China Economy

The mainland has US$3.9 trillion worth of unsold properties, which makes Beijing’s funding plan account for less than 2 per cent of that excess inventory, a Barclays report said.

Ahead of the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, diplomats have begun discussing what to put on the agenda.

A Chinese high-speed railway line in Indonesia has been open for six months – and is popular enough that new trips have been added – but high debt levels are raising questions about its long-term utility.

Property investment in China fell again in the first four months of the year and retail sales growth cooled in April, but industrial output remained strong last month, data released on Friday showed.

Beijing has announced 300 billion-yuan in funds to help clear excess housing inventory, as well as measures to ensure developers have access to financing and that homes are delivered on time.

German industrial engineering firms reported a negative outlook for their China business in a recent survey, with weak demand and overcapacity most frequently mentioned as the cause for their low confidence.

The mainland’s e-commerce sector achieved a 12 per cent overall growth in the March quarter, according to data from JPMorgan.

The latest data from China’s statistics bureau painted a mostly pessimistic picture of the country’s economy. This comes as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin embarked on his second day of a two-day visit to China, with President Xi Jinping welcoming his “old friend” with full military honours.

He Lifeng stressed the need to ‘carry on the battle’ to surmount the risks that unfinished and unconstructed homes represent, as the health of the property market is tied closely to social wellness and economic development.

Another set of weak housing market data for April underscores the urgency among officials in Beijing to stem the crisis and rescue some of the nation’s biggest yet cash-strapped developers.

A former Belgian envoy to the EU says China is not intentionally manufacturing overcapacity to undercut Western competitors.

China’s property investment fall accelerated in the first four months of the year, while retail sales growth slowed in April, data released on Friday showed.

With the end of pandemic control measures severely reducing the demand for medical testing services, China’s laboratories are facing massive declines in revenue and laying off large portions of their staff.

Bilateral trade, an important lifeline to Russia since it invaded Ukraine, is already at a record US$240 billion, with China its largest customer for crude oil.

The US announced plans on Tuesday to increase tariffs on 14 categories of products from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, covering US$18 billion in imports.

Analysts say Beijing is preparing ‘for all types of situations’ in a trade war with the US that shows no sign of abating after six years, as the leading presidential candidates vow to turn up the heat.

With household debt at worrisome levels, curbing consumption and China’s economic recovery, Beijing is interjecting in the largely unregulated process with new guidelines for issuing loans and collecting arrears.

The Beijing-based company reported US$36 billion in first-quarter sales, beating analysts’ estimates.

Developer stocks rose on Thursday after authorities in Hangzhou announced plans to buy unsold homes, but analysts question whether such aid is the best way to rescue the market.

Kingland Systems is closing its first subsidiary outside the US and sacking its entire local workforce, sources say.

In the latest article of the Open Questions series, we spoke with Richard Koo, the economist who came up with the concept of a balance-sheet recession. He told economy reporter Frank Chen that China is facing similar challenges to Japan in the early 1990s, and if puts big stimulus into play, it can avoid a balance-sheet recession.

The visa-policy easing is expected to boost tourism that has yet to fully rebound since the pandemic, and the move could also give local economies a jolt.

A new book on China’s tech regulations and economic governance assesses the impact of perceived overreaching in the market, with far-reaching effects flagged by professor Angela Zhang.

Analysts discuss how Beijing could respond to Washington’s latest trade offensive, and how the impact could have repercussions beyond China’s borders.

About 20 million consumers on the mainland are expected to take part in the nationwide trade-in programme via JD.com’s platform.

Authorities in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, are planning to buy homes and rent them at affordable rates, to reduce inventory and boost sales.

ByteDance’s aggressive pricing for its Doubao large language model family shows the increased opportunity in mainland China, where more firms are scrambling to adopt GenAI tools.