Emigration consultants say applications for US, Canada and Australia have soared, with interest strongest among tech professionals.

World food prices will skyrocket and a food crisis is inevitable, one local government warns, as provinces order farmers not to destroy unripe wheat.

China’s yuan continued to weaken against the US dollar on Friday, further complicating the outlook for manufacturers amid a slowing economy, coronavirus disruptions and an aggressive US Federal Reserve interest rate policy.

Chinese exports in ‘grave situation’, with dwindling cash flow weighing on their bottom line while domestic demand falls amid coronavirus lockdowns.

The attractiveness of Japanese assets, particularly among Chinese investors, sees a corresponding rise with the diminishing value of the yen, which recently hit a 20-year low against the US dollar.

Coronavirus-related restrictions and lockdowns have disrupted global supply chains over the last two years as many of them begin in China.

The sooner the central government starts giving out Hong Kong- and US-style consumption vouchers, the better, according to economists.

China’s travel restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus are causing disruptions to logistics and supply chains, while ports are also experiencing delays.

Many Chinese who borrowed millions to invest in property, or who hitched their wagon to a now-curtailed tech firm, are growing increasingly fearful of salary reductions, lay-offs, crackdowns and lockdowns.

Space engineering chief says two cargo spacecraft will go up annually over the next decade as well.

Trade between China and Hong Kong has been reduced as the various coronavirus restrictions have increased delivery times and costs.

As the Canton Fair goes online only this month, attendees’ hopes are dashed for an in-person event that might have helped them ascertain more information about the state of trade.

Small business owners in China say government tax rebates do not compensate them enough for lost business caused by strict pandemic controls that have been rolled out amid the latest Omicron outbreak.

Though overall consumption remains soft in China, sales of foreign brands are strong on cross-border e-commerce platforms and in the duty-free shopping hub of Hainan as more Chinese spend locally.

Aviation officials say that the investigation has just started and that it is not yet possible to say why the plane went down.

A range of factors at play, from coronavirus restrictions to the legacy of the one-child policy, observers say.

Attitudes towards consumption are changing between generations of wealthy Chinese, with many middle-class millennials and Generation Z likely to concentrate on building wealth at home than their parent’s generation.

Chinese women comprise the world’s third-largest consumer market – close to the combined retail markets of Germany, France and the United Kingdom – and have reshaped the nation’s economic trajectory.

Xi Jinping’s trademark plan to reduce wealth inequality is being hampered by confusion, especially at the local level, about how best to help poor citizens and drive development.

Some Chinese manufacturers fear losses could mount if the yuan further appreciates to 6.25 against the US dollar, as it would make their exports less competitive.

Analysts say the flight bans on Russia aircraft following the invasion of Ukraine are another blow to an aviation industry that was just beginning to recover from coronavirus-inflicted damage.

China is the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine, but sanctions from the US and its European allies have started to be felt by customers in both countries.

Downward trend could continue this year as the pandemic endures, experts say, while broader concerns stretch to the impact of urbanisation on China’s birth rate.

The campaign to reduce China’s wealth gap presents new marketing challenges for global brands, though most are focused on the benefits of an enlarged middle class.

China is likely to support Russia financially and through trade throughout the Ukraine crisis, though if the situation escalates Beijing may ‘rethink its position’, experts say.

The first Russian military units have entered Kyiv, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said on Friday, on the second day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Xi Jinping’s goal to reduce wealth inequality is front and centre on the government agenda, but heavy-handed regulation and a slowing economy has some middle-class Chinese worried about their future.

China ranked 12th on 2021 Global Innovation Index, commerce ministry points out in calling for an objective approach from the US.

Health authorities say outbreaks are growing but caused by different strains of the virus.

Fearing for their livelihoods with little respite from the hardships of the pandemic, those who own micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are forced to find income elsewhere as business conditions deteriorate.