Category Archives: Chinese economy

China plans to ‘vigorously boost consumption’ to shore up economy

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Communist party aims to ‘promote reasonable wage growth’ and to reduce financial burdens amid Trump tariffs

China’s government has announced ambitious plans to “vigorously boost consumption” by putting up pay and reducing financial burdens, in its latest attempt to increase consumer confidence and lift its struggling economy.

The plans, announced by the ruling Chinese Communist party’s (CCP) central committee and state council on Sunday, include aims to “promote reasonable wage growth” and to improve the mechanisms for adjusting the minimum wage.

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Chinese manufacturing surges despite threat of higher Trump tariffs

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Fastest expansion in three months as Chinese factories return to growth as new orders rise

China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in three months in February, despite the looming threat that Donald Trump will impose tariffs this week.

Production at China’s factories returned to growth last month, an official survey showed, thanks to higher new orders and purchase volumes.

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Xi Jinping tells Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Chinese tech chiefs to ‘show their talent’

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Analysts say address to symposium suggests crackdown on sector may be ending in effort to tackle economic slump

China’s president, Xi Jinping, has told businesses to “show their talent” at a meeting of Chinese industry leaders including the Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, as he attempts to halt an economic slump in the world’s second-largest economy.

Xi met Ma, who was at the centre of a crackdown on the tech industry in recent years, as well as the bosses of the electric carmaker BYD, the battery manufacturer CATL, Tencent, Xiaomi, and the founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei

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UK marketplace sellers face ‘second Brexit’ hit from Trump’s US import rules

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End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo

Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.

The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.

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China’s economy hits 5% growth target but rate among slowest in decades

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Latter part of 2024 ‘recovered remarkably’ after stimulus measures, says National Bureau of Statistics

China’s economy grew by 5% in 2024, in line with government targets but at the slowest rate since 1990 outside the Covid pandemic, according to official data.

Growth accelerated through the year, with an expansion of 5.4% in the final quarter, up from 4.6% in the third quarter, according to Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics.

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Rachel Reeves heads to China to build bridges, but a new golden era of relations is impossible

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Seeking business partners post-Brexit is sound policy, but even in these darker geopolitical times the UK will ultimately side with the US

Rachel Reeves will fly with a delegation of City grandees to China this week as Labour seeks closer economic links with Beijing as part of its quest for growth.

With the outlook increasingly rocky at home after a run of soft economic data, the chancellor is sorely in need of a positive story to tell.

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China’s yuan hits 16-month low amid fears over Trump tariffs

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CSI 300 blue-chip stock index also trades weakly, hitting its lowest point since September

China’s currency hit a 16-month low on Monday, despite efforts by the central bank and stock exchanges to soothe investor worries about impending US tariffs under a Donald Trump presidency.

The tightly controlled yuan reached 7.3301 per US dollar, its weakest level since September 2023. It has routinely hit multi-month lows since Trump won the US election, promising massive tariffs on Chinese imports.

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China’s share of global electric car market rises to 76%

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Market share increases after strong demand within country offsets risks from western tariffs on Chinese-made EVs

China’s share of the global electric vehicle market reached 76% in October, the country’s automotive trade body said, reflecting strong demand for EVs in the country even as western tariffs risk hobbling exports.

Between January and October, sales of EVs reached 14.1m units, according to the China Passenger Car Association, with 69% of those sales in China. In October, China’s share surpassed three-quarters.

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China unveils 10tn yuan support for debt-stricken local government

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Cash stops short of hoped-for ‘bazooka option’, with critics calling it ‘an accounting exercise’ that will not bolster growth

China has announced 10tn yuan in debt support for local governments and other economic measures, but stopped short of the “bazooka” stimulus package that many analysts had expected.

The fiscal package included raising debt ceilings for local governments by 6tn yuan (£646bn) over three years, so they could replace hidden debt, which authorities said stood at 14.3tn yuan by the end of 2023.

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China posts slowest economic growth in 18 months as optimism fades over stimulus

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Blistering sharemarket rally of recent weeks recedes as expectations cool towards long-awaited ‘bazooka stimulus’ for ailing property sector

China posted its slowest growth in a year and a half on Friday, as Beijing struggles to steady an economy shaken by sluggish consumer spending and persistent property sector woes.

Officials have in recent weeks unveiled a string of measures to reignite the world’s number-two economy, with an eye to achieving its official annual growth target of 5%.

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Louis Vuitton owner LVMH reports surprise sales drop amid China slowdown

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Shares in LVMH, which also owns Dior, Tiffany and Moët & Chandon, fell by as much as 7%, briefly hitting two-year low

Shares in luxury goods brands slumped after Louis Vuitton’s LVMH reported an unexpected fall in third-quarter sales amid China’s economic slowdown.

Shares in LVMH, which also owns Dior, Tiffany and Moët & Chandon, fell by as much as 7% in early trading, briefly hitting a two-year low, before regaining slightly, after it warned of an “uncertain economic and geopolitical environment”,with falling sales in Asia.

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Chinese stocks suffer worst fall in 27 years over growth concerns

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Investors disappointed after hoped-for policy plans by Beijing to stimulate economy failed to materialise

Chinese stocks have suffered their worst fall in 27 years after efforts by Beijing to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy disappointed investors.

Stock markets in Asia fell sharply after China’s top economic planning authority failed to announce further measures to improve flagging growth.

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China to head green energy boom with 60% of new projects in next six years

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IEA says faster clean energy rollout being led by solar power in China with country set to boast half of world’s renewables by 2030

China is expected to account for almost 60% of all renewable energy capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

The IEA’s highly influential renewable energy report found that over the next six years renewable energy projects will roll out at three times the pace of the previous six years, led by the clean energy programmes of China and India.

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Vauxhall owner warns on profits amid falling sales and tougher Chinese competition

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Stellantis slashes growth forecast, with Aston Martin maker also warning of problems as car industry’s woes deepen

The owner of Vauxhall, Fiat and Peugeot has issued a profit warning, blaming a hit to sales from a deterioration in the global automotive market and increased competition from Chinese rivals.

Stellantis shares plunged by 14% on Monday after it said it expected profit margins to be between 5.5% and 7% for the year, down from the previous forecast of double-digit growth.

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China announces new measures to arrest housing slump and boost growth

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Benefits to rise for poorest and local authorities to be given powers to intervene in real estate markets

Chinese leaders have vowed to arrest a slump in the housing market and boost growth after conceding that measures by the central bank to stimulate investment this week were likely to prove inadequate.

Promising to deploy “necessary spending” by the state to meet this year’s economic growth target of 5%, China’s politburo said it would increase benefits for the poorest and give local authorities the cash and power to intervene to prevent further falls in house price values.

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Planned Shein IPO needs closer scrutiny, says former Labour minister

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Trade committee head Liam Byrne wants checks on firm’s possible supply chain links to forced labour

A former minister has called on the government to closely scrutinise Shein for possible links to forced working as the China-founded fast-fashion retailer prepares for a stock market listing in London.

Liam Byrne, the Labour MP who heads parliament’s business and trade committee, said the UK should introduce new legislation to increase scrutiny of supply chains that may include products made in the Xinjiang region of north-western China.

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What’s causing China’s economic downturn and what does it mean for Australia?

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Oversupply and deflation are spooking markets, while falling demand for coal and iron ore threatens to further hamper anaemic Australian growth

“Because most Chinese are satisfied with the economy’s performance, Beijing would probably resist major adjustments in savings, consumption and investment incentives that did not serve its industrial policy goals.

“Only the prospect of closed foreign markets or deep recession at home, neither of which Beijing believes is likely in the near term, would change this view.”

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China detains five AstraZeneca staff over ‘data privacy and import breaches’

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Detentions involve Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs for firm’s oncology division

Chinese police have reportedly detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees as part of an investigation into possible breaches related to data privacy and importing unlicensed medications.

The detentions took place earlier this summer, and targeted Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs for the oncology division of the British pharmaceutical company, according to Bloomberg.

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VW slams production into reverse as industry faces battles on all sides

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Plan to cut German factories is politically fraught but makes sense economically

When Bernd Pischetsrieder attempted to cut jobs at Volkswagen in the early 2000s, he was forced out. When Herbert Diess tried the same, he got the same result, leaving in 2022. Yet now Volkswagen appears to be deliberately grasping the nettle.

“This time it’s different,” says Matthias Schmidt, a Berlin-based automotive analyst. Chief executive Oliver Blume is “VW through and through”, and his actions likely reflect the desires of the controlling Porsche and Piëch dynasties, Schmidt said. The course is set for a historic clash over the future for Germany’s largest carmaker.

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Chinese firms win record 11% EV share in Europe as buyers rush to beat tariffs

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State-owned SAIC, parent of the British brand MG, was responsible for biggest jump in sales in June

Chinese carmakers secured a record 11% of the European electric vehicle market in June, as buyers raced to beat EU tariffs on imported EVs that came into force this month.

The figures, which include the UK, show that about 23,000 battery electric vehicles were registered in June, up 72% on the previous month as consumers raced to beat the price hike in the EU.

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