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☆ Guangdong, China: Six dead after knife attack outside kindergarten in Lianjiang
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Six people have been killed and one injured in an early morning knife attack outside a kindergarten in southern China, according to Lianjiang city police and Chinese state-run media. Video footage from the scene, which circulated online and was then obtained and distributed by Reuters news service, show the assault took place outside a kindergarten. The video shows concerned residents passing by the site of the attack, where a sign outside reads “kindergarten,” and police tape being put up. CNN cannot independently verify details about the victims or the method of attack, and has reached out to local officials. China has faced a spate of mass stabbings in recent years, often targeting children; a 2020 knife attack at an elementary school injured 37 children in the southern Guangxi region, while a 2022 stabbing at a kindergarten killed three in eastern Jiangxi province.

Persons: Wu Organizations: CNN, Global Times, Police, Reuters Locations: China, Hengshan, Lianjiang, Guangdong, ”, Guangxi, Jiangxi

☆ China kindergarten attack kills six, sparks safety worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In August last year, three people were killed and six wounded in a stabbing at a kindergarten in the southern province of Jiangxi. In 2021, a man killed two children and wounded 16 at a kindergarten in the southwestern region of Guangxi. Attacks on children have also thrown a spotlight on mental health, which often goes under the radar due to cultural stigma attached to mental illnesses. Last month, a series of violent attacks in Hong Kong also raised the issue of mental health. Mental health experts point to the COVID-19 pandemic as a major factor behind an increase in mental health problems.

Persons: Wu, Bernard Orr, Judy Hua, Qiaoyi Li, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel Organizations: Media, Weibo, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China's Guangdong, Lianjiang county, Lianjiang, China, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Hong Kong

☆ Factbox: China's major germanium and gallium producers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China produces around 60% of the world's germanium, or 180 metric tons in 2022, and over 90% of the world's gallium, about 606 tons last year, according to research firm Antaike. YUNNAN GERMANIUM, AN ESTABLISHED PRODUCERHeadquartered in southwest China's Yunnan province, Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry Co. Ltd. (002428.SZ) extracts germanium from its own germanium mines and germanium-containing lignite coal mines. It has an annual capacity of 47.6 metric tons of germanium ingot, 60 tons of germanium tetrahydride - used to build 5G infrastructure - and 300,000 germanium wafers for solar cells. CHINALCO, A MAJOR GALLIUM PRODUCERState aluminium giant Chinalco has three gallium production plants, one each in central China's Henan and southwestern Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. It has annual production capacity of 200 metric tons of gallium metal and produced 146 metric tons in 2022.

Persons: Duan Xiangdong, Hope, Zhuzhou, Dominique Patton, David Evans Organizations: . Ltd, Aluminum Corporation of China, Zhuhai Fangyuan, Xing'an, Gallium, AXT Inc, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, YUNNAN, China's Yunnan, Yunnan, China's Henan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Shanghai, Zhuzhou, China's Hunan, Zhuhai, Guangdong, Shanxi, Nanjing, U.S, Beijing

☆ Explainer: How is extreme weather testing China's climate resilience?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING, July 5 (Reuters) - Dramatic swings between extreme heat and intense rainfall are testing China's ability to cope with increasingly wild weather, as high temperatures challenge power grids and water security while floods ruin crops and threaten urban populations. The average number of high-temperature days stood at 4.1 in January-June, already higher than the full-year average of 2.2 days. Heatwaves spur demand for electricity to cool homes, malls and offices, taxing power supply and even triggering blackouts. Factories also shut when power demand exceeds supply to meet demand from residential and non-industrial users. The southern province of Hunan, which produces around 13% of China's rice, has been hit by continuous rain since late June.

Persons: Qiaoyi Li, Ethan Wang, Qin, Ryan Woo, Andrew Hayley, David Stanway, Sonali Paul Organizations: Factories, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Yunnan province, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhengzhou, Guangxi, CHINA

☆ China’s real estate slump predicted to last for years, threatening to spill into the wider region
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesWeakness in China's real estate sector could be a drag on the economy for years to come and could even impact countries in the wider region, Wall Street banks have warned. "We only assume an 'L-shaped' recovery in the property sector in coming years," they said. watch nowGoldman Sachs economists also noted there are expectations for China's government to introduce more housing stimulus packages to support the sector. If the challenges in the property sector deepen and bring risk aversion in the financial system and affect consumer confidence, this will cause a deeper slowdown in China. watch nowHui said the government's push to cap property prices at a certain level could be missing a big chunk of potential buyers.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Lisheng Wang, Goldman, Tai Hui, Morgan Stanley, Hui, CNBC's, that's Organizations: Future Publishing, Reuters, Market Locations: CHINA, Nanning, South, Guangxi Zhuang, Wall, China, Asia

London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month tin has been treading water in a $23,700-26,800 range since the start of May. Although the demand outlook remains subdued, tin supply is facing two big threats, one from Myanmar and one from Indonesia, the world's largest exporter. Global tin supply, meanwhile, is now improving after an early-year drop in Indonesia shipments. Refined tin production fell year-on-year in May and Guangxi China Tin Group, the world's sixth-largest tin producer, has just announced a 40-50 day maintenance break from the end of this month, according to the ITA. Indonesia currently only has enough downstream capacity to absorb 5% of its domestic tin production, meaning that any restrictions will likely come in phases.

Persons: Minsur, International Tin Association . Tin, It's, David Evans Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Global, Shanghai Futures Exchange, U.S, Global Semiconductor, HIT, World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, Local, United Wa State Army, International Tin Association ., ITA, Guangxi China Tin Group, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Midwest, London, imploding, Myanmar, Indonesia, Peruvian, United States, Europe MYANMAR, Wa, China, Wa State, Guangxi China, INDONESIA

☆ Three die, farmland and trees damaged as storms sweep across China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, June 11 (Reuters) - Three people died in eastern China after strong winds toppled a shipyard crane, authorities said on Sunday, as storms caused damage across the country, including large swaths of farmland. In Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province in eastern China, large trees were felled on Saturday, crushing vehicles and blocking roads, local media reported. The measures include 275 million yuan for prizes to family farms and cooperatives to encourage high yield, CCTV reported. On Friday, heavy rain hit parts of southwest China, including Guangxi, engulfing roads and partially submerging buildings. ($1 = 7.1273 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Martin Quin Pollard; William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hailstorms, Ellen Zhang, Martin Quin Pollard, William Mallard Organizations: Twitter, CCTV, Liaoning Meteorological Service Centre, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Wuhu, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Wafangdian, Henan, Guangxi, rainstorms, Guangdong, Hainan, Hubei, Guangzhou

☆ Heavy 'dragon boat water' rains hit southwest China, some cities flooded
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) - Non-stop heavy rains lashed parts of southwest China on Friday, triggering floods in cities, engulfing roads and partially submerging buildings. A particularly harsh first bout of summer rains known locally as "dragon boat water" saw the city of Beihai in Guangxi log 453 millimetres on Thursday. Rain is forecast to continue in southern China over the coming days while the northeast is also expected to be hit by sudden thunderstorms, the weather bureau reported. China, prone to floods, is increasingly warning of more extreme weather due to climate change. The central province of Henan, the granary of China, was recently struck by heavy rainfall that caused crops to sprout or be hit by blight, triggering concerns about food security.

Persons: Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beihai, Guangxi, Yulin, Henan

☆ 'Relentless' heatwaves scorch southern China, test power grids
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Workers of grid operator China Southern Power Grid inspect power cables connecting transmission towers in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoBEIJING, June 2 (Reuters) - Having sweltered through May, southern and eastern China face more weeks of unrelenting heatwaves, putting power grids under strain as demand for air-conditioning soars in mega-cities like Shanghai. Like many parts of Asia, China has been besieged by extreme hot weather in recent weeks ahead of summer proper in the northern hemisphere. But how they are occurring - it's just been week on week on week of these records being shattered. Powerful convection weather has also wreaked havoc in central China in recent weeks, with protracted downpours and even hail devastating the country's ongoing wheat harvest.

Persons: Stringer, I'm, Sarah Perkins, Kirkpatrick, Gao Rong, Ryan Woo, Qiaoyi Li, David Stanway, Michael Perry, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: China Southern Power Grid, REUTERS, University of New, National Climate Centre, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Shanghai, Asia, Provinces, University of New South Wales, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Henan, Beijing, Singapore

In the next three days, most of southern China is expected to suffer temperatures of more than 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), with temperatures in some areas exceeding 40C, national forecasters said on Friday. Extreme hot weather beset China, like many part of Asia in recent weeks, even before summer arrived. But how they are occurring - it's just been week on week on week of these records being shattered," said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist with the University of New South Wales. ELECTRICITY DEMANDDemand for electricity in southern manufacturing hubs, including Guangdong, has surged in recent days, with China Southern Power Grid, one of the country's two grid operators, seeing peak power load exceeding 200 million kilowatts - weeks earlier than normal and close to historical highs. Powerful convection weather has also wreaked havoc in central China in recent weeks, with protracted downpours and even hail devastating the country's ongoing wheat harvest.

Persons: David Kirton, we've, Zhao, Yang, haven't, heatstroke, I'm, Sarah Perkins, Kirkpatrick, Mei, Gao Rong, Ryan Woo, Qiaoyi Li, David Stanway, Michael Perry, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: heatwave, REUTERS, Reuters, University of New, China Southern Power Grid, National Climate Centre, Thomson Locations: Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Shanghai, Asia, University of New South Wales, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Henan, Beijing, Singapore

☆ Farm animals, crops suffer from extreme weather affecting China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This year, extreme heat has ravaged many parts of the country even earlier than last year. Animals killedIn recent days, reports of farm animals killed by extreme heat have dominated the news. The pigs suffocated to death amid extreme heat and poor air circulation, Jimu News, a government-owned news website, cited an unnamed employee at the farm as saying. The heat wave was blamed for killing large numbers of farmed carp living in rice fields in the southwestern region of Guangxi. And more extreme weather events are likely to come.

Persons: Sheng Xia, El, El Niño, ”, Sheng, Wang Gang, Niño, Xi Jinping, Shi Guangming Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Meteorological Administration, Citic Securities, “, El, World Meteorological Organization, Qiushi, Communist, Villagers, China Today, China Media Group Locations: Hong Kong, China, Yunnan, Sichuan, El, Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Henan, Pingdingshan, Henan province, Xinjiang

☆ Toyota, partners to start selling electric micro-vans by March 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 18 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and two allied automakers unveiled a micro-sized electric van targeted at Japan's delivery industry on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima on Thursday. The small electric commercial van will run on a battery electric vehicle (BEV) system that Toyota is jointly developing with minivehicle specialists Daihatsu and Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T), the companies said in a joint statement. The roll-out by Toyota, which owns 4.89% of Suzuki, and its partners also comes as other automakers in Japan are expanding their lineups with electric mini-commercial vans. Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) said in December it would start selling a micro-sized commercial electric van with a target cruising range of 200km in spring 2024, as part of its effort to electrify its vehicle lineup. Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) in November re-launched its own small commercial van, Minicab-MiEV, which has a shorter cruising range of 133 km.

☆ Can the Zibo barbecue frenzy save China from economic crises?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Zhu Zheng/Xinhua/Getty ImagesSo many tourists flocked into Zibo, now dubbed China’s outdoor barbecue capital, that even the local tourism authorities urged visitors to go elsewhere. A few may, but most won’t.”A shop owner shows off grilled meat during a barbecue festival on April 29, 2023 in Zibo, eastern China. The city Zibo became a tourism hot spot after videos of its barbecue went viral online. China’s economy is navigating a growing array of challenges. The informal trade might reduce unemployment temporarily, and give people feeling poorer a boost, but it “won’t save China’s economy,” Tsang said.

☆ China's May Day holiday spending exceeds pre-pandemic levels for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Holiday spending during China’s Golden Week has surged past pre-pandemic levels for the first time in three years, in a sign the country’s travelers have fully emerged from the depths of Covid-related restrictions and are eager to live large to make up for lost time. Alipay, the country’s biggest digital payment app, reported a 200% increase in online holiday spending from a year earlier. “The fact that domestic tourism spending is now back to 2019 levels suggests that the reopening boost to consumer spending has largely run its course,” said Capital Economics analysts in a Thursday report. “The swift recovery in in-person services has been the major driver of China’s post-Covid recovery this year,” they said. However, “the lackluster property recovery, a global slowdown and rising geopolitical conflict remain major challenges for China’s recovery to be sustained.”

☆ Global rice shortage is set to be the largest in 20 years – here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The global rice market is set to log its largest shortfall in two decades in 2023, according to Fitch Solutions. "At the global level, the most evident impact of the global rice deficit has been, and still is, decade-high rice prices," Fitch Solutions' commodities analyst Charles Hart said. That would mar the largest global rice deficit since 2003/2004, when the global rice markets generated a deficit of 18.6 million tonnes, said Hart. "The global rice production deficit situation will increase the cost of importing rice for major rice importers such as Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and African countries in 2023," said Tjakra. "It is our view that global rice production will stage a solid rebound in 2023/24, expecting total output to rise by 2.5% year on year," Fitch's report forecast, hinging on India being a "principal engine" of global rice output over the next five years.

☆ Chinese officials step up foreign travel in race to find investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Their urgency highlights the pressure local governments face in boosting growth while burdened with cumulative debt of $9 trillion, said the sources who met Chinese officials in Hong Kong. The other executive and Yim said they had often attended as many as eight to 10 events a day with Chinese officials. Fengze, a district in the nearby city of Quanzhou, signed up procurement deals of up to 30 billion yuan from Hong Kong, the city's social media accounts showed. Shenzhen’s Boao district alone aims to attract 100 billion yuan in foreign investment this year, with 26 business managers and 10 officials responsible for key streets committing themselves to the task in a letter, Chinese media said. ($1=6.8810 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports fell sharply in 2022 because of the disruption caused by lockdowns to control the coronavirus epidemic and the massive exit wave of infections when they were lifted. But the import rebound could be smaller than some analysts anticipate because domestic gas production is rising strongly and the country has mostly completed its transition to natural gas for urban residents. Both LNG and pipeline imports remained subdued in the first two months of this year with any rebound delayed until later in 2023. China’s LNG purchasers have proved price-sensitive and will likely wait for prices to decline before increasing imports and refilling storage. PIPELINES NOT LNGThe shift from LPG and especially gasworks gas has turbocharged consumption of natural gas over the last decade.

In poorer areas, which are bleeding people and private business to urban centres, the task of providing jobs falls more squarely on local governments at a time they are struggling to raise revenue through income tax and state land sales. However, "budgetary and debt pressures are more acute for these provinces, so increasing expenditure comes with additional fiscal risks," Yuan noted. The local governments adding the most jobs in relative terms are also among the most indebted. The local governments of Gansu, Yunnan and Guangxi did not respond to a request for comment and Reuters could not establish exactly why the governments are ramping up hiring and how it will impact their finances. Moody's Yuan said local governments including Gansu have faced increased refinancing pressure to meet their debt obligations.

☆ Off-the-radar destinations every China visitor should consider
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

JingdezhenLarge chimneys, used for firing porcelain, dot the skyline of Jingdezhen city. gui yong nian/Adobe StockDubbed the porcelain capital of the world, Jingdezhen has been firing quality pieces of “white gold” for more than 1,700 years. For a crash course in the city’s porcelain history, visit the newly built and photogenic Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum of China. LinhaiLinhai's historic city wall stretches more than 6,000 meters in length. Food aside, travelers should leave time to admire this historic city that dates back more than 2,000 years.

☆ Column: China's Q1 coal imports jump to new highs as factories throttle up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Total thermal coal imports through March soared 81% from the same period a year ago to 65.7 million tonnes, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. SOUTHERN SURGEPorts feeding China's south coast saw the largest year-over-year increase in thermal coal imports. China's coal imports hit new highs in Q1 2023While China as a whole uses domestic coal production for over 90% of its coal needs, most of Southern China's coal-fired power plants rely overwhelmingly on imports. The region imported over 106 million tonnes in 2021, indicating a quarterly pace in excess of 25 million tonnes can be maintained if power needs dictate. In combination, all of China's main economic hubs are on track to steer the country's thermal coal imports to new heights in 2023, reversing the slump seen in China's coal use in 2022.

☆ Beijing still seeking answers a year after China Eastern plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

While the MU5735 tragedy like all aircraft disasters was complex, the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the aircraft were recovered days after the crash, he added. A final report into the causes of the crash could take two years or more to compile, Chinese officials said last year. Boeing declined to comment and China Eastern did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were sent to a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) laboratory in Washington, a move Beijing had supported despite rising political tensions between the two countries. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said last week the agency has had a "really good working relationship with China" during the investigation.

☆ China still seeking answers a year after plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING/WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - China's aviation regulator said Monday investigators were still looking into the cause of the crash of China Eastern Airlines' Flight MU5735, almost a year after the plane came down, killing all 132 people on board. On the eve of the anniversary, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said experts had already inspected more than 100 pieces of wreckage. NTSB investigators also traveled to China. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said last week the agency has had a "really good working relationship with China" during the investigation. A final report into the causes of the crash could take two years or more to compile, Chinese officials said last year.

☆ China’s economic recovery is on track. But youth unemployment is getting worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s economic recovery appears to be on track as it gradually emerges from three years of its strict zero-Covid policy. But rising youth unemployment underscores the tough challenges ahead for the new government to achieve its economic targets and maintain social stability. “The economic data released today confirmed the recovery in China was well on track,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. Recent PMI figures had indicated a strong recovery in China’s economic activity, with February’s factory output from large, state-owned enterprises hitting the highest level in more than a decade. A large number of employment seekers line up outside a job fair in Nanning, Guangxi province on February 18, 2023.

For now, by building in Ohio, Foxconn can offer customers access to U.S. federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Kylie Huang said. That's a selling point as traditional automakers juggle building gasoline-powered vehicles with plans to build their own EV capacity. "If they don't get one this year, next year will be more difficult," Huang said of Foxconn's search for an EV contract with a traditional automaker. "Sooner or later, maybe the top, traditional (automakers) say, 'Hey, I want to become a product marketing company. Foxconn wants to build around 300,000 EVs at the plant, Ian Upton, director of production control at Foxconn Ohio, told Reuters.

☆ Global asset managers in China grapple with fraudulent investor schemes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Such scams have become so widespread that China's securities regulator issued a rare statement on Thursday cautioning investors against fund-raising schemes purporting to be from foreign asset managers. The online rackets add reputational risks for global asset managers already suffering from trademark disputes, geopolitical worries, and cut-throat competition in China. "Swindlers mushroom when the economy is bad," said an executive at a consultancy that serves global asset managers in China. "Cheaters and life-long learners ... some tech-savvy ones would even copy the programming of a foreign money manager's website," he said. Scams using Van Eck's brands first emerged in China's southern Guangdong and Southwestern Guangxi provinces, and later sprung up in central Sichuan province, the source said.

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