

Soaring food prices this summer present an additional headache for the world's second-largest economy, which is already wrestling with thorny problems from sluggish factory output and joblessness

Taiwan defence spend to outpace expected GDP growth as China threat rises

Taiwan's govt has made military modernisation a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defences as threat from China rises, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines

Putin meets China's Premier Li as Moscow, Beijing deepen their relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese premier Li Qiang Wednesday, hailing growing trade relations as Moscow becomes increasingly dependent on Beijing for political and economic support. Our trade relations are developing, developing successfully ... The attention that the governments of the two countries on both sides are paying to trade and economic ties is yielding results, Putin said at the meeting in the Kremlin. He also said that Russia and China have developed large-scale plans for economic and other projects. Chinese-Russian relations are at an unprecedentedly high level," said Li, who earlier had met with his Russian counterpart, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The meeting took place as Russia struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region now in its third week. And overnight, Moscow experienced one of the largest waves of drone attacks on the Russian capital since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Russian news reports did not indicate ..

China has cut permits by nearly 80% for new coal power plants: Greenpeace

Greenpeace East Asia project lead Gao Yuhe said wind and solar expansion has been strong as coal building slows, but that it was unclear what slowdown meant for use of the carbon-intensive fossil fuel

EU draft on tariffs for Chinese EVs brings 'enormous risks': CAAM

European Commission published draft findings of its high-profile investigation into alleged subsidies for imports of Chinese-made EVs, which included some revisions to proposed punitive tariffs

China's July fuel oil imports fall for third straight month: Customs data

The import volumes included purchases under ordinary trade, which are subject to import duty and consumption tax, as well as imports into bonded storage

China plans to increase $406 bn social security fund to aid ageing society

Fund, which was established in 2000, is 'strategic reserve fund for social security needs during the peak period of population aging and the ballast of my country's social security system,' Ding said

China leaves key lending benchmarks unchanged, in line with expectations

China surprised markets by cutting major short- and long-term interest rates in July, its first such broad move in almost a year, signalling policymakers' intent to strengthen economic growth

Aurobindo Pharma to commercialise China plant in 3rd quarter of FY25: CFO

Aurobindo Pharma expects its China facility to commence production in the next quarter with full-scale output anticipated only in the next fiscal year, according to Chief Financial Officer Santhanam Subramanian. The Hyderabad-based drug major plans to start a small volume roll out in the November-December period and expects to ramp it up in the January-March quarter of the next year. "Our China plant is expected to be commercialised from Q3 FY25, and the ramp up is expected from Q4 FY25," Subramanian said in an analyst call. The full-fledged volume production will start at the facility in FY26, he stated. "We are trying to do some filings for China as well as for the US. So all this will take the China revenue potential up in the coming years. This year, we will see only a small volume and value," Subramanian stated. He noted that the company is also on track with respect to large-scale commercialisation of Pen-G (penicillin). The company is hopeful to ramp up production signific

China's youth jobless rate climbed to 17.1% in July as hiring held off

Around 12 mn students graduated this summer, but with even roles in remote areas attracting young Chinese with diplomas from top universities, aspiring professionals face toughest job market in years

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba group misses Q1 revenue estimates

Alibaba is also grappling with stiff competition from rivals including JD.com and discount-focused retail platforms such as PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and ByteDance-owned Douyin

Property slump, weak consumption drags down China's economic recovery

A continued property crisis and weak consumption dragged on China's economic recovery in July, according to data released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics. Unemployment rose for the first time since February, clocking in at 5.2 per cent, compared to 5 per cent in June. Industrial production also rose more slowly than the previous month, showing a 5.1 per cent year-on-year increase in July, compared to a 5.3 per cent rise in June. Retail sales grew slightly more than analysts had expected, rising 2.7 per cent year-on-year in July, compared to 2 per cent in June. Statistics bureau spokesperson Liu Aihua said the recovery in consumption will be further consolidated given recent government policies to boost consumer spending. Beijing announced plans last month to use 150 billion Yuan (USD 20.9 billion) in government debt to finance trade-ins for consumer goods such as appliances and cars to stimulate spending. Consumption contributed around 60 per cent of China's economi

Chinese officials get no respite as economy shows new signs of weakness

Economy had already grown more slowly than expected in the second quarter, expanding 4.7 per cent from a year earlier, as wary consumers remained reluctant to spend and trade ties with major markets

China bank lending tumbles more than expected on tepid credit demand

Chinese banks extended 260 billion yuan ($36.26 billion) in new yuan loans in July, down nearly 88% from the previous month and also missing analysts' forecasts

China test-flies biggest cargo drone as low-altitude economy rises

China has already begun commercial deliveries by drone

Facing budget crunches, China's tax authorities descend on companies

Chinese authorities are chasing unpaid taxes from companies and individuals dating back decades, as the government moves to plug massive budget shortfalls and address a mounting debt crisis. More than a dozen listed Chinese companies say they were slapped with millions of dollars in back taxes in a renewed effort to fix local finances that have been wrecked by a downturn in the property market that hit sales of land leases, a main source of revenues. Policies issued after a recent planning meeting of top Communist Party officials called for expanding local tax resources and said localities should expand their tax management authority and improve their debt management." Local government debt is estimated at up to $11 trillion, including what's owed by local government financing entities that are off balance sheet, or not included in official estimates. More than 300 reforms the party has outlined include promises to better monitor and manage local debt, one of the biggest risks in ..

China's commodity imports show economy struggling for momentum: Report

China, world's biggest importer of crude, has seen arrivals slump this year, with imports of 10.90 mn bpd in first seven months of year, down 2.9 per cent from 11.22 mn bpd over same period in 2023

China's export growth slows to 3-month low in July, but imports up solidly

Outbound shipments climbed 7.0 per cent in July from the year earlier, a slower pace of growth than June's 8.6 per cent rise and missing forecasts of a 9.7 per cent increase

China's exports likely expanded in July lifted by global trade upturn: Poll

Trade data on Wednesday is expected to show exports grew 9.7 per cent year-on-year by value, according to the median forecast of 30 economists in a Reuters poll

Customs, banking rules level with China, help boost e-com exports: GTRI

Reforms in certain customs and banking rules, access to credit, and incentives at par with China will be key for India to boost its exports through e-commerce medium to USD 350 billion by 2030, think tank GTRI said on Monday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) report also suggested creation of separate regulations and ecosystems to support two different types of e-commerce exports - direct export and overseas warehouse models; supporting firm to open warehouses in key foreign cities; export incentives at par with physical shipments; marketing support; and creation of regional hubs for MSMEs. "Over 60 per cent of Chinese e-commerce exports (USD 330 billion in 2023) use foreign warehouses for faster delivery. They have special rules and support systems that help their e-commerce sector grow. If we do not adopt similar measures, our e-commerce exports might only reach USD 25 billion by 2030, despite having the potential to reach USD 350 billion," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava ..