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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.

☆ Younger Chinese are spurning factory jobs that power the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

For his father's generation, factory work was a lifeline out of rural poverty. For Zhu, and millions of other younger Chinese, the low pay, long hours of drudgery and the risk of injuries are no longer sacrifices worth making. Factory bosses say they would produce more, and faster, with younger blood replacing their ageing workforce. But offering the higher wages and better working conditions that younger Chinese want would risk eroding their competitive advantage. Yet young workers are vital to keep production moving.

☆ Ray Dalio says none of China's new leadership team appear to be 'extremists'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, received an award from the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA in February 2022. China News Service | China News Service | Getty ImagesBEIJING — American billionaire Ray Dalio said while he's far less familiar with China's new leadership team than prior officials, he expects worries about their future policies are overdone. Here are the highlights:China's leadership reshuffle"I want to emphasize that none of the new people appear to be extremists," Dalio said. Dalio said the leadership changes mean most of the people he knew who were "reformist-globalists" are being replaced. This week, Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden met in person for the first time since Biden took office.

☆ China to implement policies to boost private investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Nov 7 (Reuters) - China's state planner on Monday issued a notice saying it would further improve the policy environment to encourage the development of private investment, the latest move to prop up the faltering economy facing multiple headwinds. China will increase policy support to stimulate the vitality of private investment, stabilise market expectations and increase job opportunities, as "private investment accounts for more than half of the total social investments," said the notice. Beijing also said it woud support the development of the platform economy with a focus on investment of key projects such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain. Central-owned enterprises will be encouraged to step up the use of new products and technologies from private enterprises. Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ He Lifeng: China's expected new economic tsar has big shoes to fill
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Oct 30 (Reuters) - He Lifeng, head of China's state planning agency, is likely to succeed the country's economic tsar Vice Premier Liu He in March, but may struggle to maintain his predecessor's policy clout. That paves the way for He's expected promotion as the 70-year-old Liu is due to step down in March. The departing Liu, Xi's top economic adviser and a childhood friend, holds an unusually powerful portfolio: it covers economic policy, the financial sector and trade ties with Washington, overshadowing the role of outgoing Premier Li Keqiang. Some analysts say part of the expanded role that Liu built up during his time as economic tsar could be taken over by other top officials. "If He Lifeng does indeed get the job, his portfolio will overlap with that of the new Premier, Li Qiang," Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics said in a note.

☆ Xi Jinping just became unassailable. Here’s why investors are running scared
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Xi’s preference for personal loyalty over technocratic competence bodes ill for China’s already bleak economic outlook, analysts said. “In effect, Xi Jinping establishes an echo chamber around his own ideas,” she said. People watch the opening session of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress in Huaibei, in China's eastern Anhui province. Li Qiang, the party boss of Shanghai who presided over the city’s chaotic two-month lockdown, is now the second-highest ranking party official after Xi. The NDRC is China’s top economic planner, responsible for drafting the country’s economic plans and overseeing major state investment projects.

☆ China to promote foreign investment in manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it will promote foreign investment with a focus on manufacturing industries, after President Xi Jinping called in China to "win the battle" in core technologies during the Communist Party Congress that ended over the weekend. China will encourage foreign enterprises to invest in high-tech equipment and components, according to a statement published on the website of National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful planning agency. China will also strengthen financial support for foreign enterprises, including fund-raising by eligible enterprises through listings on China's stock markets, the statement said. Tuesday's statement also promised support for foreign enterprises posting personnel to China. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Investor fears about Xi's new leadership team 'may be misguided'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Li Qiang, likely to become the next premier, is pictured here speaking at a major annual financial conference in Shanghai in 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese stocks' plunge on Monday over fears about China's new leadership team "may be misguided," consulting firm Teneo said. Xi's leadership teamThe Politburo standing committee is the highest circle of power in China. Li Xi has led the export-heavy province of Guangdong as party secretary, while Cai Qi held the role for the capital city of Beijing. Mr Li [Qiang] has been widely regarded as a capable pro-market and pro-growth politician.

☆ Factbox: Who's in, who's out of China's new party Central Committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Over 2,000 delegates to a twice-a-decade congress of China's ruling Communist Party in Beijing elected a new 205-person Central Committee on Saturday that will set the course of Chinese policymaking for the next five years. Among the newly elected members of the Central Committee, the largest of the party's top decision-making bodies, was Xi Jinping, 69, who is widely expected to be named general secretary on Sunday, securing a precedent-breaking third term as its leader. Also on Sunday, the Central Committee will vote on its next Political Bureau, or Politburo, usually comprising 25 people, and its Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the pinnacle of power in China, helmed by Xi. Under an unofficial "seven-up, eight-down rule," PSC members who are 68 or older retire during the party congress. However, Premier Li Keqiang, although 67, was also left out.

☆ China is shifting from high-speed to high-quality growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina is shifting from high-speed to high-quality growthChina's National Development and Reform Commission names specific areas in which it encourages foreign investment in the country, against the backdrop of Beijing's new economic priorities. CNBC's Evelyn Cheng reports.

☆ China delayed the release of key economic data to avoid distraction amid the Communist Party Congress, not to conceal data, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China delayed the release of key economic data, including third-quarter GDP, scheduled for this week. The postponement of the data — GDP in particular — has raised speculation that the numbers are deliberately being hidden. "Beijing just wants everyone and the media coverage to focus on the Congress, not on economic data." While delays in monthly statistical data release are indeed "quite unusual," they are not unprecedented, according to Zhuang. However, it's the first time Beijing is delaying GDP data release.

☆ China showed 'significant' Q3 rebound but faces challenges-state planner
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Oct 17 (Reuters) - China's economy showed a significant recovery in the third quarter and employment is generally stable, said an official at China's economic state planner on Monday, but the economy still faces many challenges and difficulties. The comments come as the world's second-largest economy has grappled with stringent COVID-19 curbs and a deepening property crisis. "The improvement of the Chinese economy will be consolidated as the effects of macro policies continue to be released," said Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, at a news conference. China will unswervingly promote the opening up of its markets and give greater space for economic development in Hong Kong and Macau, Zhao added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Liangping Gao and Kevin Yao; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's new growth goals require a change for attracting foreign investors, official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING — A Chinese official confirmed Monday a shift in the country's growth goals and indicated things will change for foreign investment. "We also face a new situation for attracting foreign investment," he said. China relied heavily on foreign investment for its initial surge of growth in the 1990s to early 2000s when new government policies allowed greater foreign access to the market after decades of closure. Looking ahead, Zhao said Monday that China would encourage foreign investment in advanced manufacturing, higher-quality services, high-tech, energy conservation and environmental protection. He also noted specific support for such investment in the central, western and northeastern parts of China.

Then came the pandemic and a property crisis, and with them, clear evidence of the limits of the debt-fuelled, investment-driven model that had propelled China's economy and businesses like Shores'. "If there is no investment, consumption will be like a tree without roots," said Jia, who previously led a finance ministry think tank. Many uncertainties hang over China's economy: the zero-COVID policy, a crackdown on tech and other industries, geopolitical tensions and rising borrowing costs in export markets. China is widely expected to miss this year's 5.5% GDP growth target and Natixis estimates growth may not even top 3% a year into Xi's next mandate. Oxford Economics expects average annual GDP growth this decade to halve from the 1999-2019 average to 4.5% and slow to 3% in the decade after.

☆ Factbox: China's 20th Communist Party Congress: who could be in Xi's new team?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's Xi Jinping is widely expected to clinch a third five-year leadership at the upcoming congress of the ruling Communist Party, a mandate that would secure his stature as the country's most powerful ruler since founding leader Mao Zedong. Hu Chunhua, 59, vice premierHu is considered a candidate for elevation to the PSC and possibly to become China's next premier. Chen Miner, 62, Chongqing party secretaryChen is also a trusted aide and considered a candidate for the PSC. The only current female member, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, is 72 and therefore ineligible to serve another term under China's unofficial age norms. Li Xi, 65, party chief of Guangdong provinceLi, considered a trusted ally of Xi, may get a bigger job after the Congress.

☆ China to accelerate projects, boost consumption to spur recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA worker welds at the top of skyscraper Xiamen International Centre under construction in Xiamen, Fujian province, China December 23, 2017. REUTERS/StringerBEIJING, Sept 19 (Reuters) - China will speed up fund injections to expedite project construction and boost domestic consumption, China's state planner said on Monday, even after the economy showed signs of renewed momentum last month. Shanghai, which lifted a two-month Covid lockdown in June, said it would hand out "consumption vouchers" worth around 100 million yuan ($14.3 million) to residents starting Tuesday, for use in a major shopping district. The southern island province of Hainan on Monday also said it would issue vouchers, again totalling 100 million yuan, to make consumption the main driver of the recovery. "We estimate the current level of restrictions is suppressing the level of GDP in China by 4-5%."

☆ China's factories try to get back to normal as virus persists. But it's far from business as usual
▼ + stars: | 2020-02-14 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The new coronavirus that began to grab national attention in mid-January has killed more than 1,300 people in mainland China. He noted that given unique factors in China's political economic system, many local government officials are making containment of the virus the top priority. Cities with a low return rate include Guangzhou, the capital of China's largest province by exports. This year, authorities have encouraged people to stay put or return to their places of work in phases. There's also the worry that resuming operations at this point could lead to more infections, and further halts to business operations.

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