China press review

Chinese Communist Party resolution cements Xi Jinping’s leadership, putting him on par with Mao, and paves way for legacy-defining third term. The Central Committee’s 6th plenum ends with adoption of third historical resolution in party history, puts Xi on the same level as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

China trade: surging export prices mask falling volumes, but turning point looms as Christmas orders dry up. China’s exports in October again beat expectations by growing 27.1 per cent from a year earlier. But analysts say surging prices have propped up the value of exports and concealed declining export volumes for some products.

Cainiao, the logistic arm of Alibaba, officially launches its European eWTP hub at Liege Airport: Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba, has officially opened and put into service its first warehouse located on the edge of the runways at Liege Airport.

China trade: export growth above expectations in October but ‘Covid-19 cases and chip shortages loom’. The country’s exports grew by 27.1 per cent in the month compared with a year earlier, down from 28.1 per cent growth in September.

32 nations to remove China from preferential tariff treatment on December 1: China had been accorded preferential treatment since 1978, and more than 40 nations have provided or continue to offer it duty-free status on some goods.  

RCEP trade deal reaches ‘milestone’ after ratification by Australia and New Zealand. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement will take effect at the start of January     RCEP groups the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) plus Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

As China’s middle class has expanded over the past two decades, consumption has become a key driver of growth. Under its ‘dual circulation’ strategy, Beijing wants consumer spending to become more prominent in future

China holds the financial key to huge carbon emission avoidance. Coal power generation needs to be phased out quickly to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement. Cost-competitive renewable energies are already pushing coal out of the market in many countries. Nevertheless, some countries are still constructing new coal-fired power plants.  China is an important part of this puzzle.

China sees sharp slowdown in online commerce growth in coming years, as market matures and focus shifts to rural economy: The slowdown in China’s e-commerce growth rate was partly expected, as deceleration has already started.

Profits at China’s industrial firms jumped 16.3 per cent year on year to 738.74 billion yuan (US$115.7 billion), quickening from the 10.1 per cent gain in August. China’s industrial sector has been hit by the surging price of coal, supply shortages and power rationing triggered by coal shortages due to emission reduction targets

China and US hold ‘constructive’ economic talks with global recovery ‘at crucial stage’, according to Chinese statement. Beijing raised concerns about Washington’s tariffs, it says, after the second such talks of the Joe Biden presidency.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belgium’s King Philippe on Monday exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. In his message, Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Belgium relations and stands ready to work with King Philippe to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to push for new achievements in China-Belgium relations and make new contributions to the development of China-Europe relations.

Why China’s slow economic growth is a bigger headache than its energy crunch and Evergrande’s debt crisis: The problems in the energy and property sectors, though serious, do not pose a systemic risk to the economy, despite the alarming news headlines.

Have we reached peak China? Beijing’s growing influence on the global stage masks an overlooked insecurity.

China’s Canton Fair wraps up, but exporters lament the lack of foreign buyers: The biggest concern among Chinese exhibitors at October’s Canton Fair has been the rising cost of production amid global inflation

China GDP: Five things to watch when quarterly data are released: The release of China’s estimate for third-quarter economic growth on Monday comes at a critical juncture for the world’s second-largest economy.

China trade: export growth stronger than expected in September but ‘instabilities, uncertainties’ remain: China’s exports grew by 28.1 per cent in September compared with a year earlier, up from 25.6 per cent growth in August.

IMF Trims View on Growth Rebound as ‘Dangerous Divergence’ Seen: The International Monetary Fund expressed concern the global economic recovery has lost momentum and become increasingly divided, even as it stuck by its prediction for a robust rebound from the Covid-19 recession.

China presses US to cancel tariffs in test of bilateral engagement: China said on Saturday it pressed the United States to eliminate tariffs in talks between the countries’ top trade officials that Washington saw as a test of bilateral engagement between the world’s biggest economies.

China’s Sept services activity returns to growth: Caixin PMI: Activity in China’s services sector returned to growth in September as a major Covid-19 outbreak in the eastern province of Jiangsu receded, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, offering some support to a slowing economy. 

Changing China: How Xi’s ‘common prosperity’ may impact the world: China says its policies aimed at narrowing the widening wealth gap are precisely what it needs in this moment of its economic trajectory – but critics say it comes with even greater control of how business and society will be governed.

European companies in Hong Kong considering moving staff elsewhere because of zero-Covid restrictions, chamber says: Strict quarantine rules have led many businesses to consider restructuring at least part of their operations to places such as Singapore, says chairman of European Chamber of Commerce.

China is not heading toward a market economy, often due to its own policies, report concludes: China ‘is clearly not what was envisioned’ when it was admitted into the World Trade Organization in 2001, Atlantic Council and Rhodium Group find.

China’s consumption story steadily evolving: China’s consumption story is evolving. Rising incomes still matter, but the primary feature of the next decade may very well be the impact of sweeping demographic and social change that is coinciding with the rapid march of technology.