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China economy

China economy
Breaking news and analysis on China’s economy, including its opening up, the US-China trade war, the impact of tariffs and trade talks, growth rates and other key economic data, the Belt and Road Initiative, and Greater Bay Area plan.
The IMF headquarters during the first day of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington on April 13. Photo: Kent Nishimura
China GDP

IMF cuts China’s GDP growth forecast to 4.4% as Iran war hits global economy

The latest projection is 0.1 percentage lower than January’s estimate but higher than October’s.

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China trade

China’s exports slow as Iran war impact begins to bite

China energy security

China turns to central Asia as US blockade in Hormuz chokes global energy flows

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China trade

China’s March trade

Exports from China slowed while imports surged in the first full month of trade data following the outbreak of the US war against Iran on February 28.

Photo: AFP
China Evergrande Group

Founder of China’s Evergrande Group Hui Ka-yan pleads guilty in fraud trial

Milestone in downfall of company that was once the world’s largest developer is unlikely to move the market, analysts say.

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China trade

China’s imports surge in March as exports soften amid Hormuz blockade

Export figures fall short of predictions, rising by 2.5 per cent, while imports grow by 27.8 per cent as conflict in Middle East causes global disruption.

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China-EU relations

Brussels must resist ‘passive’ role in US-China trade war, EU chamber urges

European companies keep becoming ‘collateral damage’ in others’ disputes, laments president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

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Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said European companies have suffered “significant operational and financial damage” while trying to navigate Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. Photo: EPA-EFE
2026 Trump-Xi summit

Could Trump’s Hormuz blockade derail China summit with Xi Jinping?

US president’s move forces China into political dilemma and could create a flashpoint ahead of his meeting with Chinese leader, analysts say.

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Artificial intelligence

‘Doctor Doom’ Roubini turns ‘Doctor Boom’, predicting huge economic growth in US

Nouriel Roubini predicted the 2008 financial crisis – now he says an explosion of hi-tech will be unlike anything mankind has ever seen, trivialising near-term headwinds.

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Yuan

Yuan’s ‘golden window’ is open, former PBOC governor says as US dollar ebbs

Zhou Xiaochuan, who laid the foundation for China’s currency to go global, says Beijing can capitalise on changes in the international monetary landscape.

People walk past Chinese yuan and US dollar symbols in Hong Kong. Former PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan says China should seize fresh opportunities to promote the yuan as an international currency. Photo: AFP
China’s private sector

China’s tea-drink shops thirst for profits as price wars dry up prospects

‘I am learning a hard lesson of how involution can destroy my business,’ a Shanghai shop operator says.

Tea-drink sales grew 6.4 per cent in 2025, a sharp drop from annualised growth of more than 20 per cent over the past two decades. Photo: Shutterstock
China’s C919 passenger plane

Exclusive | China’s C919 faces ‘final exam’ as EU pilots stay in Shanghai ‘permanently’: sources

Flight tests a ‘final exam’ to be followed by analysis, paperwork and technical verification, but ‘political considerations’ also in play.

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong, mainland China sign ‘milestone’ MOU on promoting digital economy

Memorandum of understanding covers topics including AI promotion, cross-boundary data flow and blockchain.

China debt

How China’s fake Titanic sank like a stone – and became a symbol of local excess

In 2014, a Chinese investor raised millions to build a full-scale replica of the Titanic. Now, all that remains is a rusting hull – and vast debts.

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The rusting remains of a full-scale replica of the Titanic sits abandoned in Daying county, southwest China’s Sichuan province. Photo: inewsweek.cn
China jobs

China warns university students about lucrative job offers from foreign spies

Data processing or research jobs promising easy money could be ‘traps’ aimed at illegally collecting sensitive information, ministry says.

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A job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, last month. Photo: Xinhua
Semiconductors

Samsung weighs China overhaul as local rivals pile on the pressure

Reports of a potential pullback come as domestic competitors gain ground in China, forcing Samsung to reassess where it deploys resources.

China trade

‘Cancelling orders’ in China: Hormuz oil crisis hits transport and manufacturing

Analysts and industry insiders say higher costs are squeezing margins, with some of China’s wary industrial heartland compelled to make day-to-day purchases.

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China education

Vocational schools a new front as China backs businesses’ global expansion

Earlier programmes focused on infrastructure, but new wave is shaped by demand in e-commerce, digital services and advanced manufacturing.

Illustration: Henry Wong
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China’s next growth engine? An AI-powered intelligence dividend

Instead of factories and people, China’s economic growth may increasingly be powered by code and digital workers that do not tire.

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Artificial intelligence

China’s Li Qiang hosts Moonshot AI chief, urges faster industrial AI roll-out

Beijing signals stronger push to embed AI in manufacturing as premier meets rising start-up founders and industry leaders.

China energy security

Why China’s green energy strategy may shield it from the Iran war oil shock

As war in the Persian Gulf triggers volatility in global oil markets, Beijing sees its energy system as a stabilising force.

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Employees work on the production line of solar panels at a workshop of Jiangsu DMEGC New Energy on February 25, 2026, in Sihong county, Suqian city, in China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
United States

Popeyes returns to Beijing after 24 years, as global chains eye China growth

Brand aims to open up to 20 stores in Beijing this year after ‘two years of exploration’, mostly in Shanghai, to perfect its model, CEO says.

Diners crowd Popeyes’ Beijing store at The Malls at Oriental Plaza on April 10, 2026. Photo: Zhu Wenqian
China manufacturing

Chinese firms in Hungary face a post-election reckoning – no matter who wins

With opposition Tisza party leading in the polls, businesses ponder implications if Orban’s Fidesz party loses 16-year grip on power.

Science

2 years on: China’s ‘desert wheat farms’ show the seeds of success

Chinese project turns sand dunes into cropland to combat desertification and strengthen food security.

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China inflation

China’s factory-gate prices rise for first time in 3 years as Iran war bites

The producer price index rose by 0.5 per cent in March, the first increase since 2022, as soaring global commodity prices affected Chinese firms.

A worker fills up a car at a petrol station in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: Getty Images
Mainland China

Opinion | Why Latin America is becoming indispensable to China

Latin America fits Beijing’s need for alternative partners with uncomfortable precision. That is a problem for Washington.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and wife Peng Liyuan (right) pose for a photo with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife Rosangela da Silva in Beijing, China, on May 13, 2025, on the sidelines of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum. Photo: EPA-EFE/Xinhua
China-Latin America relations

Cattle prices rocket as Brazil set to exhaust Chinese beef quota by May

As Beijing tariff nears, Brazil’s exporters are rapidly reaching their quota for China, forcing South American industry to seek new buyers.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Yuan tokens and oil-linked fees? China experts propose ‘innovative’ Hormuz tolls

Analysts warn Trump’s ‘joint venture’ plan with Iran could formalise grey zone, while Beijing balances roles as mediator, energy importer.

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