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☆ China's State Council shakeup aims to counter rising US tech restrictions and financial risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“These proposed institutional changes reflect key focus areas of Chinese policymakers in the next few years, namely improving financial regulation coordination to enhance financial stability,” Goldman Sachs analysts said on Wednesday. Among the changes announced Tuesday during the annual gathering of the National People’s Congress, Beijing will set up a new powerful financial regulator: the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA). VCG/Getty ImagesA super regulatorChina’s financial system has traditionally been jointly overseen by the People’s Bank of China, the CBIRC and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The new regulator is meant to “better manage risks” in the financial system and strengthen the supervision of “institutions, behaviors, and functions,” the government proposal said. The move comes as risks to the stability of China’s financial system are rising amid a housing market slump and economic slowdown.

☆ Factbox: What is China's new government restructuring plan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The restructured ministry will be overseen by a newly created Communist Party body, the Central Science and Technology Commission, strengthening party oversight of science and technology policy. A new national data bureau will be responsible for coordinating the sharing and development of data resources, as well as planning the digital economy and promoting initiatives. Since taking power in 2012, Xi has established several new central party committees overseeing multiple ministries, which report directly to him. Analysts expect the party reforms to be revealed soon after the NPC concludes its meetings on Monday. A top-level party financial watchdog, the Central Financial Work Commission, is likely to be resurrected after the NPC, sources earlier told Reuters.

☆ China plans to revamp finance, tech oversight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Lintao Zhang | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China plans to overhaul its financial regulatory system by consolidating aspects of the central bank and securities regulator under a new entity, while doing away with the existing banking regulator. The moves also come as Beijing has increased regulation on parts of the economy that had developed quickly, with little oversight. The latest plan calls for the establishment of a National Financial Regulatory Administration, which replaces the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and expands its role. watch nowThe China Securities Regulatory Commission's investor protection responsibilities are set to shift to the new financial regulator. "China's consolidated financial regulatory body is [a] paradigm shift to ramp up oversight of its vast financial system," said Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University.

HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China has announced plans for a national data bureau, describing it as part of an effort to coordinate data resources in the country and to achieve a vision of "digital China" conceived by President Xi Jinping. Xi's vision for a "digital China" aims to see the country populated by smart, internet-connected cities and data treated alongside labour and capital as a key factor to drive the economy and help China compete more effectively globally. In December, China's top leadership published an outline of how China should develop basic data systems and utilize the country's data resources. Last week, they unveiled a new plan that aims for the country to lead digital development globally by 2035. Areas to watch include big data infrastructure, data processing, the digitization of government data as well as data encryption, they added.

☆ China to set up new financial regulator in sweeping reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The new financial regulator will replace the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and bring supervision of the industry, excluding the securities sector, into a body directly under the State Council, or cabinet. The proposal for setting up the new regulator, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, was presented to China's parliament during its annual meeting on Tuesday. China's financial sector is overseen by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the CBIRC, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), with the cabinet's Financial Stability and Development Committee having overall responsibility. The setting up of the new financial regulatory body comes as Beijing seeks to rein in large corporate and financial institutions that may bring systemic risks via regulatory arbitrage among multiple authorities. 'STRENGTHEN SUPERVISION'The new administration will "strengthen institutional supervision, supervision of behaviours and supervision of functions", according to the plan.

☆ China to form a national bureau to manage its troves of data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, March 7 (Reuters) - China will form a national data bureau that will be responsible for coordinating the sharing and development of the country's data resources, according to a plan submitted on Tuesday to parliament. The proposed bureau will be administrated by the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the plan said. This has included issuing a series of new laws that require organisations with large user bases undergo assessments and obtain approvals when handling data. Some firms are struggling with a deadline requiring them to seek approval to export user data. "Multinationals will no doubt want to understand how a centralised data regulator will interface with overseas stakeholders."

☆ China takes a cautious approach to its economy in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Beijing announced Sunday a target of "around 5%" growth in gross domestic product for 2023, with only a modest increase in fiscal support. "The government's conservative growth target of 5% for 2023 recognizes that the pickup in China's growth continues to face headwinds," Martin Petch, vice president and senior credit officer, Moody's Investors Service, said in a note. "Some local governments are finding economic recovery difficult and are facing prominent fiscal imbalances," the report said. Consumption is keyConsumption can become the primary driver of economic growth this year, Li Chunlin, deputy director at the NDRC, told reporters Monday. An overall recovery in the economy can help fiscal revenues grow, and boost demand for workers, he said.

☆ China to promote vaccine development, new medicines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China will prevent and control health outbreaks in a more scientific, precise and efficient way, and upgrade vaccines and develop new medicines to ensure enough supply for the public, Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday. Last month, China's top leaders declared a "major victory" over COVID, claiming the world's lowest fatality rate, although experts have questioned that data. During last year's parliament meeting, the government said the country would speed up research and development of vaccines and drugs. On Sunday, the NDRC also said China will make continuous efforts to ensure the production, distribution and supply of key medical supplies. Reporting by Ethan Wang and Bernard Orr; Editing by William Mallard and Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 6 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. Monetary policy decisions from Australia and Japan on Wednesday and Friday, respectively, will be market-moving events too. Before that however, investors have a deluge of headlines from China this weekend to digest. Inflation figures from South Korea, The Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan this week will be closely watched by investors and policymakers alike. With the Fed seemingly on track to tighten policy further, a renewed rise in the dollar could intensify FX-fueled inflationary pressures in Asia.

☆ China leans on coal amid energy security push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Andrew Hayley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Soaring global energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and domestic supply disruption have prompted Beijing to step up its focus on energy security in recent years. Fluctuating output from renewable plants, however, has led policymakers to lean on reliable and easily dispatchable coal power to shore up the country's baseload supply. "The energy security narrative is still going strong," said Greenpeace China policy advisor Li Shuo. Concerned about supply shortages amid high global prices, the planner pledged to "strictly control the expansion of projects to replace coal with natural gas". "(We shall) develop sound mechanisms to adjust urban end-user prices of natural gas in step with procurement costs," the report said.

[1/5] Elderly visitors enjoy the sunshine, at a nursing home of Lendlease's Ardor Gardens in Shanghai, China February 27, 2023. Lim says "stigma" around retirement homes in China is quickly disappearing. About 4% of people aged 65 and over in Britain live in retirement homes, according to information service Lottie. Ding Hui, China managing director at Australian real estate firm Lendlease (LLC.AX), expects demand for retirement homes to rise sharply in the next five to 10 years. Government-run nursing homes with basic facilities in Shanghai and Beijing are much cheaper, at about 2,000 yuan ($290) a month.

☆ This is one metal investors can consider buying on dip 'at any chance' they get, according to an analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The benchmark 62%-grade iron ore last traded at $126.80 per ton. Vincent Mundy | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFalling prices for global crude steel output could also contribute to lower iron ore prices. "Global crude steel output fell modestly in year-on-year terms last month ... The result was driven by a fall in steel output amongst most of the world's largest steel producers." World crude steel output recorded a 3.3% drop in January compared to the same period last year, according to the World Steel Association.

☆ Meet the 4 men tipped to run China’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —The team of Communist Party officials running China’s economy is about to get a major makeover. They include the four men tipped to manage the world’s second biggest economy: Li Qiang as premier, Ding Xuexiang as executive vice premier, He Lifeng as vice premier and Zhu Hexin as the new central bank chief. That puts the 63-year-old in line to succeed Premier Li Keqiang when he steps down during the upcoming congress. Li would be the first premier since the Mao era not to have previously worked at the State Council, China’s cabinet, as vice premier, analysts say. Stringer/ICHPL Imaginechina/AP/FileThe 68-year-old would succeed Vice Premier Liu He, who led China’s negotiations with the United States during trade talks in 2018 and 2019.

[1/7] Farmer Wang Zhanling sits next to his wife in their house in Quansheng village, Heilongjiang Province, China, February 8, 2023. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035. "If the pension system does not change, this is unsustainable," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The province has the lowest birth rate in China, with just over 100,000 births in 2021 and 460,000 deaths. Many experts, including Macquarie's chief China economist Larry Hu, suggest implementing a unified national pension system, backstopped by the more resourceful central government rather than cash-strapped local administrations.

SYDNEY/HONG KONG, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New rules laying out how Chinese companies can list outside mainland China will often mean getting a nod from several domestic government agencies, potentially making for a lengthy approval process, investment bankers say. On one hand, the rules provide clarity after a regulatory crackdown by Beijing since mid-2021 that has slowed U.S. listings by Chinese firms to a trickle. Those hoops, combined with U.S.-Sino tensions over a multitude of issues from suspected spy balloons to trade friction, means a rush of Chinese firms seeking initial public offerings in New York is unlikely. Last year, U.S. listings of Chinese firms were worth less than $230 million, according to Refinitiv data, a massive drop from $12.9 billion in 2021. "I don't think an overseas listing for the start-up would get the Chinese regulatory nod due to data security.

☆ China says will craft policies to help economy, improve child care
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Joe Cash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 16 (Reuters) - China's state planning body and finance ministry on Thursday said they will craft policies aimed at stimulating spending on housing and unlocking consumer savings that have been built up during the pandemic. The announcements, reported by state media, also included plans to help the elderly, improve child care services and encourage couples to have more children. The National Development and Reform Commission, China's state planner, will also work on plans to boost incomes, improve the spending power of low and middle-income citizens while encouraging spending on housing, new energy vehicles and elderly care services, it said in the ruling Communist Party journal Qiushi. Chinese government officials have consistently spoken of the need to boost domestic demand this year after economic growth in 2022 slumped to one of its weakest levels in nearly half a century. Reporting by Joe Cash, Ethan Wang and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur 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.

☆ Exclusive: China eyes help for shell-shocked consumers but big stimulus unlikely-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

That has raised expectations that hefty household stimulus measures could be announced at a parliament meeting in March. Prominent academics have felt emboldened to speak publicly about sizeable demand-side measures such as 1 trillion yuan ($148.28 billion) or more in consumption vouchers. Some analysts say pent-up demand during the pandemic may be enough for consumption to grow with little policy support. Household savings jumped 7.9 trillion yuan last year to 17.8 trillion yuan. Several Chinese cities have already offered about 5 billion yuan in consumption vouchers and subsidies in total since December.

☆ China fixed-asset investment approvals almost doubled in 2022 to $218 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Joe Cash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - China's state planner approved 1.48 trillion yuan ($218.35 billion) worth of fixed asset investment projects in 2022, nearly double the value from the previous year, as authorities geared up to support the COVID-hit economy. Looking to 2023, the NDRC spokesperson remarked that the country's economic recovery remains complicated given that China must grapple with shrinking demand, supply chains shocks and turbulence in the global economy. China's exports shrank sharply in December as global demand cooled, contracting 9.9%, while imports fell by a more modest 7.5%. Officials also addressed the country's grain supply, commenting that the NDRC could ensure the safe supply of grain despite the challenges the market is facing. Reporting by Joe Cash and Shen Yan; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China coal output in Dec slips on COVID; rises to record in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China produced 402.69 million tonnes of coal last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday, equivalent to 12.99 million tonnes per day. That compares with 13.04 million tonnes per day in November, and 12.41 million tonnes in December 2021. Total production for 2022 rose to a record 4.496 billion tonnes, 9% higher than output in 2021, data from the NBS showed. China's coal production is expected to expand further in 2023 amid Beijing's emphasis on bolstering energy security. The country is assessed to have approved 260 million tonnes of coal mining capacity in 2022, bringing total capacity to 5.05 billion tonnes.

☆ China approves 17 bln yuan hydro power plant in Qinghai province
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Jan 2 (Reuters) - China Energy Investment Corporation said on Monday China's National Development and Reform Commission in Qinghai province has approved a hydro power plant worth 17 billion yuan ($2.46 billion) on Dec. 30 in the province. The plant is a so-called pumped storage hydropower facility that is used to pump water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir during periods of high electrical demand. The plant will start full production in 2028. ($1 = 6.8972 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's economy picking up but "arduous efforts" needed to sustain momentum - state planner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - China's economy is expected to pick up, but "arduous efforts" are needed to sustain the recovery in growth due to an adverse external environment and the global economy's loss of momentum, the country's top state planner said on Friday. "At the same time, we are aware that the economy is facing a more complex and severe external environment, and weakened growth momentum for the global economy," the spokesperson said. As investment in the property sector slumped significantly, the NDRC said the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors shored up fixed asset investment growth with their capital formation accounting for 26.7% of China's economic growth in the first three quarters. As the Lunar New Year holiday season approaches, the state planner vowed to release state pork reserves in a timely manner in order to keep prices stable. To spur a COVID-hit economy, China has set out plans to expand domestic consumption and investment, state media reported on Wednesday.

HONG KONG/BEIJING, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators and state-owned banks are taking steps to split staff at their workplaces in Beijing, sources told Reuters, as businesses brace for a possible spike in COVID cases after China relaxed virus restrictions in a major policy shift. Other staff are required to work from home, they added. Among China's big four state-owned banks, Bank of China (BOC) (601988.SS) has released a notice to staff that it would split its Beijing workforce into three groups, working in the office on alternate weeks, said a person with direct knowledge. But the bank has yet to decide when to start such rotations, the person added. Other large state banks have also made similar arrangements - splitting up staff into rotating shifts while maintaining a maximum of 10%-20% of staff occupancy in their headquarters in Beijing, said two other people with knowledge of the matter.

☆ China's 'social credit' system ranks citizens and punishes them with throttled internet speeds and flight bans if the Communist Party deems them untrustworthy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Katie Canales | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Since China doesn't have a central social credit system, many local government agencies have been experimenting with what the system could look like. But the plan is for the social credit system to eventually be mandatory and unified across the nation, with each person given their own unique code used to measure their social credit score in real-time, per Wired. In fact, a national social credit system is currently being proposed. Companies will also be at risk if China passes on its Establishment of the Social Credit System law. Citizens with good social credit can also get discounts on energy bills, rent things without deposits, and get better interest rates at banks.

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