https://www.scmp.com/rss/324037/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com After years of decoding “forward guidance” from the US Federal Reserve, market participants feel increasingly confident that they can anticipate monetary policy direction. For many, decoding China’s policy communication is not quite as straightforward. China’s “two sessions” – annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – wrapped up last week. During the sessions, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan (周小川) for the first time... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081443/decoding-chinas-policy-intent-how-liberalisation-happens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081443/decoding-chinas-policy-intent-how-liberalisation-happens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2017 06:02:36 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday defended his record of economic management, saying his biggest achievements in his four years in the top office have been steering the country on a steady growth course and avoiding the much talked-about threat of a “hard landing”. Addressing hundreds of journalists at the end of the annual gathering of the country’s legislature, Li hit back at the doubters, saying the economy would be able to maintain medium to high growth in the long run. “I’ve been... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2079190/steady-growth-and-no-hard-landing-chinese-premier-lays-out-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2079190/steady-growth-and-no-hard-landing-chinese-premier-lays-out-his?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 15:30:15 +0000 What are some of the highlights of this year’s meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference? First, the economy. The rate of real GDP growth held steady at 6.7 per cent in 2016. This year, the target is “around 6.5 per cent”. The macroeconomic situation has begun to stabilise and the economy has essentially entered the horizontal part of the L-shaped recovery, at a flat but high rate of growth that is still the envy of the world. The... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2078758/economy-judicial-reform-china-settling-new-normal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2078758/economy-judicial-reform-china-settling-new-normal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 09:08:24 +0000 The National People’s Congress (NPC) commenced on March 2 with an opening speech by Premier Li Keqiang stressing the need to balance the delivery of near-term growth with the furthering of structural reforms. The desire to minimise shocks to the economy was evident in the very modest changes to the growth and policy targets, which also indicated a wish to maintain stability ahead of the leadership reshuffle later in the year. As anticipated, the government lowered the 2017 growth target to about... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2078990/npc-signals-beijing-aiming-stable-more-balanced-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2078990/npc-signals-beijing-aiming-stable-more-balanced-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:57:06 +0000 Financial crises are said to come once a decade – the Black Monday market crash of 1987, the Asian contagion in 1997 and the global financial crisis of 2007. If true, we’re about due for a hit. And if a crisis is looming, China must be especially cautious given it’s the world’s second-largest economy, with capital markets full of shadow bankers and “crocodiles”– Beijing’s term for high-rolling insider traders. One way to deal with these risks is through establishing a super-financial regulator.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078889/china-talk-super-financial-regulator-cheap-until-next-crisis-hits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078889/china-talk-super-financial-regulator-cheap-until-next-crisis-hits?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:33:46 +0000 China’s policymakers support opening financial markets for capital and investment to flow both in and out of the country, according to central bank Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng. China would push ahead on oversight and enforce existing regulations on foreign exchange, Pan said in an interview on Sunday with Bloomberg and Caixin Magazine. Scrutiny of foreign companies transferring profits out was “not excessive”, he added. A healthy foreign-exchange market helped all participants, said Pan, who... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078418/china-supports-opening-financial-markets-better-forex-flows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078418/china-supports-opening-financial-markets-better-forex-flows?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Mar 2017 10:17:01 +0000 China’s industrial output for the first two months of the year grew by more than 6 per cent, the statistics bureau chief said on Sunday, in the latest sign that the economy is stabilising. “January-February industrial output rose above 6 per cent and that of the service sector jumped more than 8 per cent,” National Bureau of Statistics chief Ning ­­Ji­zhe said on the sidelines of the annual “two sessions” political gatherings in Beijing. Ning was speaking ahead of the official release of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078184/chinas-growing-industrial-and-services-sectors-signal-stabilising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078184/chinas-growing-industrial-and-services-sectors-signal-stabilising?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2017 06:25:14 +0000 There have been numerous calls for greater integration with Guangdong and Macau since the return of Hong Kong to China. In 2011, a paper termed “Study on the Action Plan for the Bay Area of the Pearl River Estuary” was rolled out jointly by authorities in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to coordinate regional development. The term “bay area” is also found in Hong Kong’s strategic planning blueprint, the “Hong Kong 2030 Plus” plan. But this concept of closer integration was elevated to a national... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2077763/can-hong-kong-get-fully-behind-idea-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2077763/can-hong-kong-get-fully-behind-idea-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2017 03:33:03 +0000 The industry minister for mainland China, Miao Wei, on Saturday called on Taiwan to be more open to mainland investment after two high-profile cross-strait deals fell through. Taiwan’s ChipMOS Technologies in November said it had scrapped a planned US$373 million stake sale to the mainland’s Tsinghua Unigroup due to uncertainty about Taiwanese regulatory clearance. It is the second deal in as many months between Unigroup and a Taiwanese manufacturer to be cancelled. Push to absorb Taiwan ‘is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2078058/china-says-taiwan-should-be-more-open-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2078058/china-says-taiwan-should-be-more-open-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Mar 2017 06:15:15 +0000 China’s Industry Minister Miao Wei brushed aside foreign firms’ concerns on Saturday that Beijing’s programme to upgrade its industry would become a market barrier. He made the remarks in response to a detailed analysis by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, which lashed out against “the problematic” Made in China 2025 initiative to move up China’s industry base, saying it hurt foreign companies. China rolled out Made in China 2025 two years ago, aiming to develop home-grown... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078056/beijing-industry-minister-says-no-discrimination-against-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2078056/beijing-industry-minister-says-no-discrimination-against-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Mar 2017 05:45:00 +0000 Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan sought to reassure the public on Friday that the yuan would remain stable, while lashing out at developed countries and hedge funds as sources of financial ­instability. Zhou, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said China’s healthy economic growth and stable financial market meant there was no basis for depreciation of the currency. “As the Chinese economy stabilises and becomes healthier, and the nation makes achievements in supply-side reforms... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077866/chinas-central-bank-chief-plays-confident-longer-term-game-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077866/chinas-central-bank-chief-plays-confident-longer-term-game-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Mar 2017 11:51:17 +0000 While the 1.5 hour morning press conference by the head of China’s central bank may not have moved the financial markets, his taste for timepieces spurred a flurry of comments on social media. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, sported what looked all the world like an Apple Watch on his wrist while taking journalists’ questions on the sidelines of China’s annual congressional sessions in Beijing. An Apple China employee posted two photos of Zhou wearing the watch on his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2077780/not-rolex-not-cartier-guess-whats-china-central-bank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2077780/not-rolex-not-cartier-guess-whats-china-central-bank?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Mar 2017 06:15:30 +0000 China’s central bank chief and other top People’s Bank of China officials held a press conference on Friday on the sidelines of the country’s annual plenary meetings. Zhou Xiaochuan and his colleagues discussed a wide range of economic and financial issues. We’ve summed up what they had to say about China’s yuan exchange rate, its dwindling foreign reserves and the future of digital currency, among other topics. Reassurance on the renminbi The central banker struck a reassuring note during the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077787/yuans-stable-fintechs-our-future-and-stop-overreacting-over-fall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077787/yuans-stable-fintechs-our-future-and-stop-overreacting-over-fall?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Mar 2017 06:15:24 +0000 Welcome to the South China Morning Post’s coverage of the press conference of China’s central bank officials on Friday on the sidelines of the country’s annual plenary meetings. During the press conference in Beijing that began in the morning, People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan and other top PBOC officials discussed a wide range of economic issues including the yuan, market regulations, capital control and other financial risks. Read on to see the highlights of Zhou’s comments as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077725/financial-regulation-system-can-be-improved-make-it-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077725/financial-regulation-system-can-be-improved-make-it-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Mar 2017 03:17:10 +0000 China’s local government borrowing remains a serious risk to the country’s financial security, according to an outspoken lawmaker. The warnings from Yin Zhongqing, deputy director of the financial and economic affairs committee at the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, came as Beijing is trying to reassure the world that it has largely defused the local government debt bomb after swapping over 8 trillion yuan (US$1.15 trillion) worth of local government debt into bonds. Yin... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077367/chinas-spiralling-local-govt-debt-still-out-control-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2077367/chinas-spiralling-local-govt-debt-still-out-control-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Mar 2017 03:09:17 +0000 The most important Hong Kong-related part of Premier Li Keqiang’s ( 李克強 ) annual work report delivered at the National People’s Congress last Sunday is arguably the idea of a Greater Bay Area for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. A day after he spoke about it, Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui (馬興瑞) expressed hope that the Dawan area (literally, “big bay area”) should not only be comparable to New York, Los Angeles and other coastal economies, but also have a way of coordinating regional differences... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076997/hong-kong-has-stake-birth-greater-bay-area-chinas-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076997/hong-kong-has-stake-birth-greater-bay-area-chinas-south?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Mar 2017 06:36:20 +0000 Uncertain economic times require a steady hand on the financial tiller. The government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) had that in mind, the goal being a GDP growth rate of at least 6.5 per cent or slightly higher with the focus on restructuring and reform. A slew of reasons to reduce risk have either arisen or loom, most significantly the autumn leadership shuffle, the protectionist ways of new US President Donald Trump, Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, elections... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076988/china-must-take-lead-championing-global-free-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076988/china-must-take-lead-championing-global-free-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Mar 2017 01:27:54 +0000 Mr and Mrs Chen, both in their late 50s, opened a small bakery three years ago after they quit the nearby state-owned steel plant where they had worked for three decades. There may be a future in running a bun shop, but not at a dying state-run behemoth. The Tonghua Iron & Steel plant opened in 1958 during China’s experiment with industrialisation, a period known as the Great Leap Forward. As the biggest state steelmaker in Jilin province, on the border with North Korea, the plant provided... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2076401/human-cost-chinas-failing-industrial-soes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2076401/human-cost-chinas-failing-industrial-soes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:15 +0000 Beijing’s supply-side reforms, introduced a little over a year ago with the aim of eradicating idle capacity in heavy industry, were broadly welcomed as essential to securing China’s long-term growth. The coal and steel sectors, regarded as the economic backbone of the mainland, have been the major beneficiaries of the leadership’s efforts to retire obsolete capacities and cut excessive stockpiles. And indeed, the new policy – backed by strict official targets – appears to be yielding the... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2076375/why-early-success-chinas-supply-side-reforms-may-not-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2076375/why-early-success-chinas-supply-side-reforms-may-not-last?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2017 23:45:15 +0000 The billionaire chief of Baidu, which is often referred to as China’s Google, has urged Beijing to further ease visa restrictions to attract overseas workers, some of whom might be put off by US President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies. “China should be more open in its immigration policy,” Robin Li Yanhong, Baidu chief executive and a delegate of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said at a panel of the ongoing two sessions in Beijing on Monday. “Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076508/lure-skilled-workers-put-trump-head-chinese-search?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076508/lure-skilled-workers-put-trump-head-chinese-search?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2017 16:00:30 +0000 Beijing says it has already cut taxes and will continue to do so in 2017 - but the country’s entrepreneurs are asking the government to do more. Premier Li Keqiang said in his annual government work report delivered to the country’s parliamentary gathering on Sunday that Beijing would cut the corporate tax burden by 350 billion yuan (US$50 billion) and slash administrative fees by 200 billion yuan in 2017. Li claimed that taxes were cut by 570 billion yuan in 2016. China’s development minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076407/beijing-promises-tax-cuts-again-entrepreneurs-are-sceptical?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076407/beijing-promises-tax-cuts-again-entrepreneurs-are-sceptical?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2017 07:45:30 +0000 He Lifeng, a close associate of President Xi Jinping and the new head of the country’s powerful economic planning agency, got off to a confident start at his first media outing, coming up with the numbers and facts to bolster his case. Unlike his predecessor and many other ministers, the National Development and Reform Commission director made scant reference to his prepared materials when he fronted the press on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress on Monday. Instead, he kept the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076376/chinas-development-minister-dismisses-concerns-about-slower?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076376/chinas-development-minister-dismisses-concerns-about-slower?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2017 06:00:08 +0000 China has pledged to simplify the value-added tax (VAT) regime this year to level the playing field and shore up the real economy amid complaints about the chokingly high tax burden in a slowing economy. Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday the government will trim the four-tier VAT regime to three levels, part of the fiscal and tax reform plan which led to a tax cut of 570 billion yuan (US$83 billion) in 2016. Li was speaking as he delivered the annual government work report at the opening session... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2076228/china-simplify-tax-rules-shore-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2076228/china-simplify-tax-rules-shore-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 16:02:05 +0000 The Chinese government unveiled a conservative master plan for the economy for 2017 as Beijing prepares to undergo a power reshuffle at home while facing mounting uncertainties abroad. At the National People’s Congress gathering on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the country was aiming for 6.5 per cent growth or “higher if possible” for 2017 – a target slightly less ambitious than last year’s range of 6.5 to 7 per cent. The year-end figure fell in the middle at 6.7 per cent, but still... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076224/amid-brexit-and-trump-uncertainties-china-strikes-note-caution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076224/amid-brexit-and-trump-uncertainties-china-strikes-note-caution?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 12:30:00 +0000 China has changed its long-standing rhetoric on its yuan policy, signalling Beijing may alter its course on exchange rates this year under pressure from US Federal Reserve rate rises and US President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war. For the first time in an annual government report, the central government included the requirement to ensure the stable global status of the yuan as one of its major tasks, dropping the line “keeping a stable yuan at a reasonable and balanced level” that has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076223/china-signals-change-course-long-standing-yuan-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076223/china-signals-change-course-long-standing-yuan-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 11:30:15 +0000 China faces “far more complicated and graver situations” both at home and abroad as it steps up economic development and seeks to play a greater international role, Premier Li Keqiang said in his annual report on Sunday. In his speech delivered at the opening of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Li spoke about a wide range of issues including border control and defence, China’s economic goals, the role of the Chinese currency, calls for Hong Kong independence, as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076161/china-aims-65-cent-economic-growth-or-higher-if?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076161/china-aims-65-cent-economic-growth-or-higher-if?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 00:45:00 +0000 China will increase its defence budget by about 7 per cent this year, the smallest boost since 2010, a move which analysts said reflected the nation’s continuing economic slowdown. The announcement of the figure on Saturday by Fu Ying, spokeswoman of the National People’s Congress, came amid rising calls by military officers for defence spending to be boosted by at least 10 per cent as China seeks to improve the fighting capability of the People’s Liberation Army. Defence Budget Fu said this... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2076077/china-raise-defence-spending-7-cent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2076077/china-raise-defence-spending-7-cent?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Mar 2017 07:45:15 +0000 China would “never” launch a currency war to devalue the yuan to boost exports, a senior Chinese central bank official said on Saturday, cementing Beijing’s vow to keep a stable yuan. Yi Gang, vice-governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), made the comments to mainland media on the sidelines of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on Saturday. “We will never devalue [the yuan] to promote exports, will never stage a currency war, as China is a responsible... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076072/chinas-central-bank-sees-no-need-follow-feds-rate-rise-says-vice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076072/chinas-central-bank-sees-no-need-follow-feds-rate-rise-says-vice?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Mar 2017 06:17:37 +0000 At this time every year more than 5,000 of China’s governing elite descend on Beijing to discuss and set economic and social agendas for the year. The meetings, known as the “Two Sessions” used to be staid national affairs, as the deputies to the National People’s Congress and delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference merely toed the party line and rubber stamped government proposals. Who goes there? Hong Kong’s participation in China’s ‘two sessions’ explained But in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2075773/chinas-two-sessions-economy-agenda-trump-hidden-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2075773/chinas-two-sessions-economy-agenda-trump-hidden-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Mar 2017 02:30:14 +0000