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☆ China's exports to North Korea rise sharply in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 21 (Reuters) - China's overall exports to North Korea in March rose sharply compared with the same month last year for the second month in a row, with the major export items including rice, Chinese customs data showed on Friday. Chinese outbound shipments to the isolated country surged 141.7% year-on-year last month following a 161.5% leap in January-February, data released by China's General Administration of Customs showed. The country also imported around $8 million in artificial wigs and $7 million in tobacco. China's foreign ministry said last month that relations between China and North Korea had entered "a new historic period" in recent years and continued to develop under the "strategic leadership" of both countries. China's new ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, arrived in the North on March 27.

☆ China seeking Dutch space technology -military intelligence agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, April 19 (Reuters) - China is seeking to acquire equipment and knowledge in the Dutch space sector, sometimes in circumvention of export restrictions, the Netherlands' military intelligence agency said on Wednesday. China has long insisted that its space programme is for peaceful purposes and that it opposes any form of arms race in space. MIVD chief Jan Swillers said in the agency's report thatChina was specifically seeking "launchers with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and communication satellites”. The MIVD's partner agency, the Dutch general intelligence agency AIVD, said on Monday that China posed "the greatest threat to Dutch economic security". In response, China's foreign ministry urged Western officials to abandon what it called a Cold War mentality and stop hyping up the “China threat” narrative.

☆ China March new home prices rise at fastest pace in 21 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary March new home prices +0.5% m/m vs +0.3% m/m in FebBEIJING, April 15 (Reuters) - China's new home prices rose in March at the fastest pace in 21 months, official data showed on Saturday, as continued government policy support helped prop up demand amid a broader push for an economic recovery. New home prices in March edged up 0.5% month-on-month after a 0.3% rise in February, marking the fastest pace since June 2021 and the third consecutive monthly rise, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. Prices fell 0.8% year-on-year, down on an annual basis for the 11th straight month. Household loans, mostly mortgages, jumped to 1.24 trillion yuan ($180.52 billion) in March from 208.1 billion yuan in February, with medium- to long-term household loans rising to 634.8 billion yuan from 86.3 billion yuan in February, according to Reuters' calculations based on central bank data. China will release property sales and investment data for March on Tuesday, along with economic activity data and first quarter gross domestic product (GDP).

"We have an extraordinary relationship with China, a relationship that every day gets more acute and stronger," Lula said before his meeting with Xi. Brazil and China need to work together so that the relationship is not merely one of commercial interest, he added. China and Brazil did agree to set up a working group to pursue cooperation on semiconductors, strengthening ties with Beijing in areas of sensitive technology. Brazil is now the largest recipient of Chinese investment in Latin America, driven by spending on high tension electricity transmission lines and oil production. On Friday, the two countries agreed to encourage their companies to invest in each country in infrastructure, energy transition, logistics, mining, agriculture and high-tech industries.

☆ China vice president tells Intel CEO to take root in China - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - China's Vice President Han Zheng told Intel's (INTC.O) CEO on Wednesday to take root in China to help maintain the stability of the global industrial supply chain, state radio reported on Wednesday. In a meeting in Beijing, Han told Intel CEO Patrick Paul Gelsinger that multinational companies need to "overcome difficulties and challenges" to promote better global cooperation, according to the report. Reporting by Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China wants to start using moon soil to build lunar bases as soon as this decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 12 (Reuters) - China wants to start building a lunar base using soil from the moon in five years, Chinese media reported, with the ambitious plan kicking off as soon as this decade. Ding Lieyun, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said a team is designing a robot named "Chinese Super Masons" to make bricks out of lunar soil, according to Changjiang Daily. China previously retrieved soil samples from the near side of the moon with its Chang'e-5 mission in 2020, state media reported. The country has stated that it wants its astronauts to stay on the moon for long periods once it establishes a lunar research station. Reporting by Ethan Wang, Bernard Orr and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Smaller Chinese banks cut deposit rates on squeezed margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) - Several small and mid-sized banks in China have lowered their deposit interest rates, a move that could help ease costs as loan growth faces more pressure amid rising economic risks. "But the costs of liabilities of banks remain relatively rigid, and net interest margins continue to shrink, which added to their operating pressures," he said. Nicholas Zhu, a banking analyst at Moody's, said smaller banks' pricing changes usually follow larger banks' initiatives with a time lag. In September, China's largest banks lowered deposit rates in their first broad-based move since 2015 to ease margin pressure. Lower deposit rates could also help ease banks' margin pressures at a time when investors have raised their hopes for a cut in lending rates to prop up the economy.

For years, Chinese fishermen trawling for fish, shrimp and crab have played cat and mouse with Taiwanese authorities as they closely track boats that near the median line of the Taiwan Strait. MEDIAN LINEOn Saturday, Taipei said more than 40 Chinese planes crossed the Taiwan Strait's "median line", which Beijing does not recognise. Deteriorating relations have made Chinese fishermen more afraid of approaching the line. Several times last year, Taiwan's coast guard detained Chinese fishing crew members, citing illegal trawling, according to official statements. ($1 = 6.8681 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Arslan and Thomas Peter; Writing by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo.

[1/4] A Chinese warship fires at a target during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas PeterFUZHOU, China, April 8 (Reuters) - A Chinese warship in seas facing the Taiwan Strait began live-fire drills on Saturday as Beijing began military exercises it calls a warning against what it considers pro-Taiwan independence forces. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Smoke and muzzle flares were visible from the stern of the warship as shells were fired on targets on land and water. When asked about Taiwan, Zhao said he hopes the two sides could "reunite" as quickly as possible.

☆ Exclusive: China plans $500 million subsea internet cable to rival US-backed project
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China's three main carriers – China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), China Mobile Limited and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd(China Unicom) – are mapping out one of the world’s most advanced and far-reaching subsea cable networks, according to the four people, who have direct knowledge of the plan. They said HMN Tech, which is majority-owned by Shanghai-listed Hengtong Optic-Electric Co Ltd, would receive subsidies from the Chinese state to build the cable. China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, HMN Tech, and Hengtong did not respond to requests for comment. The consortium on the SeaMeWe-6 cable – which originally had included China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and telecom carriers from several other nations – initially picked HMN Tech to build that cable. China Telecom and China Mobile pulled out of the project after SubCom won the contract last year and, along with China Unicom, began planning the EMA cable, the four people involved said.

☆ Exclusive: China plans $500 mln subsea internet cable to rival U.S.-backed project
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China's three main carriers – China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), China Mobile Limited and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd(China Unicom) – are mapping out one of the world’s most advanced and far-reaching subsea cable networks, according to the four people, who have direct knowledge of the plan. They said HMN Tech, which is majority-owned by Shanghai-listed Hengtong Optic-Electric Co Ltd, would receive subsidies from the Chinese state to build the cable. China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, HMN Tech, Hengtong and China’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The consortium on the SeaMeWe-6 cable – which originally had included China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and telecom carriers from several other nations – initially picked HMN Tech to build that cable. China Telecom and China Mobile pulled out of the project after SubCom won the contract last year and, along with China Unicom, began planning the EMA cable, the four people involved said.

☆ China March services activity accelerates on new orders - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 6 (Reuters) - China's services activity in March revved up at the quickest pace in 2-1/2 years on robust new orders and job creation and a consumption-led post-COVID recovery, a private-sector survey showed on Thursday. The upbeat figure echoed an official PMI released last week, which shot to the highest level in more than a decade. Thanks to improvements in customer demand, the rate of new orders was the sharpest since November 2020, the Caixin survey showed. Notably, new export orders in the services sector grew at the fastest pace on record. Caixin/S&P's composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, rose to 54.5 in March from 54.2 a month prior, marking the quickest expansion since June.

☆ China tax department says economy's rebound to be further consolidated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 6 (Reuters) - The rebound of China's economy will be further consolidated and tax revenues in the second quarter will likely grow faster, but the economy still faces many uncertainties at home and abroad, the taxation administration said on Thursday. The world's second-biggest economy grew 3% last year, the weakest in nearly half a century. To spur growth in 2022, China cut fees and gave credit rebates on tax to private businesses that were hit hard by stringent COVID-19 lockdowns and curbs. In 2022, the tax and fee cuts, tax refunds and deferred payments totalled 4.2 trillion yuan, according to the finance ministry. That included 2.4 trillion yuan in VAT tax rebates, the largest in recent years.

☆ India rejects China's renaming of places along disputed border
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI/BEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) - India rejected on Tuesday the renaming by China of places in what India regards as its eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of its territory. The statement included a map that showed the 11 places renamed by China as being within "Zangnan", or southern Tibet in Chinese, with Arunachal Pradesh included in southern Tibet and China's border with India demarcated as just north of the Brahmaputra river. "Arunachal Pradesh is, has been and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter. But a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry said the name changes were "completely within the scope of China's sovereignty". "The southern Tibet region is Chinese territory," the spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

☆ Chinese lenders focus on risk management amid global banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's top lenders should enhance risk management practices and be more sensitive to macroeconomic fluctuations, senior Chinese banking officials said, in response to a global banking sector crisis that has roiled financial markets. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) suggests banks should strictly abide by the regulatory requirements and measures of risk management, Xie Xiaoxue, from China Construction Bank Corp's (CCB) credit management department, said. "China's commercial banks should constantly improve the organisational structure of risk management and strengthen risk governance with sound and prudent measures," Xie wrote. Executives at China's big five banks said during annual results last week the lenders have limited exposure to the banking crisis. Xie said that Chinese banks should fully use stress tests and other tools to measure the impact of economic fluctuations and the changes in market participants' financial situations.

☆ China's March factory activity growth falters on weaker demand - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's factory activity growth stalled in March, weighed down by slowing production and weaker global demand and adding to uncertainty about a post-COVID recovery, a private sector survey showed on Monday. The reading far missed expectations of 51.7 in a Reuters poll, and echoed slower growth in an official PMI released on Friday. However, a property downturn, weaker global demand and financial uncertainty raised doubts about the strength of the rebound. The factory activity was hit by slower growth in production and demand in March with sub-indexes both falling from the previous month. The new export orders sub-index fell to 49.0 after briefly swinging into growth in February, suggesting global demand remains weak.

☆ China new home sales rise sharply in March - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's new home sales rose sharply in March, as a slew of support policies boosted a pickup in demand across the board in 14 surveyed cities, a private survey showed on Monday. The sales of new homes rose 55.7% month-on-month, up from growth of 31.9% in February, according to data from the China Index Academy — one of the country's largest independent real estate researchers. Tier-one cities — including the nation's capital Beijing and the commercial hub of Shanghai — rose the fastest, jumping 73% last month. Sales in tier-two cities and tier-three cities grew 54.7% and 28.6%, respectively. Prices of new homes in 100 Chinese cities rose at the fastest pace in nine months in March, a separate survey by the researcher showed on Saturday.

☆ Slower China factory activity growth challenges economic recovery prospects
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China's economic activity picked up in the first two months of 2023 as consumption and infrastructure investment drove a recovery after the end of COVID-19 disruptions and retail sales swung back to growth. "However, amid rapidly worsening geopolitical tensions and financial concerns outside of China, this may not last long," they added in a note. While business and consumer sentiment is starting to pick up, the manufacturing sector remains under pressure amid sluggish global demand and stubbornly high costs. Any fallout from a recent crisis of confidence in the global banking sector could also affect demand for China's goods, adding to pressure on manufacturers. Factory activity was hit by slowing growth in production and customer demand, with the output and new orders sub-indexes showing declines from February's levels.

☆ China manufacturing activity expands at slower pace in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Manufacturing PMI 51.9 in March vs 52.6 in FebBEIJING, March 31(Reuters) - China's manufacturing activity expanded at slower pace in March, official data showed on Friday, suggesting hopes of a strong post-COVID economic recovery are faltering amid weaker global demand and a continued property market downturn. The February figure had grown at the fastest pace in more than a decade. China's economic activity picked up in the first two months of 2023 as consumption and infrastructure investment drove a recovery after the end of COVID-19 disruptions and retail sales swung back to growth. While business and consumer sentiment is starting to pick up, the manufacturing sector remains under pressure to maintain growth momentum amid sluggish global demand and stubbornly high costs. Any fallout from a recent crisis of confidence in the global banking sector could also affect demand for China's goods, adding to pressure on manufacturers.

☆ China's Xi: Ties with Singapore set benchmark for countries in region
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - Relations between China and Singapore have set a benchmark for countries in the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during talks in Beijing on Friday. China is willing to work with Singapore in further building new "channels" by land and sea, Xi told Lee, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. "Other countries must be able to accept that China today is not what China used to be," Lee told CCTV in an interview ahead of his visit. China is Singapore's largest trading partner, while the island-state is China's biggest foreign investor. Lee's visit to Beijing was his first trip to China since 2019, before the global COVID pandemic broke out.

☆ China to boost regulatory oversight of digital economy -c.bank deputy governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOAO, China, March 31 (Reuters) - China will beef up its regulatory oversight of the digital economy, as new technologies, especially new forms of finance, should not be blindly accepted and recognised, a deputy governor of China's central bank said on Friday. Digital currencies and newly invented cryptocurrencies, rather than solving problems in finance, can in fact create new challenges, Xuan Changneng, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the annual Boao Forum in Hainan province. He did not spell out steps that will be taken to boost oversight. China itself has launched its own digital renminbi, or yuan, but it is little used. The National Financial Regulatory Administration will absorb the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's responsibilities and take over some supervisory functions from the central bank and the securities regulator.

☆ China's industrial profits slump in Jan-Feb as COVID pain lingers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary China Jan-Feb industrial profits -22.9% y/y vs -4.0% for 2022BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - Profits at industrial firms in China declined 22.9% in the first two months of 2023 from the year before, official data showed on Monday, as the factory sector struggles to claw its way out of the slump caused by COVID-related disruptions. The contraction followed a 4.0% fall in industrial profits for the whole of 2022, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, pointing to a downbeat start to the year for factories at large. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.91 million) from their main operations. Factory output growth accelerated to 2.4% in January-February, data showed earlier this month. China's central bank this month unexpectedly cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the first time this year to help support the economic recovery.

☆ China to boost support for high-end manufacturing - Premier Li
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Chinese Premier Li Qiang waves as he leaves a news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/PoolBEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - China will strengthen its policy guidance to support advanced manufacturing, Premier Li Qiang was quoted as saying by state radio on Wednesday. China will create a market-oriented, legal and international business environment and strengthen the policy guidance to support advanced manufacturing, said Li. Li visited the southern province of Hunan from March 21-22 and hosted a forum on the development of advanced manufacturing, according to state radio. Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Toby Chopra and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China capital Beijing experiences first population decline since 2003
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Beijing's population decline was in line with national trends, with China's population falling last year for the first time in six decades, weighed down by rising living costs especially in big, sprawling cities like Beijing, weak economic growth, and changing attitudes towards raising a family. "These figures are expected, especially for Beijing," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The birth rates in Beijing and other cities and provinces are calculated based on the permanent residents not including migrant population, she said. Beijing's natural population growth was minus 0.05 per 1,000 people last year. China's birth rate last year was 6.77 births per 1,000 people, the lowest on record, while the country's death rate, the highest since 1974, was 7.37 deaths per 1,000 people.

☆ China warns against travelling out of Central African Republic capital after killings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - China's embassy in the Central African Republic has urged its citizens to avoid travelling outside the capital, Bangui, after a report that nine Chinese nationals were killed in an attack by militants at a gold mine outside the city. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for "severe punishment" of the perpetrators in accordance to the law, and said the safety of Chinese citizens must be ensured, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. The security risk level in the Central African Republic, apart from the capital, was "red", or very high, the Chinese foreign ministry added. The ministry said it would work with governments and guide Chinese embassies and consulates to take further effective measures to fully safeguard Chinese citizens and enterprises in Africa. There have been several attacks on Chinese nationals abroad in recent months, prompting embassies to issue warnings and safety alerts and conduct evacuations.

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