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☆ Analysis-As China's Xi Summons 'New Productive Forces', Old Questions Linger for Economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

By James Pomfret, Kevin Yao and Ellen ZhangHONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Facing its deepest economic challenges in years, China's leadership has tasked ministries and local governments with implementing a new mantra from President Xi Jinping: unleash "new productive forces". Beijing hopes the “new productive forces” campaign will strengthen China at a time when geopolitical pressures including steps by the United States to “decouple” or “de-risk” have curtailed access to foreign technology. "To support innovation, we should give people more freedom to think and talk, because many innovations result from the collision of ideas. The new mantra was also taken up by China's state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission. Its annual report on Tuesday pledged support for industries including satellite internet applications, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, and research into nuclear fusion.

Persons: James Pomfret, Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang HONG, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Xi’s, Xi, Tianchen Xu, Li, Steve Tsang, Ellen Zhang, Nick Macfie Organizations: Communist Party, Party, Reuters, Economist Intelligence Unit, SOAS China Institute, National Development, Reform Commission Locations: Ellen Zhang HONG KONG, BEIJING, China, China’s, Beijing, United States, London, Pearl

☆ Moody's cuts China credit outlook, citing lower growth, property risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A Chinese national flag flutters at the headquarters of a commercial bank on a financial street near the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, in central Beijing November 24, 2014. "The outlook change also reflects the increased risks related to structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth and the ongoing downsizing of the property sector," Moody's said. "Moody's concerns about China's economic growth prospects, fiscal sustainability and other aspects are unnecessary," the ministry said. STRUGGLING FOR TRACTIONMost analysts believe China's growth is on track to hit the government's target of around 5% this year, but that compares with a COVID-weakened 2022 and activity is highly uneven. Analysts widely agree that China's growth is downshifting from breakneck expansion in the past few decades.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Moody's, Ken Cheung, Pan Gongsheng, COVID, Goldman Sachs, Gnaneshwar Rajan, Kevin Yao, Tom Hogue, Kim Coghill Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Mizuho Bank, Economic Work Conference, Fitch, China's Finance Ministry, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Beijing, Hong Kong, China, outflows, Bengaluru

☆ China's central bank pledges to support domestic demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Nov 27 (Reuters) - China's central bank on Monday said it would fend off systemic risks to the economy and use forceful and targeted monetary policy to better support domestic demand. "Prudent monetary policy should be precise and forceful, with greater emphasis on cross-cyclical and countercyclical adjustments, enriching the monetary policy toolbox," the bank said. The bank added it would "further unblock the monetary policy transmission mechanism", enhance the stability of financial support for the real economy and keep prices "reasonably stable". China's economy is gaining momentum, but it faces challenges such as an imbalanced global economic recovery and an unstable foundation for domestic economic recovery, the central bank said. "Supply and demand dynamics in the property market have greatly changed," the central bank said.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Liangping Gao, Kevin Yao, Ella Cao, Ethan Wang, Bernard Orr, Toby Chopra, Christina Fincher Organizations: Central Business District, National People's Congress, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ China needs to unblock, sustain financial channels for private firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Private firms, which account for 60% of China's gross domestic product and 80% of urban jobs, were hurt by three years of COVID curbs and a regulatory crackdown that targeted sectors from technology to private tutoring. Banking and financial institutions should set annual service targets for private enterprises, increase the weight of related businesses serving private enterprises in performance appraisal and gradually increase the proportion of loans to private enterprises, it said. China should also expand private firms' bond financing and guide financial institutions to expand the bond financing scale of private enterprises, according to the statement. China should back the listing, mergers and acquisitions, and reorganisation of private enterprises, including supporting qualified companies in going public overseas, it said. Fixed-asset investment by private firms fell 0.6% in January-September year-on-year, highlighting weak private sector confidence.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Ryan Woo, Ziyi Tang, Kevin Yao, Christopher Cushing Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Rights, Banking, Garden Holdings, HK, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ Exclusive: China govt advisers call for steady growth target in 2024, more stimulus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Five of the seven advisers who spoke with Reuters said they favoured a target of around 5%, matching this year's goal. The proposals will be made next month at the ruling Communist Party's annual Central Economic Work Conference that discusses policy plans and the outlook for the world's second-largest economy. "We need to adopt expansionary fiscal and monetary policy to stimulate aggregate demand," Yu Yongding, a government economist who advocates for a growth target of roughly 5%, told Reuters. "We are stepping up fiscal policy support," said another adviser, to make the "difficult" 2024 target "achievable." The stuttering post-COVID recovery has prompted many analysts to call for structural reforms that tilt the drivers of economic growth away from property and infrastructure investment and towards household consumption and market-allocation of resources.

Persons: Yu Yongding, Yu, Guan Tao, Xi Jinping, Kevin Yao, Marius Zaharia Organizations: Reuters, Communist, Economic Work Conference, BOC International, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, Beijing, outflows, Japan

☆ What do we know about China's new financial watchdog?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Nov 21 (Reuters) - China's Central Financial Commission (CFC), a new regulator with Premier Li Qiang as its head, held a meeting on Monday and urged stronger supervision of risks in the financial sector as Beijing accelerates efforts to become a "major financial power". The CFC was set up for the top-level design, development and supervision of the financial sector, strengthening "unified leadership on financial work", according to a restructuring plan published by state media in March this year. The CFC has recruited many officials from the central bank and the finance ministry, financial news outlet Caixin reported earlier this month. The appointments indicate that both officials, who are close confidants of President Xi Jinping, will play important roles in shaping China's financial policies. He was also appointed as party chief of a separate Central Financial Work Commission (CFWC), which has been set up to strengthen the ideological and political role of the party in China's overall financial system.

Persons: Li Qiang, Premier Li, Li, Lifeng, Xi Jinping, Wang Jiang, Xia Xiande, Xi, Ziyi Tang, Kevin Yao, Ryan Woo, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Financial Commission, Communist Party, CFC, WHO, THE, Financial Work, China Everbright Group, Analysts, Reuters, National Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, People's Bank of China, prudential, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, Lincoln

☆ China vows to support property sector, tackle local debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Nov 17 (Reuters) - China's central bank and financial regulators pledged on Friday to ensure financing support for the property sector and to work together to resolve local government debt risks. Chinese leaders are trying to revive the economy and fend off potential financial risks from a property slump and 92 trillion yuan ($12.77 trillion) in local government debt. Recent efforts to stabilise financing for the real estate sector via bank credit, bonds, and equity are gaining traction, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said. China will promote stable credit expansion to support its economic growth, and financial institutions should work with local governments to resolve debt risks, by extending, swapping or rolling over debt, the regulator added. ($1 = 7.2050 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Kevin Yao and Ella Cao; editing by Christina Fincher, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kevin Yao, Ella Cao, Christina Fincher, William Maclean Organizations: China Securities Regulatory Commission, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: Robotic arms assemble cars in the production line for Leapmotor's electric vehicles at a factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, April 26, 2023. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 7.6% in October, quickening from a 5.5% gain in September and hitting the fastest growth since May. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 7.0% due to the low base effect in 2022 when COVID curbs disrupted consumers and businesses. The PBOC has cut banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) twice this year to free up liquidity to aid the economic recovery. Fixed asset investment expanded 2.9% in the first 10 months from the same period a year earlier, versus expectations for a 3.1% rise.

Persons: Xing Zhaopeng, Albee Zhang, Liangping Gao, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, National Bureau of Statistics, Analysts, ANZ, People's Bank of China, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, Rights BEIJING, quickening

☆ Exclusive: China orders local governments to cut exposure to public-private projects as debt risks rise, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The guidelines were mentioned in a cabinet document that was circulated among local governments, policy banks and state lenders last month, said the two sources with knowledge of the matter. The move comes after numerous local governments' PPP expenditure hit the upper limit of the threshold in recent years. But the PPP boom has alarmed authorities who say some local governments have used public-private partnerships, government investment funds and government procurement services as "disguised channels" for raising debt. The State Council and the NAO did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments. A portion of the $12.6 trillion local government debt is linked to the PPP projects, as municipalities used these infrastructure-building initiatives as a conduit to raise capital.

Persons: Thomas Peter, NAO, Kevin Yao, Ziyi Tang, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Central Business District, National People's Congress, REUTERS, Rights, International Monetary Fund, National Audit, State, State Council, Bank of, Reuters, National Development, Reform Commission, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Bank of China

Lending data from China's central bank offers a glimpse of government priorities: as of the end of September, outstanding loans to the troubled property sector fell 0.2% year-on-year but lending to the manufacturing sector jumped 38.2%. This time, the government's focus is narrower, targeting high-tech and "advanced manufacturing", a goal laid out in 2021 in the 14th five-year plan. It grew 11.3% in the first nine months of 2023 year-on-year, compared with 6.3% for overall manufacturing investment, according to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics. For example, Guangdong province has increased lending to both high-tech and advanced manufacturing by about 45%, state media reported. During the first half of 2023, outstanding loans to the high-tech manufacturing sector in the eastern province of Shandong jumped 67%.

Persons: Jens Eskelund, Eskelund, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Frederic Neumann, Neumann, Tao Wang, Wang, Fu, Lu Zhengwei, Siyi Liu, Kripa Jayaram, Robert Birsel Organizations: Rights, European Chamber of Commerce, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, U.S, Reuters Graphics, overcapacity, HSBC, UBS, China's National Bureau of Statistics, Rystad Energy, EV, China Passenger Car Association, Bank, Industrial Bank, Thomson Locations: Suqian, Jiangsu province, China, CHINA, Rights BEIJING, Europe, Beijing, San Francisco, Xi, Asia, Guangdong province, Shandong, Dongguan, Shanghai

☆ China can raise 2024 budget deficit ratio to spur growth - c.bank adviser
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A man wearing a mask walks past the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, in Beijing, China, February 3, 2020. A higher budget deficit next year will help drive the country's economic recovery, he said. Last month, China sharply lifted its 2023 budget deficit to around 3.8% of gross domestic product from 3% because of the planned issuance of 1 trillion yuan ($137.14 billion) in sovereign bonds. China is able to achieve economic growth of slightly above 5% this year, Wang said. Weak external demand and inadequate domestic demand increase overcapacity pressures in China, Wang said.

Persons: Jason Lee, Wang Yiming, Wang, Ellen Zhang, Kevin Yao, Christopher Cushing Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Rights, Monetary, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ China's He Lifeng named to key post in Central Financial Commission
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A Chinese vice premier, He Lifeng, has been appointed head of the office of the Central Financial Commission (CFC), which is responsible for running day-to-day affairs of a new regulator tasked with overseeing a vast financial sector. He was also appointed as party chief of a separate Central Financial Work Commission (CFWC), which has been set up to strengthen the ideological and political role of the party in China's overall financial system. The appointments, announced by the central bank's Financial News publication, underscore how the ruling Communist Party has taken direct control of supervising the financial sector. He has also been appointed director of a key ruling Communist Party economic body, the Central Finance and Economic Affairs Commission, replacing Liu He. In 2014, He was named vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the state planning agency, before taking full control in 2017.

Persons: Lifeng, Florence, Xi Jinping, Liu He, Xi, Ziyi Tang, Kevin Yao, Ryan Woo, Edwina Gibbs, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Central Financial Commission, Financial Work, Financial, Communist Party, Central Finance, Economic Affairs Commission, Xiamen University, National Development, Reform Commission, Thomson Locations: China, EU, Diaoyutai, Beijing, Rights BEIJING, Quanzhou, Fujian province, Xiamen, Tianjin

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a joint press conference following the 10th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China September 25, 2023. He, 68, replaced internationally respected Liu He as one of China's four vice premiers during its annual parliament session in March. The full scope of his portfolio had been largely unclear until Sunday when state media referred to him as the director of a powerful Communist Party economic body. "He Lifeng mainly implements policies from the top leader," said a policy adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to Xi. "Now under the leadership of the Party ... there will be closer cooperation among the top economic planner, central bank and the finance ministry."

Persons: Lifeng, Florence, Xi Jinping's, Liu, Xi, Liu He, Li Keqiang, Peng Liyuan, Kevin Yao, Laurie Chen, Joe Cash, Ellen Zhang, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Communist Party, Central Financial Commission, Harvard, Investors, State Council, Party, Xiamen University, National Development, Reform Commission, Thomson Locations: China, EU, Diaoyutai, Beijing, Rights BEIJING, China's, Washington, Europe, Quanzhou, Fujian, Xiamen, Tianjin, Lincoln

☆ China's new bonds to help economic recovery, official says, as budget deficit rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China's new sovereign bonds will help bolster the economic recovery, China's vice finance minister Zhu Zhongming said on Wednesday, as the government's stepped-up fiscal stimulus sharply raises its budget deficit. The government's debt level is still within a reasonable range, the minister said, without giving details. Analysts at UBS expect the government to raise its budget deficit and special local bond quotas for 2024, alongside further cuts in interest rates and bank reserve requirement ratios. China's parliament has also approved a bill to allow local governments to front load part of 2024 local bond quotas. Local governments had been told to complete the issuance of the 2023 quota of 3.8 trillion yuan in special local bonds by September to fund infrastructure projects.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Zhu Zhongming, Zhu, Ting Lu, Ellen Zhang, Kevin Yao, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Nomura, UBS, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, Beijing, China

☆ China to issue $137 bln sovereign debt to support economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters reported on Monday that China's parliament was set to approve just over 1 trillion yuan in additional sovereign debt issuance, citing sources. "The additional fiscal support approved today is the intervention we had been expecting and that was needed to prevent an abrupt fiscal tightening in China in the closing weeks of the year," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. China has previously let local governments issue bonds ahead of the annual session of parliament, which approves government budget plans and is usually held in March. Local governments had been told to complete the issuance of the 2023 quota of 3.8 trillion yuan in special local bonds by September to fund infrastructure projects. The government has not disclosed the size of local governments' 2024 frontloaded bond quotas.

Persons: Mark Williams, Williams, Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang, Ella Cao, Jason Neely, Susan Fenton Organizations: Xinhua, Reuters, National People's Congress, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Asia, Beijing

☆ China to choose fiscal muscle over big reforms to revive economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The foundation of economic recovery is not solid," said an adviser to the cabinet who spoke on condition of anonymity. The debate about economic policy in China has heated up in recent months with some government advisers advocating reforms to help unleash new growth engines beyond property and infrastructure investment. For those looking for structural reforms, the focus is on policies that spur urbanisation and household spending power, reduce the reliance on investment and level the playing field between state-owned enterprises and private firms. "Fiscal policy should still play the leading role next year," said Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the economic policy commission at the state-backed China Association of Policy Science. "We should push reforms as many problems are structural, but reforms are difficult to implement and require political will," said one policy insider.

Persons: Xu Hongcai, Xu, Guan Tao, Kevin Yao, Sam Holmes Organizations: Reuters, China Association of Policy, BOC International, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Communist, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, Beijing

☆ Analysis: China to choose fiscal muscle over big reforms to revive economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ China names Lan Foan as new finance minister amid stimulus push
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China has appointed Lan Foan, a technocrat with little central government experience, as the new finance minister, state media said on Tuesday, as the government ramps up fiscal stimulus in a bid to revive the economy. Lan, 61, who was named the Communist Party chief at the finance ministry last month, has succeeded Liu Kun who had been finance minister since 2018. Previously, Lan was the party chief of the northern Chinese Shanxi province. He transferred to Shanxi in 2021, as the province's vice party chief, before becoming the party chief in December 2022. Liu, China's finance minister since 2018, has surpassed the official retirement age of 65 for minister-level officials.

Persons: Lan Foan, Liu Kun, Lan, Liu, Kevin Yao, Alison Williams Organizations: Communist Party, Hubei University of Finance, Economics, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Shanxi, Beijing, Guangdong

☆ Analysis: Middle East throws central banks yet more unknowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Now, to complicate matters for a professional caste which prides itself on being data-driven, the Middle East is throwing a new set of real but unquantifiable risks into their equations. Unless the picture changes dramatically in coming days, the European Central Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan are already expected to keep their policy rates on hold in meetings over the next two weeks. ECB rate-setter Yannis Stournaras, the governor of the Greek central bank, argued that Europe had broadly managed to absorb the effects of rising energy costs triggered by the Ukraine war and hoped it could do the same if further shocks emerged. For now, the conflict remains largely confined to Israel and Gaza, something S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a study this week was already "muddying the waters" for central banks. As the Fed's Powell put it: "Our institutional role at the Federal Reserve is to monitor these developments for their economic implications, which remain highly uncertain".

Persons: Jerome Powell, David Westin, Brendan McDermid, Powell, Huw Pill, Yannis Stournaras, Tetsuya Hiroshima, Fed's Powell, Dan Burns, Balazs Koranyi, Francesco Canepa, Maria Martinez, Leika, Kevin Yao, David Milliken, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Federal, Anchor, Bloomberg, Street, Economic, of New, REUTERS, Bank of England, International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank, U.S, Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, Fed, ECB, Reuters Graphics, Reuters, Tokai, Toyota Motor Corp, P Global Market Intelligence, Thomson Locations: of New York, New York City, U.S, Israel, Ukraine, Iran, Hormuz, Europe, United States, Japan, Gaza, Washington, Frankfurt, Berlin, Tokyo, Beijing, London

ON TRACK FOR GOVT GDP TARGETThe recovery momentum suggests the government's full year 2023 growth target of around 5.0% is likely to be achieved. The key issue is what growth target the government will set and how much fiscal easing will take place." The statistics bureau said China would be able to hit the 2023 growth target if the fourth quarter growth tops 4.4%. Moody's Analytics has also raised its 2023 growth projection to 5% from 4.9%. The faltering property sector has hit some of the biggest developers in the country.

Persons: Matt Simpson, Zhiwei Zhang, Tingshu Wang, Frederic Neumann, Louise Loo, Ellen Zhang, Joe Cash, Kevin Yao, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Gross, National Bureau, Statistics, Reuters, Index, New, REUTERS, Nomura, JPMorgan, Analysts, Country Garden Holdings, HK, Global Research, HSBC, Oxford Economics, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Brisbane, U.S, Beijing, China, New Zealand, Asia

☆ China's Q3 GDP growth, Sept activity show economic recovery gaining momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On a quarter-by-quarter basis, GDP grew 1.3% in the third quarter, accelerating from a revised 0.5% in the second quarter and above the forecast for growth of 1.0%. "It seems that all of that stimulus is finally beginning to take effect, with a broad beat from growth, retail sales, industrial production and unemployment," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index in Brisbane. The economy faltered in the second quarter after a brief post-COVID recovery, dragged by a property downturn and huge debt due to a decades-long infrastructure binge. The recovery momentum suggests the government's full year 2023 growth target of around 5.0% is likely to be achieved. Growth of retail sales, a gauge of consumption, also beat expectations, rising 5.5% last month, and accelerating from a 4.6% increase in August.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Matt Simpson, Zhiwei Zhang, Ellen Zhang, Joe Cash, Kevin Yao, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Gross, National Bureau, Statistics, Index, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, Brisbane

☆ China's Q3 GDP seen slowing as Beijing races to revive growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Gross domestic product (GDP) likely grew 4.4% in July-September from a year earlier, according to economists polled by Reuters, slowing from the 6.3% pace in the second quarter. Separate data on September activity is expected to show retail sales growth picking up but factory output slowing. Economic growth is seen hitting 5.0% this year, according to the poll, broadly in line Beijing’s full-year target, before slowing to 4.5% in 2024. For its part, the central bank is constrained by how much it can ease monetary policy due to worries about adding pressure on the yuan, which has tumbled 5.7% this year. The central bank cut the RRR in September to boost liquidity and support the economic recovery, its second reduction this year.

Persons: Thomas Peter, ”, Ting Lu Organizations: Central Business District, REUTERS, Gross, Reuters, Nomura Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China

"There's increasing evidence that the cyclical upturn in the global electronics sector is driving a bottoming-out of global trade and China's trade data is the latest sign," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Reuters GraphicsSouth Korean exports to China, a leading indicator of China's imports, fell at their slowest pace in 11 months in September. Semiconductors make up the bulk of their trade, signalling improving appetite among Chinese manufacturers for components to re-export in finished goods. However, Lv Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, said at a press conference on Friday that China's trade still faces a complex and severe external environment. Overall, though, total merchandise imports fell at a slower pace, down 6.3%, reflecting a gradual recovery in domestic demand.

Persons: Smart, David Kirton, Xu Tianchen, it's, Julian Evans, Pritchard, Zou Lan, Premier Li Qiang, Li, Robert Carnell, Kevin Yao, Albee Zhang, Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill Organizations: Trade, REUTERS, Economist Intelligence Unit, Reuters Graphics South, Semiconductors, Administration of Customs, ASEAN, Federal Reserve, China Economics, Capital Economics, People's Bank of, Premier, Bloomberg, ING, Thomson Locations: Qianhai, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, BEIJING, United States, Europe, Stocks, People's Bank of China, Beijing, Asia, Pacific

☆ China's Xi spurs efforts in core technologies -state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a reception dinner at the Great Hall of the People ahead of China's National Day in Beijing, China on September 28, 2023. Jade Gao/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping has called for speeding up efforts to make breakthroughs in core technologies, state media reported on Thursday, amid tensions with the United States. During a speech on promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt, Xi also reaffirmed the goal of modernising China's supply chains, developing advanced manufacturing and strategic emerging industries, state media said. Faced with increased technology curbs imposed by the United States, President Xi has repeatedly stressed the need for self-reliance in technology to curb the use of foreign technology. Provinces and cities along the Yangtze River must shoulder the responsibility for food, energy security as well as supply chain security, state media quoted Xi as saying.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Jade Gao, Xi, Kevin Yao, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton Organizations: of, Rights, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, United States, Provinces

☆ China issues legal guidelines to support private business
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The guidelines issued by the Supreme People's Court, emphasized the legal protection of private firms and the "personality rights" of entrepreneurs, according to CCTV. Authorities will also crack down on infringements on the legitimate rights and interests of private firms, CCTV said, citing the guidelines. The guidelines also stressed the need to expand financing channels for small and medium-sized private firms and vowed to deal with illegal loans. China is seeking private investment for 4,894 major projects with total investment of 5.27 trillion yuan ($723 billion), after private investment shrank 0.7% in the first eight months of this year from a year earlier. Local governments struggling to balance budgets tend to favour cash-generating state-owned enterprises over their private sector competitors, S&P Global said.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Ellen Zhang, Kevin Yao, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Supreme, Authorities, CCTV, P Global, Local, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing's, Rights BEIJING, COVID

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