China’s state-run economic model is not the answer to all future problems, despite coronavirus success, prominent economists warn
As lives in parts of the country are upended by coronavirus control measures, authorities are being called on to adhere to higher human rights standards. Ruthless pandemic crackdowns are said to be a reflection of how some local governments treat economic policies, resulting in poor business climates
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/other/china-s-state-run-economic-model-is-not-the-answer-to-all-future-problems-despite-coronavirus-success-prominent-economists-warn/ar-BB1dauhj
‘Foundations’ of China’s economic rebound yet to be ‘consolidated’ as fiscal revenue fell in 2020
China’s fiscal revenue fell 3.9 per cent in 2020 from a year earlier, while expenditure rose 2.8 per cent, the finance ministry said on Thursday However, growth in fiscal revenue accelerated to 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, from 4.7 per cent the previous quarter
https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/china-2020-fiscal-spending-up-2-8-y-y-revenue-falls-3-9/
China’s economic nightmare: Xi’s mounting debt exposed after ‘disappointing’ GDP result
CHINA faces a potential economic nightmare in the future after experts exposed Beijing’s mounting debts – despite the Communist Party announcing bumper gross domestic product (GDP) results.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1390239/china-economy-gdp-debt-xi-jinping-beijing-covid19-coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-spt
pdf What 31 provinces reveal about growth in China
Chinese growth has been the main engine of the global economy for the past two decades. However, after the government announced in 2012 that it aimed to double real GDP by 2020, the country’s aggregate growth statistics have been disappointingly flat and econometric analyses have been increasingly difficult to conduct. In this paper, instead of using aggregate growth statistics, we exploit a Chinese macroeconomic data set at the provincial level for 1999–2019 and take advantage of its larger statistical variation
https://www.bis.org/publ/work925.pdf
This is Asia’s top-performing economy in the Covid pandemic — it’s not China
Vietnam is likely the top-performing Asian economy in 2020 — a feat that was achieved without a single quarter of economic contraction. Government estimates showed the Vietnamese economy growing 2.9% last year from a year ago, better than China’s forecast-beating 2.3% growth during the same period. Manufacturing was widely credited for Vietnam’s outperformance, with production growing on the back of steady export demand.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/vietnam-is-asias-top-performing-economy-in-2020-amid-covid-pandemic.html
US-China relations: nations should be competitors not rivals, Beijing’s envoy to Washington says
Regarding China as a ‘strategic rival and imaginary enemy would be a huge strategic misjudgment’, ambassador Cui Tiankai tells forum Countries must return to dialogue to repair damage caused during Donald Trump’s presidency, he says
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-china-relations-nations-should-be-competitors-not-rivals-beijing-s-envoy-to-washington-says/ar-BB1daUoF
China-US tension: Xi tells World Economic Forum competition is for pursuing excellence – not killing off a rival
Since the Trump administration ended, Beijing has indicated its desire to reset or salvage China’s relationship with the US in several ways China’s envoy to Washington has echoed Xi’s appeal for cooperation in a state TV appearance
https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/28/21/china-us-tension-xi-tells-world-economic-forum-competition-is-for-pursuing-excellence-not-killing-off-a-rival
Obama Redux in Asia
Carrying the Obama administration’s baggage back to the White House If personnel is policy, or at least the perception of policy, then Joe Biden confronts a significant challenge in Asia. He has entered the White House promising to restore America’s global engagement and repair its alliances around the world, while also being tough-minded with China. But this will prove daunting in Asia when so many on his foreign policy team are associated with the Obama administration’s “strategic pivot” toward the region – an initiative whose rhetoric simultaneously aroused Beijing’s suspicions while its actual track record largely failed to impress others.
https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/obama-redux-in-asia
US President Joe Biden delays Trump’s ban on investments in companies with similar names to blacklisted Chinese firms
Deadline extended until May 27 for companies with similar names to companies deemed to have ties to China’s military Biden administration is conducting ‘complex reviews’ of Trump policies on China
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-president-joe-biden-delays-093000961.html
US-China relationship is ‘arguably’ the most important one in the world for Washington, says new Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Blinken emphasises areas in which ‘it’s in our mutual interest to try to work together’, particularly with respect to climate change But he says the relationship between the two countries ‘has some adversarial aspects to it’
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-china-relationship-is-e2-80-98arguably-e2-80-99-the-most-important-one-in-the-world-for-washington-says-new-secretary-of-state-antony-blinken/ar-BB1d9AGM
US ambassador to UN nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield pledges to counter China’s ‘authoritarian agenda’
Biden’s pick said she will counter China’s influence in the Security Council and resist its efforts to install Chinese nationals in key UN leadership positions She will also push for greater scrutiny of China’s development finance operations in Africa
https://news.yahoo.com/us-ambassador-un-nominee-linda-093000465.html
WHO team in Wuhan leave quarantine, to start probe
A team of experts from the World Health Organization left quarantine in Wuhan on Thursday to begin a heavily scrutinised probe into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, after Washington urged a “robust and clear” investigation.
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1572848-20210128.htm
Coronavirus: WHO investigation team members leave hotel quarantine in China
They’ve spent the first two weeks of their mission looking into origins of Covid-19 in video meetings with Chinese scientists Several posted photos on Twitter celebrating the end of the isolation period
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/coronavirus-who-investigation-team-members-leave-hotel-quarantine-in-china/ar-BB1dawrq
China reports a growing shortage of factory workers
The government’s fourth-quarter list of 100 jobs with the greatest labor shortage showed manufacturing-related positions accounted for 36, or more than a third, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Tuesday. Overall, the number of open positions for occupations on the rankings rose to 1.418 million in the fourth quarter, up from 1.316 million in the prior quarter, the ministry said. The number of job seekers decreased slightly during that time, the report said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/china-reports-a-growing-shortage-of-factory-workers.html
Business Name Registration in China to Become Easier
Having a registered name is no longer a precondition for applying for business registration. Traditionally, business names have been a prerequisite for applying for business license with the SAMR.
The new regulation now seeks to reverse this, meaning that the name pre-approval step required in representative office (RO) or wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) setups, which takes five to seven working days, has now been removed.
https://www.china-briefing.com/news/business-name-registration-in-china-to-become-easier/
Jack Ma story: China’s deep strategic ambition
This statist vision of the future is very different from the government creating a level-playing field for private capital to compete and the market to do its job. It is about the State guiding capital and private entities towards what it believes are national strategic priorities, rather than allowing them to simply focus on generating greater revenue. This statist vision of the future is very different from the government creating a level-playing field for private capital to compete and the market to do its job. It is about the State guiding capital and private entities towards what it believes are national strategic priorities, rather than allowing them to simply focus on generating greater revenue. These priorities include expanding research and making breakthroughs in core technologies. This, Beijing hopes, will reduce China’s dependence on the West, easing the threat of coercion. At the same time, the regulatory innovation that it is attempting will likely bolster China’s capacity to shape global technology governance norms and standards.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/jack-ma-story-china-s-deep-strategic-ambition-101611843191458.html
The Rise of Consumer Finance in China to Bolster Consumption
: Fitch Ratings expects rising consumer lending activity in China to support consumption growth, despite near-term regulatory tightening for online microloans (OM). Corporates’ increasing exposure to consumer lending activities may increase their credit risk and lead to additional capital needs for their financial service operations.
https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/the-rise-of-consumer-finance-in-china-to-bolster-consumption-28-01-2021
Alipay, JD Digits, Didi remove all bank deposit products: report
The move is the culmination of a month-long crackdown on time deposits sold through third-party fintech platforms, which is part of a wider regulatory clampdown on fintech as regulators try to rein in China’s Big Tech. Small regional banks had been advertising time deposits with interest rates as high as 7% through fintech platforms. Regulators have said that these banks are high-risk and use online platforms to pump liquidity on their balance sheets and release pressure from their liabilities, without going through the more stringent process of interbank lending.
https://technode.com/2021/01/28/alipay-jd-digits-didi-remove-all-bank-deposit-products-report/
China’s demand for electric cars drives cobalt prices to highest level in two years
The metal is largely mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chinese companies are investing heavily there Cobalt is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries and analysts predict more price rises to come
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/china-s-demand-for-electric-cars-drives-cobalt-prices-to-highest-level-in-two-years/ar-BB1d9yD6
Shanghai adds advanced chip production to its 2021 priority list along with Tesla, digital currency
Shanghai authorities did not elaborate on what foreign technologies would be needed to achieve 12-nm mass production or which companies will take the lead However, it is likely that SMIC will be put in charge of the project as it can produce chips at the 14-nm and 12-nm nodes ‘without serious problems’, said an analyst
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/shanghai-adds-advanced-chip-production-121245205.html
Nissan will build batteries in UK to sustain Sunderland plant
Batteries for the top-rung 62kWh version of the Leaf electric hatchback are currently produced in the USA and imported to the UK, while lower-capacity 40kWh units are built at Sunderland by Chinese firm Envision Group, which will also handle production of the larger units.
https://www.eqmagpro.com/nissan-will-build-batteries-in-uk-to-sustain-sunderland-plant/
Failed billionaire Jia Yueting’s electric car dream rekindled as Geely and other investors come to the rescue of Faraday Future
Some 30 institutional investors from China, US and Europe are investing US$1 billion in Faraday Future founded by failed Chinese tycoon Jia Yueting Faraday Future and Property Solutions Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, will merge and fund the production of the FF91 electric car
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/other/failed-billionaire-jia-yueting-s-electric-car-dream-rekindled-as-geely-and-other-investors-come-to-the-rescue-of-faraday-future/ar-BB1daYII
pdf Covid-19 and Global Income Inequality
There is a widespread belief that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased global income inequality, reducing per capita incomes by more in poor countries than in rich. This supposition is reasonable but false. Rich countries have experienced more deaths per head than have poor countries; their better health systems, higher incomes, more capable governments and better preparedness notwithstanding. The US did worse than some rich countries, but better than several others. Countries with more deaths saw larger declines in income. There was thus not only no trade-off between lives and income; fewer deaths meant more income. As a result, per capita incomes fell by more in higher-income countries. Country by country, international income inequality decreased. When countries are weighted by population, international income inequality increased, not because the poorest countries diverged from the richest countries, but because China—no longer a poor country—had few deaths and positive economic growth, pulling it away from poor countries
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28392/w28392.pdf
China’s rust-belt province of Liaoning merges 12 local banks into one ‘first-class’ bank as bad loans mount
Liaoning’s economy grew 0.6 per cent last year, lower than the national average of 2.3 per cent and ranking 15th among the country’s 31 provincial jurisdictions Coronavirus-induced economic problems have only exacerbated economic woes, particularly in China’s rural areas
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/chinas-liaoning-province-to-merge-12-local-banks-to-defuse-regional-risks
Ant plans major revamp in response to Chinese pressure
Ant Group is planning to turn itself into a financial holding company overseen by China’s central bank, responding to pressure to fall fully in line with financial regulations, reported the Wall Street Journal. Chinese regulators recently told Ant to become a financial holding company in its entirety, subjecting it to more stringent capital requirements, said WSJ sources familiar with the matter. Ant, in response, has submitted to authorities an outline of a restructuring plan, they said. Designating Ant in its entirety as a financial holding company wasn’t something earlier envisioned by the company’s executives and stakeholders. In its listing prospectus last year, Ant said it intended for one of its subsidiaries to become a financial holding company and house its licensed financial businesses such as asset management and consumer lending. Doing this at the group level will subject Ant to a thicket of regulations similar to those that govern banks, and affect its growth and profitability.
https://chinaeconomicreview.com/ant-plans-major-revamp-in-response-to-chinese-pressure/
TikTok, WeChat and other Chinese tech firms should claim compensation from India after app ban, says Global Times
Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said Chinese technology companies banned in India should sue for compensation, reflecting rising frustration in Beijing India made its ban of 59 Chinese apps by such tech giants as ByteDance and Tencent permanent this week after companies failed to convince courts to overturn it
https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3119435/tiktok-wechat-and-other-chinese-tech-firms-should-claim-compensation
Our dependence on China is a bigger issue than COVID: Michael Chaney
New-broom US President Joe Biden is likely to maintain his predecessor’s hardline approach to US-China relations, leaving Australia caught in the middle of a hostile relationship between its major strategic and trading partners, warns Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney.
https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/leaders/our-dependence-on-china-is-a-bigger-issue-than-covid-michael-chaney-20210127-p56xb9
China-Australia relations: Canberra hits back at Xi Jinping’s ‘bullying’ remarks amid trade dispute
China’s President Xi Jinping told the Davos forum this week that relations between countries should be governed by rules and institutions, not dictated by mightRelations between China and Australia were in free-fall throughout last year, with China hitting out at a list of issues and imposing import levies on various products
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-australia-relations-canberra-hits-093000190.html
China-Australia relations: Australian iron ore giant Fortescue ‘well-placed’ to meet China’s strong demand
Fortescue Metals Group reported a 4.7 per cent jump in iron ore shipments during the October to December quarter The average price it received for its iron ore during the quarter rose a 60.5 per cent to US$122 per dry metric tonne, realising 91 per cent of the 62 per cent Platts benchmark average
https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3119549/china-australia-relations-fortescues-iron-ore-shipments-rise
“Independence Means War”, China Warns Taiwan
Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, reported multiple Chinese fighter jets and bombers entering its southwestern air defence identification zone last weekend, prompting US to urge China to stop pressuring Taiwan.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-warns-taiwan-independence-means-war-2359548
China-US tension: Biden administration pledges to back Japan and Philippines in maritime disputes
US secretary of state says America will stand with Southeast Asian claimants in the face of pressure from Beijing in South China Sea Phone calls with ministers from Australia and Thailand underscore US drive to strengthen military and security alliances in Indo-Pacific
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/china-us-tension-biden-administration-pledges-to-back-japan-and-philippines-in-maritime-disputes/ar-BB1da6i2
Key Takeaways From The Webinar “How Collaborations Are Defining Experiences in China”
The Jing Group teamed up with TONG to discuss China-focused brand collaborations, from the risks and rewards to what young consumers really want. Ultimately, creating a China-focused collaboration comes down to doing the research, finding the right partner, and having both parties bring something to the table. And given how much work often goes into establishing these relationships in the first place, Feng Chen Wang advises brands to continue working with their partners in China rather than doing one-off activations. Most importantly, as Jing stresses in every webinar, brands need to listen to their teams in China. “The reality is, if you’re doing a collaboration in China, make sure you have people on the ground that know what’s happening and that you’re listening to them,” Enrique Menendez said.
https://jingdaily.com/brand-collaborations-webinar-tong-takeaways/
The gig economy challenges China’s state-run labour unions
New unions for gig workers have struggled to make themselves appealing. The first was founded in Shanghai in 2018 with about 400 members. It offered workers instructions in traffic rules and sold them watermelons at a discount. Regardless of reforms, however, unions are a wing of the Communist Party, and union officials are considered civil servants, so they cannot do anything that goes against government policy, says Chris Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sometimes, a firm’s boss is also head of the union. “The most important task of local governments isn’t to protect workers’ rights, it is to maintain social stability and ensure economic development,” he says.
https://bit.ly/3iYW9Bl
Commentary: China’s delivery apps are putting riders at risk
By setting tight delivery times, levying fines for delays and even suggesting routes in violation of traffic rules, Chinese platforms encourage couriers to speed dangerously, says The Financial Times’ Yuan Yang.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/china-app-courier-meituan-alibaba-traffic-accident-safety-gig-14051666
Chinese New Year: Clamping down on going home for the holidays
oday marks the start of the world’s largest human migration – an event which sees millions of people travel thousands of miles across China to reach home in time for the Lunar New Year. For some, it is the only time they will see their families all year and is an event not to be missed. But there are fears the Spring Festival travel season, or Chunyun in Chinese, could become a superspreader event. After all, last year’s Chunyun is believed to have played a significant role in the spread of Covid-19.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55791858
So the Chinese authorities have been left with a problem: how do you encourage people to stay local, without actually cancelling the country’s biggest annual celebration?
China’s Holiday Travel Begins, Without the Usual Crowds
Presales of railway tickets over the Lunar New Year travel period have dropped by 60% from previous years.
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006771/
Luxury Mahjong Without Cultural Appropriation
The Mahjong Line controversy shows that without the right context and intention, attempts at cultural adaptations can turn into appropriation
https://jingdaily.com/luxury-mahjong-cultural-appropriation-daniel-arsham-hermes/
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