Vice foreign minister Le Yucheng says Beijing is more interested in ‘people’s desire for a better life’ than status as the next superpower, a day after China posted better-than-expected economic growth figures for last year.

China’s economy grew by 8.1 per cent last year, beating most expectations, but a slowdown in the fourth quarter has pointed to trouble ahead amid a worsening demographic picture, slowing property market and virus outbreaks.

Mainland China’s population increased to 1.4126 billion last year, while Chinese mothers gave birth to 10.62 million babies, marking an 11.5 per cent decline from 2020, data released on Monday showed.

China’s economy grew by 4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, with the slowdown promoting the central bank to cut two key policy rates to address headwinds.

Annual data will show whether China’s number of births and birth rate hit record lows in 2021, and will give breakdowns in terms of age, gender and residence.

Analysts expect Chinese exports to remain bolstered by foreign demand for pandemic-related goods and electronics, but conditions that led to China’s largest trade surplus on record could change over the coming year.

China’s exports grew by 29.9 per cent in 2021 compared to the previous year, while imports last year grew by 30.1 per cent over the same period, customs data released on Friday showed.

Food-security concerns prompt action to boost production of the essential oilseed, as demand is expected to continue growing, forcing China to heavily rely on imported soybeans to feed people and livestock.

Organisers of the Beijing Winter Olympics are confident current coronavirus containment measures are sufficient and no lockdowns are planned for the capital or the neighbouring province of Hebei.

Hefei, the capital of central Anhui province, is handing out a coupon worth 1,000 yuan (US$157) to migrant workers if they choose to stay in the city over the holiday, rather than making the annual pilgrimage home.

An isolation bubble is now in force for the 2022 Winter Games, which means residents of the Chinese capital must shun all contact with those involved.

National Health Commission links original pair to imported cases as spokesman highlights challenges posed by globally resurgent pandemic.

Shenzhen has been caught in the middle of a battle for tech supremacy between China and the US, stoking concern about its economic health. New data on power consumption suggests growth is on track.

Quicker invitation letters are to be issued from local authorities, but final approval is still up to them, and extension to family members is limited to those under 18 years old.

Beijing has been pushing couples to have multiple children, but policy advisers warn that more must be done to reduce the cost of childbearing and parenting.

Talks between Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have yet to happen despite the expiry of the phase-one trade deal last week.

China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang will ramp up soybean output by 1.3 million tonnes this year, after President Xi Jinping called for more planting of oil crops to ensure national food security.

Beijing 2022 had grand plans to be ‘fantastic, extraordinary and excellent. Now the goal is to be ‘simple, safe and splendid’.

Beijing has made it clear that taxes are one of six key pillars in its “common prosperity” drive, a new initiative to reduce economic and social inequality.

With the future shrouded in uncertainties, a new five-year document says domestic trade must play an increasingly important role in shoring up the national economy and countering the turbulent external environment.

Beijing also expects the world’s largest trade deal, which takes effect on Saturday, to expand exports of Chinese products while helping speed up China’s industrial transformation.

Beijing issued its first white paper on export controls on Wednesday, a month after 12 more Chinese companies were placed on the United States’ export blacklist.

Moves by the central government on yuan come hot on the heels of Beijing’s warning about the “threefold pressure” on the economy.

China’s restrictions on international travel could compromise efforts to foster closer diplomatic ties with major trading partners, says a prominent Chinese academic.

China revised its 2020 gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate to 2.2 per cent year on year, down from 2.3 per cent previously, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

China’s retail sales, industrial production and fixed-asset investment all grew in November from a year earlier, data released on Wednesday showed.

China needs to establish a ‘strategic baseline’ in key primary commodities such as energy, grains and minerals to ensure it is prepared for international challenges, Xi Jinping says.

NDRC official says stabilising foreign investment and trade will continue to be an economic priority for China in 2022, and it will seek to build more infrastructure – on par with US and European standards – in belt and road countries.

Lou Jiwei says statistics should reflect the negatives and positives of the challenges China’s economy is facing.

Scarcities in other countries remind China that primary commodities supply is a strategic issue, Han Wenxiu says as he discusses central economic work conference.