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Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, also increased at a faster 4.6% pace in August aided by the summer travel season, and was the quickest growth since May. The upbeat data suggest that a flurry of recent measures including property support policies to shore up a faltering economic recovery are starting to bear fruit. "Despite signs of stabilisation in manufacturing and related investment, the deteriorating property investment will continue to pressure economic growth," said Gary Ng, Natixis Asia Pacific senior economist. Ng said confidence remains the root of most problems requiring larger "constructive policy and regulatory changes" to boost growth momentum. For August, property investment extended its fall, down 19.1% year-on-year from a 17.8% slump the previous month, according to Reuters calculations based on NBS data.

Persons: Gary Ng, Ng, Albee Zhang, Liangping Gao, Kevin Yao, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, National Bureau of Statistics, Natixis Asia Pacific, Thomson Locations: Wuhan, Hubei province, China, BEIJING, U.S

☆ China developer Vanke sees pressure on profit amid market downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chinese state-backed property developer China Vanke said its profit would be under pressure in the short term amid a market correction, but that would not hurt its cashflow. Offshore, it said it has completed 15 billion yuan worth of offshore refinancing in the first half, and it is getting ready to repay its three bonds totalling 11 billion yuan maturing next year. Commenting on the broader market, company chairman Yu Liang China's property market has "overcorrected" as sentiment over-react to the negative news in the sector. As pressure mounts on the real estate market, more Chinese cities are easing mortgage curbs in hopes of reviving consumer demand for homes. ($1 = 7.2882 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stringer, HONG KONG, China Vanke, Vanke, Yu Liang, Yu, Clare Jim, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Dalian, Liaoning province, China, HONG, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Hubei, Guangzhou

☆ Gold prices to breach all-time highs? Some expect bullion to hit $2,500
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Spot gold prices hit a record intraday high of $2,072.5 on Aug. 7, 2020, according to data from Refinitiv. We also see a return of physical gold jewelry demand from China and India as both economies stabilize and retail spending returns. Gold prices tend to have an inverse relationship with interest rates. "We also see a return of physical gold jewelry demand from China and India as both economies stabilize and retail spending returns," Heng said. Chinese retail gold demand has been resilient in 2023 even as consumption of other commodities remained weak, Citi said in a July report.

Persons: Sven Hoppe, Bart Melek, Melek, David Neuhauser, Neuhauser, Randy Smallwood, Heng, Heng Koon, UOB Heng, Citi's, Doshi Organizations: Getty, Refinitiv, CNBC, Securities, U.S . Federal, Livermore Partners, Fed, Wheaton Precious Metals, greenback, Markets, Federal Reserve, Citi, Commodities, Future Publishing Locations: U.S, China, India, Yichang, Hubei province

Feeling the pinch of rising housing costs and a slowing economy, the jobless graduates are forfeiting cities that have traditionally provided a stepping stone to middle-class wealth. The numbers varied by region, with 59% of graduates in the well-developed east heading home. To keep costs down as they stay longer in hope of finding a job, some young mega-city drifters even share their beds with strangers. One such post was looking for a roommate to share one bed in a room "with a huge balcony" in Beijing. ($1 = 7.2004 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stringer CHINA, Joyce Zhang, I've, Zhang, China's, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Conor Humphries Organizations: Central China Normal University, REUTERS, China News Service, China's, Xinhua, Reuters, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Wuhan, Hubei province, China, BEIJING, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Inner Mongolia, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

☆ Long before whales, pioneering marine reptile was a filter-feeder
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Artist's reconstruction shows the Triassic Period marine reptile Hupehsuchus nanchangensis, based on fossils unearthed in China's Hubei Province. Hupehsuchus is believed to have been a filter-feeder, akin to some of today's baleen whales. "Baleen whales are mammals and Hupehsuchus are reptiles. Marine reptiles asserted themselves. Two other ancient marine reptiles - Paludidraco, which lived about 230 million years ago, and Morturneria, which lived about 70 million years ago - appear to have used some type of filter-feeding.

Persons: Shi Shunyi, Long Cheng, Handout, Hupehsuchus, Mike Benton, Cheng, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, University of Bristol, BMC, Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey, Hupehsuchus, Thomson Locations: Hubei Province, Hupehsuchus, England, Siberia, Washington

☆ New fossils reveal specialized eating technique of unusual ancient marine reptile
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An unusual ancient marine reptile may have gulped down tons of shrimplike prey using a feeding technique similar to one used by some modern whales. Fang et al/Courtesy University of BristolBut there hasn’t been much evidence in the fossil record for ancient reptiles using filter feeding, until now. These structures are similar to what’s seen in baleen whales, which have strips of keratin instead of teeth. “Baleen whales have grooves along the jaws to support curtains of baleen, long thin strips of keratin, the protein that makes hair, feathers and fingernails. It’s possible that the marine reptile didn’t start out with this ability.

Persons: Hupehsuchus nanchangensis, ”, Long Cheng, et, Li Tian, Hupehsuchus, Zichen Fang, Michael Benton, It’s Organizations: CNN, BMC, Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey, University of Bristol, China University of Geosciences, University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences Locations: China, Hubei province, China University of Geosciences Wuhan

☆ We expected more from Starbucks' quarter, but remain believers in the coffee brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bottom line It wasn't a bad quarter from Starbucks but with expectations low headed into the print, we wanted to see more. We also remain believers in the unrivaled name recognition of the Starbucks brand, which ended the quarter with a record 90-day active-user base of 31.4 million in the U.S., up 15% from last year. But the main focus for investors was on China, Starbucks' biggest market after the U.S. Revenues increased 51% from last year, to $821.9 million, with comparable stores sales up 46%. WUHAN, CHINA - OCTOBER 6: (CHINA OUT) An employee services in a Starbucks coffee truck at Wuhan International Plaza on October 6, 2022 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

Persons: we're, We're, Laxman Narasimhan, Narasimhan, That's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: Starbucks, Revenue, System, U.S, CNBC, Wuhan International Plaza, Getty Locations: U.S, China, North America, China —, WUHAN, CHINA, Wuhan, Hubei province

“I don’t necessarily need a higher paid job or a better life,” she added. College graduates looking for jobs at a fair in central China's Hubei province on July 20. A growing trendOn Douban, about 4,000 members of a group called “full-time children’s work communication center” discuss topics related to their daily “working” lives. By contrast, today’s “professional” children spend time with parents and do housework in exchange for financial support. In addition to her family duties, she’s busy applying for government jobs and taking exams for graduate school.

Persons: Litsky Li, Li, ”, “, headwinds, Zhang Dandan, ” hashtag, somethings, today’s, ’, Fang Xu, Nancy Chen, she’s, Chen, hasn’t, It’s, George Magnus, Magnus Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, College, CNN, Peking University, University of California, China News Service, Harvard University, China Centre, Oxford University, SOAS University of London Locations: Hong Kong, Luoyang, China's Hubei, Beijing, ”, China, University of California Berkeley, Jiangxi, Wanshou, China's Jiangxi

☆ One dead, 7 missing in central China highway landslide
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, July 9 (Reuters) - One person has died and seven were missing after a landslide overtook a highway construction site on an expressway in central China, local government officials said on Sunday. China's ministry of emergency management activated a level-four emergency response and sent a working group to the site to guide emergency handling, according to a WeChat post. The minister of emergency management urged authorities to find out what caused the landslide. Torrential rains in parts of China over several weeks have led to a number of deadly landslides. China's government has issued advisories about rain and other natural disasters for local governments to stay alert and respond quickly.

Persons: Bernard Orr, Qiaoyi Li, William Mallard Organizations: Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Saturday's, Hubei province, Sichuan province

☆ Shell CEO says EV charging stations in China are hot, predicts 'robust' oil and gas demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

British energy giant Shell is boosting its oil and gas production to book profits in the near term. Shell CEO Wael Sawan doesn't know where oil and gas demand is going to be in 10 to 15 years, he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday. The reality is, we don't know," Sawan told CNBC. But in the short and medium term, Shell sees "very robust" demand for oil and gas, Sawan told CNBC. Demand for biofuels is being driven by regulatory pressures in multiple parts of the world, Sawan told CNBC.

Persons: It's, Wael Sawan doesn't, CNBC's, Sawan, Shell, EVs Organizations: Shell, CNBC, EV, International Energy Agency Locations: Wuhan, Hubei, China, British, Asia, Europe

☆ The scarcity of water is emerging as a global economic threat. With China and India looking the most at risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ghosh warned that water scarcity must not be viewed as a sectoral issue, but one that "transcends the entire economy." Asian economies "must understand that it is a regional common good and it is in their own interest to mitigate the risks that come their way in order to prevent the economic shocks that severe water scarcity will impose," he said. India, now the world's most populous nation, will be the hardest hit from water scarcity. "Water scarcity is not particularly problematic to these industries because a lot of the water can be recycled. The Gezhouba dam water conservancy project of the Yangtze River after heavy rain in Yichang, Hubei Province, China.

Persons: Ritesh Shukla, Arunabha Ghosh, It's, Ghosh, Shanshan Wang, Wang, Wayne Middleton, Arup Organizations: Getty, Council, Energy, CNBC, World Bank, Lowy Institute, Arup, Visual China, Getty Images, Water, Future Publishing Locations: Peth, India, China, Asia, Philippines, Singapore, Kunming, Yunnan Province, Getty Images India, Taiwan, Yichang, Hubei Province

☆ China's temple visits skyrocket amid economic uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Economic uncertainty has driven temple visits and tourism to new heights, according to analysts and travel websites. Temple visits have surged this year more than fourfold from a year ago, according to recent data from Qunar and Trip.com, another travel site. Social media has also fueled the boom in temple tourism, as young people like to share their experiences on social networks, she added. Anhui Jiuhuashan Tourism Development, which runs the Jiuhua Mountain scenic area in central Anhui province, also shattered quarterly sales records. A small temple at Wudang Mountain in China's Hubei province pictured on October 27, 2004.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, ”, Qunar.com, Soeren, Yang Yan, Ryan Pyle, supplicants, “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Nanjing Securities, Social, Communist Party, Caitong Securities Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Qunar, Nanjing, Sichuan, Shan, Anhui Jiuhuashan Tourism, Anhui, Jiangxi province, Wudang, China's Hubei, Hangzhou

☆ Chinese tourists flock to gambling hub Macau for Labour Day holiday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Joyce Zhou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A view of visitors in front of the ruins of Saint Paul's during Labour Day holiday in Macau, China, April 30, 2023. REUTERS/Lam YikMACAU, April 30 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese visitors have descended on the world's biggest gambling hub of Macau for the Labour Day holiday, packing tightly into its narrow cobblestone streets and placing bets in its glitzy casinos. Coco Li, a 42-year-old woman from Hubei province who was visiting with her husband, said they chose to come to Macau because travel rules had relaxed. "We've been actively working with the Macau government on our labour requirements," the company said. Reporting by Joyce Zhou in Macau; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Study explains how primordial life survived on 'Snowball Earth'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Life somehow managed to survive during this time called "Snowball Earth," and a new study offers a deeper understanding as to why. "Our study shows that, at least near the end of the Marinoan 'Snowball Earth' event, habitable areas extended to mid-latitude oceans, much larger than previously thought. And the Earth spiraled into Snowball Earth conditions," Virginia Tech geobiologist and study co-author Shuhai Xiao said. Multicellular organisms including red algae, green algae and fungi emerged before the Cryogenian and survived "Snowball Earth." "It is fair to say that the 'Snowball Earth' events were significant challenges to life on Earth," Xiao added.

☆ Taiwan, China must do 'everything possible' to avoid war- former president Ma
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou meets the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Song Tao, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in handout picture released March 30, 2023. Ma Ying-jeou's Office/Handout via REUTERSTAIPEI, March 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan and China must do everything possible to avoid war and it is the responsibility of both sides' leaders to ensure peace, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou told a senior Chinese official on Thursday. Ma arrived in China on Monday, the first time a former or sitting Taiwanese president has visited the country since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. "The two sides must maintain exchanges, cooperate together, and do everything possible to avoid war and conflict." Ma, who was in office from 2008-2016, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in late in 2015 shortly before current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was elected.

☆ Thick sandstorms shroud Beijing and several provinces in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - Capital Beijing and several provinces in China will be affected by thick, dense sandstorms that will severely affect visibility, Chinese weather authorities said on Wednesday. The Central Meteorological Observatory issued yellow warning signals from Wednesday to early morning Thursday for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces. Many areas will have low visibility, weather forecasters said, cautioning drivers on speed. China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Beijing, which was also issued a yellow sandstorm warning, has experienced sand and dust storms over the past several days, causing pollution levels to drastically increase.

☆ Baidu's smart car business to test autonomous vehicles in Shanghai
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The Apollo logo is seen on a car of Baidu's driverless robotaxi service Apollo Go, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Josh Arslan/File PhotoHONG KONG, March 22 (Reuters) - Apollo, Chinese tech giant Baidu's (9888.HK) smart car business, has received approval to be among the first companies to test fully autonomous vehicles in Shanghai, China's largest city, it said on Wednesday. The business currently operates driverless robotaxi services in specially designated areas of Wuhan, Chongqing and Beijing. Reporting by Twinnie Siu and Eduardo Baptista Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

International researchers published a pre-print report based on their interpretation of the data on Monday, after leaks of their findings in the media last week and a meeting with the World Health Organization involving both the Chinese and international scientists. The data comprised new sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and additional genomic data based on samples taken from the Huanan market in Wuhan in 2020, according to the international researchers who accessed it. "This adds to the body of evidence identifying the Huanan market as the spillover location of Sars-CoV-2 and the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic," said the report. As of March 11, it was no longer accessible on the database, where it was found by the international scientists, their report said. "Other raw sequencing data from environmental samples from the Huanan market exist and could contain further clues," Debarre told Reuters.

☆ WHO, advisors urge China to release all COVID-related data after new research
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Access to the information was subsequently restricted “apparently to allow further data updates” by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WHO officials discussed the matter with Chinese colleagues, who explained that the new data were intended to be used to update a preprint study from 2022. "We continue to call on China to be transparent in sharing data, and to conduct the necessary investigations and share the results," he said. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was shut down by Chinese authorities after the novel coronavirus emerged in the city in late 2019. The market has since been a focus of study of whether the virus had infected several other species before jumping to humans.

☆ Volkswagen joins China price war as new emissions rule looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Guangzhou Automobile Group, the Chinese partner of both Honda Motor Co Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), has also offered subsidies running from March 15 to March 31. Chinese passenger vehicle sales fell 20% in January-February, industry data showed, even as some manufacturers offered reduced prices to stimulate demand. Sales of new energy vehicles, which include all-battery and plug-in battery-petrol hybrid vehicles, grew faster than the overall market, accounting for over 30% in February. In the same month, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ) outsold Volkswagen-branded cars for the second month in four. ($1 = 6.8923 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Since the Senate on March 1 passed the bill - by unanimous consent - it now goes to the White House for Biden to sign into law or veto. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his intentions. The debate was refueled last month, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. Four other U.S. agencies still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided. Representative Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said as he urged support for the measure.

☆ House votes unanimously to declassify intelligence on origins of Covid pandemic, sending bill to Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The House of Representatives on Friday unanimously voted to declassify information on possible links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Covid-19 pandemic, sending the bill to President Joe Biden. The Senate also voted unanimously earlier this month to require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify such information. President Joe Biden ordered the intelligence community in 2021 to provide an updated analysis of how the pandemic emerged. The intelligence agencies were divided on how Covid started spreading among humans, though they said a natural original and a lab leak were both plausible. The intelligence community agreed that Covid was not developed as biological weapon, and most agencies assessed that the virus was not genetically engineered.

☆ China spent years angrily trying to shut down the theory that COVID-19 came from its labs. It failed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China has pushed another theory, suggesting the COVID-19 may have jumped to humans from frozen food shipped from elsewhere in the world. Lab leak theory initially dismissedThe suspicion that COVID-19 may have leaked from a Wuhan lab has circulated since the earliest days of the pandemic. Trump sought to use the pandemic to discredit China, using the xenophobic term "China virus" to describe the disease. A group of scientists criticised the WHO for dismissing the lab leak thesis too hastily, and pointed to gaps in the report's evidence. Yet the lab leak theory has continued to gain credibility, despite China's efforts, and scientists who once dismissed it now think it's a credible explanation.

☆ China's COVID-19 epidemic has 'basically' ended, but not completely over
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Health authorities in China said on Thursday the country's COVID-19 epidemic has "basically" ended, but it is not completely over as it found seven imported cases of the highly-transmissible XBB.1.5 variant since Jan. 8. Officials, speaking at a news event with several departments attending, said China's "major decisive victory" over COVID has set an example for populous nations in prevention and control. Health officials and experts were also monitoring the XBB.1.5 sub-variant of Omicron for months. Officials said on Thursday one local case of the variant was linked with an imported case on Feb. 3. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Beijing Urges Rural Officials to Hire Humans—Not Machines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Workers checked a newly laid water pipe in Yichang City, Hubei Province, last year. An estimated 3 million low-skilled workers remain in the countryside as the number of jobs in cities has dwindled. HONG KONG—China’s top economic agency recently called on local governments to find more work for rural laborers, such as widening roads and digging canals—even if the tasks could more efficiently be done by machines. “If it’s possible to use human labor, do not use machines, and mobilize local residents to do the jobs,” said a directive released by China’s National Development and Reform Commission last month.

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