Chinese Economy

China inflation hits 3 year high after holiday boost as oil shock looms

Core CPI, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, hit 1.8 per cent - the highest since 2019

China's $23.9 bn port push: How Beijing is reshaping global maritime trade

A new global report shows Beijing has financed hundreds of port projects across continents, expanding its role in maritime trade infrastructure

China hikes defence budget to $275 bn as military modernisation accelerates

China on Thursday hiked its defence budget to USD 275 billion, about USD 25 billion more than last year as it ramped the modernisation of armed forces to catch up with the US military. Roughly 1.9 trillion yuan (about USD 275 billion) will be allocated to national defence, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced in his work report presented to the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. The report said China's defence spending remains comparatively modest across key relative indicators, including its share of GDP, per capita defence expenditure, and defence expenditure per military personnel, it said. Last year China announced a 7.2-per cent increase for its national defence budget to USD 249 billion for 2025 which is a USD 17 billion rise compared to 2024. China's defence spending, only second to that of the US, has been growing over the years putting enormous pressure on India and other neighbouring countries to scale up their defence budgets in the face of economic challenges.

China sets low growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026 amid property slump

China has set an economic growth target of 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent for this year, a slight decrease in the face of a prolonged property slump and other headwinds and uncertainty abroad. The target was announced on Thursday in an annual report being presented by Premier Li Qiang at the opening session of this year's meeting of the National People's Congress. The report set the goal and added "while striving for better in practice." The target was lowered from about 5 per cent in each of the last three years. The economy grew 5 per cent last year. Setting a range of 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent gives the government more leeway to adjust policies this year.

Easy money in China drives metals rally as real economy struggles

While overseas experience has proven invaluable in other economies, it appeared to play a diminished role in India's contemporary tech ecosystem

China factory activity contracts in Jan, manufacturing PMI drops to 49.3

Sub-indexes of new orders and new export orders also saw declines, respectively down to 49.2 from 50.8 in December and 47.8 from 49.0 in December

China's population falls 17% in 2025 despite policies to boost births

How do you convince a population to have more babies after generations of a policy that limited families to just one? A decade after ending China's longtime, one-child policy, authorities are pushing a whole range of ideas and policies to try and encourage more births, ranging from cash subsidies to taxing condoms. The efforts haven't paid off yet. At least, that is what population figures released Monday show for what is now the world's second-most populous nation. China's population of 1.4 billion continued to shrink, marking the fourth straight year of decrease, new government statistics show. The total population in 2025 stood at 1.404 billion, which was 3 million less than the previous year. The statistics illustrate the stark demographic pressures the country faces. The number of new babies born was just 7.92 million in 2025, a decline of 1.62 million, or 17%. The latest birth numbers show the slight tick upwards in 2024 was not a lasting trend. Births declined for seven year

The Chinese conundrum: Consumption glut versus export-driven growth

China's private consumption expenditure has been stagnating in the range of 34-40 per cent for the last two decades

Why are China's restaurants struggling to recover from the slowdown?

Weak spending behaviour has become more common in China as households worry about income stability and falling asset values

China's economy shows resilience, but ordinary citizens feel strain

By some measures, China's economy is looking resilient, with strong exports and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. But that's not how it feels for many ordinary Chinese, who have been enduring the strain from weak property prices and uncertainty over their jobs and incomes. While some industries are thriving thanks to government support for technologies such as AI and electric vehicles, owners of small businesses report tough times as their customers cut back on spending. Some economists believe that the world's second largest economy is growing more slowly than official figures suggest, even though China may hit its official 2025 annual growth target of about 5%. Beijing has averted a damaging full blown trade war with Washington after President Donald Trump struck a truce with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but many longer-term challenges remain. Chinese consumers are feeling the pinch -------------------------------------------- Business is v

2025: When multilateralism weakened, but global trade remained resilient

In 2025, multilateral trade rules weakened as the US raised tariffs, yet global trade stayed resilient, led by strong supply chains, China's leverage and India's adaptive policy response

China industrial profits tumble at fastest pace in a year amid weak demand

Profits fell 13.1 per cent year-on-year in November, accelerating from a 5.5 per cent drop in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data released on Saturday

China's growth shows why government support should be aimed at new starters

China's growth highlights the need for India to shift policy support towards new firms, boost manufacturing, R&D spending, and empower states and cities to drive entrepreneurship and competitiveness

Easy money defined Asia in 2025, but tightening curbs hint at harder times

The real hit - if there is to be one - from the barriers erected by the White House will only be truly felt in 2026

Chinese firms are finding ways to dodge Beijing's rare-earth export control

Chinese companies are redesigning magnets, rethinking manufacturing processes and changing how products are shipped, to maintain access to Western buyers but without breaking the law

Alibaba's cloud growth highlights China's two-speed economy, tech ambitions

The concerns are well founded in the context of larger general questions about the lack of killer AI apps and solid ways to achieve profitability

China’s spending slowdown: What’s behind the historic dip since covid?

China’s consumer spending has entered its longest slowdown in years, revealing deep cracks in the country’s post-covid recovery story.

Has China found a way to make your drugs cheaper? Scientists think so

Chinese scientists claim to have cracked a 140-year-old chemistry challenge that could make the production of cancer drugs and other complex medicines safer and more affordable

China's producer price deflation eases in October as consumer prices rise

China's economic growth slowed to its weakest in a year in the third quarter, and the youth unemployment rate remained elevated despite a dip in September

China started reducing reliance on the West years before Trump tariffs

Two decades of sustained effort to build national self-reliance and minimize imports have antagonized trade partners but fortified what a senior adviser called Beijing's "bulwark" against conflicts