Page 18 - China Economy

China lifts tariffs on Australian wine, ends three years of punitive levies

Ties have improved significantly since last year, leading China to steadily lifting trade hurdles on Australian goods, including barley and coal

Sri Lankan PM Dinesh Gunawardena meets Chinese President Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured continuous support to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena for Sri Lanka's efforts for political and socio-economic progress and also said Beijing will stand for safeguarding the island nation's territorial integrity and sovereignty. China and Sri Lanka agreed to continue to act under the friendship, peace, mutual respect and fivefold principle in international affairs that do not interfere in the internal affairs of a country during a meeting between Xi and Gunawardena on Wednesday at Great Hall in Beijing, the prime minister's office said in a statement here on Thursday. Chinese President assured continuous support of China to Sri Lanka's efforts for political and socioeconomic progress. The Chinese President said that China will always stand for safeguarding independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka, the statement said. It was emphasised that bilateral relations should be based on mutual respect and mutual productivity

China's industrial profits rise 10% showing signs of stabilising economy

Profits at China's industrial firms jumped 10.2 per cent in the first two months from the same period last year, following a 2.3 per cent profit decline for the whole of 2023

Govt initiates anti-dumping probe into import of aluminium foil from China

India has initiated an anti-dumping probe into the import of aluminium foil, used as a packaging material for conservation and preservation of edible and food products, from China following a complaint by domestic players. The commerce ministry's investigation arm, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), is probing the alleged dumping of aluminium foil. Hindalco Industries, Shyam Sel & Power Ltd, Shree Venkateshwara Electrocast, Ravi Raj Foils, GLS Foils Product and LSKB Aluminium Foils have filed the application on behalf of the domestic industry seeking the probe. They have alleged dumping of the product from China. The directorate, in a notification, has said that the applicants have provided prima facie evidence with respect to the injury suffered by the domestic industry because of the dumped imports. "The authority hereby initiates an anti-dumping investigation into the alleged dumping and consequent material injury to the domestic industry," it said. If it is ...

US CEOs extend China stay after last-minute invite to meet Prez Xi Jinping

Late on Friday, China relaxed its rules governing cross-border data flows. The move was seen as a response to complaints by foreign businesses that the restrictions were disruptive

China under cyberattack, 100s of govt units and firms compromised: Report

China's Ministry of State Security warns that a foreign hacking group has infiltrated domestic business and govt units in preparation for large scale criminal activities

India unlikely to match China's past 8-10% growth: Morgan Stanley

Even so, Morgan Stanley remains upbeat about India's prospects, and said in a recent report that the current expansion resembles that of the mid-2000s boom, fueled by rising investment

China's EAM Wang Yi meets New Zealand counterpart to begin diplomatic tour

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his New Zealand counterpart Monday, as China's most senior diplomat began a tour of the country and Australia. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters greeted Wang in Wellington, New Zealand's capital. There have been some significant developments since we last met, not least a global pandemic that impacted both our countries," Peters said in his opening comments of their formal meeting at New Zealand's parliament house. Today is a valuable opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that are now before us. Wang is the highest-ranking Chinese politician to visit the country since his own previous visit in 2017. New Zealand has had strong economic ties with China in recent years, and was the first developed country to sign a bilateral free trade deal with Beijing in 2008. While in Wellington, Wang will also have brief meetings with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Trade Minister Todd McClay. China look

ANZ CEO aims to expand presence in India, China as customer focus shifts

In its home market of Australia, Elliott struck a more hawkish tone than that of the bank's economists on the outlook for interest rates

China shows signs of improvement, property sector is still in doldrums

China's manufacturing and investment improved in the first two months of the year, while weakness in the property sector weighed on the economy, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. The report said industrial output rose 7% from a year earlier in January-February, better than analysts had forecast. Spending on factories and equipment, known as fixed-asset investments, rose 4.2%. The real estate sector remained sluggish, with investment in real estate falling 9% in January-February compared to the same period a year earlier. The property market is still in a state of adjustment and transition but policies outlined at China's annual legislative session earlier this month will promote stable and healthy development," National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Liu Aihua told reporters. During the National People's Congress meetings, China's leaders pledged to refine property sector policies, including increasing financing to developers and building more affordable housing. T

Nobel literature laureate Mo Yan accused of insulting China's heroes

His writing won China's first Nobel Prize for Literature, but is it patriotic enough for Xi Jinping's China? That's the question at the center of a high-profile lawsuit now driving a debate about nationalism in China. Patriotic campaigns have become more common in recent years in China, as online nationalists attack journalists, writers or other public figures they say have offended the country's dignity, but it is unusual for a figure as prominent as Mo Yan to be targeted. Patriotic blogger Wu Wanzheng, who goes by Truth-Telling Mao Xinghuo online, sued under a law that carries civil penalties and, in some cases, criminal punishments for perceived offenses against China's heroes and martyrs. Wu claimed Mo's books have smeared the Chinese Communist Party's reputation, beautified enemy Japanese soldiers and insulted former revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. The lawsuit filed last month demands that the author apologize to all Chinese people, the country's martyrs and Mao, and pay dama

China's ambitious targets

Growth and inflation likely to undershoot

Hong Kong publishes new national security law bill, raising rights concerns

The bill includes sentences of up to life imprisonment for treason, 20 years for espionage and 10 years for offences linked to state secrets and sedition

China's exports, imports beat estimates, trade surplus of over $125 bn

China's exports and imports for the first two months of the year beat estimates, an indication that demand may be improving as Beijing attempts to boost economic recovery. Exports for the January-February period grew 7.1 per cent from a year earlier, customs data released Thursday showed, higher than the 2.3 per cent rise in December. Imports rose 3.5 per cent from the same time last year, up from a 0.2 per cent growth in December. China posted a trade surplus of USD 125.16 billion. Though China usually releases trade data monthly, the data for the first two months of the year are combined to avoid disruptions from the weeklong Lunar New Year holidays, when many businesses and factories are closed. The world's second-largest economy has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic, as it grapples with weaker demand globally as well as a domestic property crisis that remains a drag on the economy. Demand for Chinese exports has also been weak since the Federal Reserve and central b

Hong Kong court affirms sedition conviction for pro-democracy activist

Criticizing laws or chanting anti-government slogans can be enough to jail someone for sedition in Hong Kong, an appeal court ruled Thursday in a landmark case brought under a colonial-era law increasingly used to crush dissent. Hong Kong's Court of Appeal upheld a 40-month sentence for pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi, the first person tried under the city's sedition law since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Tam's lawyers had argued that his conviction should be overturned because the prosecution did not show he meant to incite violence. The prosecution is widely seen as part of Beijing's clampdown on dissent in the former British colony, following widespread anti-government protests in 2019. Tam was convicted on 11 charges in 2022, including seven counts of uttering seditious words." A judge at the lower court took issue with him chanting the popular protest slogan Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times words the government says imply separatism and criticisin

US devising tactics to suppress us despite improvement in relations: China

China's foreign minister accused the US on Thursday of devising tactics to suppress China's rise and criticised the Biden administration for adding more Chinese companies to its sanctions lists. Wang Yi, speaking to media during the annual meeting of China's legislature, said that relations with the US have improved since Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met in November, but that America has not fulfilled its promises. If the US always says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major power? If the US gets nervous and anxious when it hears the word 'China,' where is its confidence as a major power? he said. If the US is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself." Wang, a 70-year-old veteran diplomat who has earned Xi's trust, returned to the foreign minister's post last summer after his successor, Qin Gang, was abruptly dismissed without explanation after a half year on the job. Analysts had speculated the ruling Communist Party might use

China has stepped up grey-zone warfare to exhaust Taiwan: Defence report

Taiwan Defense Ministry this week said it would increase the number of missile drills and begin night-time exercises for pilots

China's exports likely slowed in Jan-Feb period as factories struggle

The head of the state economic planner said on Wednesday that China's exports for January-February rose by 10%, but did not state whether that was in yuan or dollar terms

China to improve childbirth policies, support growing elderly population

China will pursue a "proactive national strategy in response to population aging," the reports said

China increases its defence budget 7.2% as it pushes for global heft

China on Tuesday increased its defence budget by 7.2 per cent to USD 232 billion as it continues with the massive modernisation of its military amid prevailing tensions over Taiwan, the disputed South China Sea as well as border frictions with India. China, which is the second highest spender on defence after the US, has allocated 1.67 trillion yuan (about USD 232 billion) for defence spending. The increase in terms of the percentage was the same as last year. China last year hiked its defence budget by 7.2 per cent to 1.55 trillion yuan (about USD 225 billion), marking the eighth consecutive year of increase in its military spending. Like its previous budgets, this year's defence budget of China was almost three times higher than that of India. India's defence allocation this year amounted to Rs 6,21,541 crore (about USD 74.8 billion). China has simmering territorial disputes with some of its neighbours. China views Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunified with the ...