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☆ Volkswagen takes on China's EV market with a higher-end car and $1 billion investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Volkswagen's ID.7 is set for release in Europe and China in the fall of 2023, and in North America in 2024. CNBC | Evelyn ChengBEIJING — German automaker Volkswagen is investing about $1 billion in China for electric car development, and releasing a vehicle targeted at a higher end of the market. German investment in China grew by nearly 61% in the first quarter from a year ago, China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday. Overall, foreign investment in China grew by 4.9% year-on-year in the first three months of the year to 408.45 billion yuan ($59.33 billion). Vehicles for China will be produced locally, while those for Europe and North America will be produced in Germany, Volkswagen said.

☆ As China's birth rate slumps, political advisor urges egg freezing for single women
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lu, a fertility doctor in China's southern Hainan province, said giving single women access to freezing their eggs enables them "to preserve the eggs before they pass their peak reproductive years. Currently fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and egg freezing in China are banned for unmarried women. Lu's recommendations come as authorities try to bolster a faltering birth rate with incentives including expanding maternity leave, financial and tax benefits for having children as well as housing subsidies. Last year, China recorded its lowest ever birth rate, of 6.77 births per 1,000 people. While nine of the 10 most populous nations in the world are experiencing declines in fertility, China's 2022 fertility rate of 1.18 was the lowest and well below the 2.1 OECD standard for a stable population.

☆ Exclusive: EV maker Nio plans new 40 GWh battery plant in China- sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Nio's ES7 electric vehicle is displayed at the Chinese EV maker's showroom in Shanghai, China, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Nio (9866.HK) plans to build its first battery plant to produce big cylindrical cells similar to those used by Tesla, two people familiar with the matter said, as the Chinese EV maker seeks to cut its reliance on suppliers like CATL (300750.SZ). It will be located next to its main manufacturing hub in Hefei city, in eastern China's Anhui province, they said. Reuters is reporting the details of Nio's plan for the first time. Reporting by Zhang Yan, Zhuzhu Cui and Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ COVID-hit Chinese factories eye gradual recovery after Lunar New Year break
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But people running factories expect that the sudden U-turn will at least deliver a recovery that will be faster than what would have followed a phased withdrawal of controls. Economically, the country should finally leave behind a pandemic that suppressed domestic demand and snarled global supply chains for three years. LIMPING BACK TO NORMALLi's factories had to scramble last month, when up to a third of their workers were down with COVID at the same time. Her industry peer Li says his factories might even need to cut jobs later this year if external demand weakens. "If the U.S. economy enters a recession, then it's going to be very damaging to us," he said.

☆ Wrong Covid test results in China raise concerns 'the pandemic may never end'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Local frustration with Covid controls in China has increasingly targeted virus testing requirements and the big business they've fueled. The article listed several instances of allegedly forged virus test results this year across the country, including in Shanghai and Beijing. Last week, Lanzhou city health authorities blamed one of those companies for reporting some positive virus test results as negative. In the U.S., a surge of pop-up virus testing stations raised concerns of fraud as well as identity theft. In May, the central government promoted the idea that in large cities, a Covid testing station should be within 15 minutes' walking distance.

☆ China's services activity skids in October on COVID restrictions - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - China's services activity contracted again in October as COVID-19 containment measures hit businesses and consumption, overshadowing the economic rebound in the last quarter, a private-sector business survey showed on Thursday. An official survey on Monday also showed services activity, which relies more on face-to-face interactions, fell into contraction territory in October from expansion in the month prior. Surprisingly, the survey showed that efforts to expand staffing capacity and enhance sales capabilities led to a rise in employment across the service sector. read moreCaixin's composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, dropped to 48.3 in October from 48.5 the previous month, marking the lowest since May. The Caixin PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questions sent to purchasing managers in China.

☆ China's Nio resumes production at its two Hefei factories
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A Nio ES8 electric SUV changing its battery is seen inside a power station at a JAC Motors-NIO plant in Hefei, Anhui province, China December 14, 2018. REUTERS/Yilei SunBEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (9866.HK) said on Thursday it has resumed production at its two factories in the eastern city of Hefei, after COVID-19 curbs disrupted operations and delayed deliveries. "Production is resumed at the moment," said a company representative, declining to say whether it was a full or partial resumption. Nio said on Wednesday it had suspended production because of COVID curbs, leading to delays in deliveries when sales are booming, triggering a steep drop in its shares. Nio sold 10,059 cars last month, nearly three times its sales from October 2021, after introducing new models such as ET5.

☆ China vows commitment to growth as investors bet on easier COVID policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Even though case numbers are rising and disruptive lockdowns continue with no clear exit strategy in sight, investors latched on to hope that China may ease its strict COVID policy in the coming months. Renewed COVID lockdowns are weighing heavily on China's business activity and consumer confidence. read moreOPEN-DOOR POLICYYi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. While other countries have been tightening policy to battle rising prices, China has implemented an accommodative monetary policy to shore up sputtering growth, raising concerns about capital flight. With China's zero-COVID policy expected to remain in place through at least the winter, or longer, its near-term growth outlook is bleak.

☆ China vows commitment to growth as pressure on economy mounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Renewed COVID lockdowns are weighing heavily on China's business activity, consumer confidence and financial markets, adding to a sharp downdraft on the global economy from surging inflation and rising interest rates. OPEN-DOOR POLICYYi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. With China's zero-COVID policy expected to remain in place through at least the winter, or longer, its near-term growth outlook is bleak. After surprisingly high gross domestic product growth of 3.9% in the third quarter, Nomura expects growth to drop again, with zero or even negative sequential growth from the previous quarter. "We maintain our GDP growth forecast of 2.8% year-on-year for the fourth quarter with a corresponding sequential growth forecast at 0.0%."

☆ China's Nio suspends production due to COVID measures
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: NIO ES8, an all-electric sport utility vehicle, is displayed inside a NIO House "brand experience" store, in Beijing, China November 25, 2017. REUTERS/Norihiko ShirouzuBEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio said on Wednesday it has suspended production due to COVID-19 curbs, as rising cases across the country cause more disruptions to business activity. Local tech news outlet 36Kr reported that Nio had begun to face production challenges in mid-October due to virus prevention measures that eventually led to both of its factories in the central city of Hefei stopping work. The EV maker was also forced to suspend production in April after COVID curbs caused many of its supplier partners to stop work. Nio apologised to its customers on Monday in a statement disclosing its October delivery figures for delayed deliveries, saying its production base had been severely impacted by the pandemic.

☆ From Apple to Disney, China's Covid curbs are again hurting business Apple to Disneyland, everyone is suffering under China's draconian Covid curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New Delhi CNN Business —It has been almost three years since Covid-19 first hit China, but the country’s relentless adherence to lockdowns continues to hobble business and the economy. On Wednesday, authorities imposed a seven-day lockdown of the area that houses China’s biggest iPhone assembly factory, in the central city of Zhengzhou. State media has said that many Foxconn workers are among those walking miles on the highways to escape the factory. On Wednesday, Chinese state media outlet National Business Daily said that electric carmaker Nio (NIO) shut down two factories in the eastern city of Hefei because of Covid curbs. Authorities have ramped up Covid restrictions after Xi’s sweeping power grab at the Communist Party Congress last month, and cases are rising.

☆ China's Oct factory activity shrinks as COVID curbs hit output, demand - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 49.2 in October, up from 48.1 in September and slightly above analysts' expectations for 49.0. In line with China's official PMI, which unexpectedly fell into contraction last month, waning factory activity weighed on the fragile recovery of the world's second-biggest economy amid a deepening property crisis and weakening demand. The softer activity continued to pressure the labour market as the manufacturing employment fell for the seventh month in a row. "In particular, the spread of the coronavirus in many regions significantly restricts both supply and demand," Wang said. The Caixin manufacturing PMI centres on small firms and coastal regions where sit a great number of exporters.

☆ Analysis: China's mortgage boycott quietly regroups as construction idles
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Surveillance cameras are seen near residential buildings under construction in Shanghai, China July 20, 2022. "What will we do if construction still doesn't resume after six months? The threat of more mortgage boycott comes as China prepares to hold the Communist Party Congress next month, with efforts to revive an economy plagued by the property crisis in focus. 'APPEASE HOMEOWNERS'The mortgage boycott has added to worries about a prolonged slump in China's property market, which has lurched from crisis to crisis since mid-2020 after regulators stepped in to reduce leverage. Out of Evergrande's 706 projects, 38 have not resumed construction, while 62 were only now restarting.

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