China press review

US, Canada will cooperate to ‘better compete’ with China, Joe Biden says after first bilateral meeting: Neighbours will work to counter threats to ‘interests and values’, US president says as he pursues multilateral means to hold Beijing accountable .

China population: economic powerhouse Guangdong aims to add 1 million residents a year, even as birth rate keeps falling: At least one demographer says the goal of adding roughly 15 million people by 2035 is far too ambitious.

China’s ‘two sessions’: why this year’s event is so important for Xi Jinping’s vision for the future: Next month’s major political set piece will take on special significance this year as it coincides with the Communist Party’s centenary .

No, China is not the EU’s top trading partner: When you count services, not just goods, trade flows with the US are far larger.

US and China on path to ‘inevitable’ economic decoupling: report: White House needs to urgently work out the costs of separation, with the process already under way, researchers say.

China’s imports are growing despite virus outbreak and trade frictions:
Government support plays key role in trade stability.

Why waning business confidence raises red flags over global economic recovery: Supply lines have been badly interrupted and the world is running short of key goods and materials, leaving the global economy with much catching up to do.

Open sesame: Alibaba’s push into Europe a mixed blessing for Liège: Apart from the pollution, there are concerns the Chinese firm’s new airport hub may not revive the fortunes of the Belgian region.

Joe Biden says US needs major infrastructure plan to keep pace with China: US president says his phone conversation with Xi Jinping lasted ‘two straight hours’.

US-China confrontation would be ‘disaster’, Xi tells Biden in first call: White House says Biden raised trade, human rights and Indo-Pacific region in first call to Beijing since his inauguration.

Mainland consumer prices drop as spending eases: China’s consumer prices fell in January after a brief improvement at the end of last year, as the world’s second-biggest economy was hit by the impact of fresh coronavirus outbreaks and decreased travel, official data showed Wednesday.

Covid: WHO team says ‘extremely unlikely’ virus leaked from lab: A team of international experts investigating the origins of Covid-19 have all but dismissed a theory that the virus came from a laboratory.

Foreign firms look to reduce reliance on China, poll shows: Strategy known as ‘China Plus One’ sees companies boosting operations in Vietnam, India and elsewhere.

What can we expect in China in 2021: While China enters the new year economically stronger than any major economy in the world, fulfilling high expectations will pose a tough challenge for the country’s leaders.

China’s GDP growth in 2020 a ‘truly hard-won outcome’, says Premier Li Keqiang: China posted 2.3 per cent gross domestic product growth in 2020 despite a steep slump in the first quarter due to the coronavirus shock,.

Chinese Consumers Prefer Chinese Brands: The Arrival Of China’s Local Consumer Brands: In 2020, the Chinese consumer brand investment and financing market reached the highest level.

Should China copy US stimulus plan to hand out cash to everybody?: A few days ago, I said on social networks that if our country hands out money to everybody, it means it doesn’t send out money at all.

China GDP: coronavirus helped Chinese economy trim US$1 trillion from gap with US in 2020: After recovering quickly from the pandemic, China gained almost US$1 trillion in ground on the United States economy in 2020.

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 .

Joe Biden’s commerce secretary pick backs tariffs and export limits against Chinese firms: ‘I intend to use all those tools to the fullest extent possible,’ Gina Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island, says at confirmation hearing

The end of European influence in Asia: EU proving increasingly irrelevant in a region dominated by China Europe’s declining significance is also demonstrated by its marginal role in the financing of Asia’s infrastructure investments.

Op-Ed: Xi is positioning China as the world’s indispensable economy – and Biden’s greatest challenge: China’s President Xi Jinping will deliver his keynote address at the World Economic Forum’s first global virtual meeting on Monday.

Why a once-in-a-century pandemic and a stock market bubble spell trouble: It is alarming that today’s bubble has inflated in the face of the worst recession in decades.

China says it wants to get relations with US ‘back on the right track’:
Beijing makes the remarks just hours before Joe Biden’s inauguration as president. But analysts say Washington will continue to see China as a major threat.