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☆ U.S. and Britain accuse China-linked hackers of ‘malicious’ cyber campaigns, announce sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

BeeBright | Getty ImagesLONDON — The U.S. and U.K. on Monday accused hackers linked to the Chinese state of being behind "malicious" cyber campaigns targeting political figures, in moves expected to stoke tensions with Beijing. The British government also alleged that China-affiliated hackers were behind an attack that saw the data of millions of voters accessed. "I can confirm today that Chinese state-affiliated actors were responsible for two malicious cyber campaigns targeting our democratic institutions and parliamentarians," British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said in a speech to Parliament on Monday. "We want now to be as open as possible with the House and the British public," Dowden said. U.S. hits out at ChinaSeparately, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment Monday accusing Chinese state-linked hackers of being behind cyber campaigns targeting U.S. businesses, government officials and politicians.

Persons: Oliver Dowden, Dowden, Ni Gaobin, Weng Ming, Cheng Feng, Peng Yaowen, Xiong Wang, Zhao Guangzong, Merrick B, Garland Organizations: Getty, stoke, Electoral, Electoral Commission, Embassy, Google, APT31, U.S . Justice Department, DOJ Locations: U.S, Beijing, China, Britain, APT31 ., United States

☆ US airs concerns to China about 'dangerous and unlawful' South China Sea actions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Philippine supply boat sails near a Chinese Coast Guard ship during a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea, October 4, 2023. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United States and China held "candid" talks on maritime issues on Friday, including on the contested South China Sea, and the U.S. side underscored its concerns about "dangerous and unlawful" Chinese actions there, the U.S. State Department said. It described the talks as "substantive, constructive, and candid" and said they covered a range of maritime issues, including the South China Sea and East China Sea, which are contested by China and other nations. "The United States underscored concerns with the PRC's dangerous and unlawful actions in the South China Sea," it said, referring to the People's Republic of China. A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Arms Control Mallory Stewart would host Sun Xiaobo, head of the arms-control department at China's Foreign Ministry, at the State Department next week.

Persons: Adrian Portugal, Mark Lambert, Ocean Affairs Hong Liang, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Mallory Stewart, Sun Xiaobo, Biden, Xi, David Brunnstrom, Sandra Maler, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . State Department, Ocean Affairs Hong, State Department, APEC, U.S ., U.S, Arms, Sun, China's Foreign Ministry, Biden, Thomson Locations: Philippine, South China, United States, China, U.S, Beijing, Boundary, San Francisco, The U.S, South, East China, People's Republic of China, Washington

☆ China agrees to nuclear arms-control talks with US -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The flags of the United States and China fly from a lamppost in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., November 1, 2021. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 1 (Reuters) - China and the United States will discuss nuclear arms control next week, the first such talks since the Obama administration, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Those arms talks would be led on Monday by Mallory Stewart, a senior State Department official, and Sun Xiaobo, the head of the arms-control department at China's Foreign Ministry, the Wall Street Journal report said. Since then, U.S. officials had expressed frustration that China showed little interest in discussing steps to reduce nuclear weapons risks. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said the overdue arms talks would likely focus on promoting greater transparency of each countries' nuclear doctrines and more effective crisis-communication channels.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Obama, Wang Yi, Mallory Stewart, Sun Xiaobo, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Daryl Kimball, Kimball, Jasper Ward, Dan Whitcomb, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, Sandra Maler, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Wall Street, China's, State Department, China's Foreign Ministry, Wall, U.S . State Department, Reuters, U.S . National, Pentagon, Biden, Control, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Chinatown, Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, Washington, Russia, Beijing, San Francisco

☆ China weighs options to blunt U.S. sanctions in a Taiwan conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

"In the context of intensified Sino-U.S. strategic competition and the Taiwan Strait conflict, we should be wary of the U.S. replicating this financial sanction model against China," wrote Chen Hongxiang, a researcher at a branch of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in eastern Jiangsu province. Wang and several PBOC researchers wrote in articles that if the U.S. implemented Russia-style sanctions on China, Beijing should freeze U.S. investment and pension funds and seize the assets of U.S. companies. ENERGY AND ALLIANCESBesides financial sanctions, Russia's response to Western pressure on its oil, gas, metals, and chips industry has given food for thought to Chinese researchers. Chinese researchers also suggested Beijing exploit cracks within the European Union and between the U.S. and its allies. "The mutual penetration of the Chinese and American economies will inevitably weaken the willingness to impose financial sanctions," he wrote.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Chen Hongxiang, Xi Jinping, Yu Yongding, Yu, PBOC, Wang Yongli, Wang, Sun, Mou Lingzhi, Xia Fan, Ye Yan, Martin Chorzempa, Chorzempa, Chen, Eduardo Baptista, David Crawshaw Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Moscow, China, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Senior U.S, People's Liberation Army, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China International Futures, U.S ., China Center for International Economic, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, China Minmetals Corporation, London Metals Exchange, Oil and Gas Exploration, Development Company, European Union, Peterson Institute for International Economics, EU, Thomson Locations: Fuzhou, Taiwan, Matsu, China, Rights BEIJING, Russia, Ukraine, Jiangsu, Beijing, Russian, U.S, Hainan, Washington, United States

☆ China's industrial profits extend slump into seventh month
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A view of the automated container port in Qingdao in east China's Shandong province. Profits at China's industrial firms fell 6.7% in July from a year earlier, extending this year's slump to a seventh month with weak demand squeezing companies as a post-pandemic recovery faltered in the world's second-biggest economy. Profits were down 8.3% in June, according to the bureau, which only occasionally publishes monthly figures. "Commodity prices are running low, the pressure on raw material costs in the midstream and downstream industries has eased. Major banks have downgraded their growth forecasts for the year to below the government's target of about 5% as recovery sputters on a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth, prompting the authorities to slash interest and promise further support.

Persons: Sun Xiao Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics, Unit, NBS, Big, China Aluminum International Locations: Qingdao, Shandong

☆ China industrial profits extend double-digit slide on weak demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 27 (Reuters) - China's industrial profits extended this year's double-digit pace of declines into a sixth month as waning demand took a toll on companies' profit margins, bolstering the case for more supportive policy to help the economy. In June alone, industrial earnings shrank by 8.3% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. Profits dived for 29 of 41 major industrial sectors during the period, with the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry reporting the deepest slump at 97.6%. "Looking ahead, there's a big chance of China's industrial profits logging positive growth in 2024, said Zheng Houcheng, chief macro economist at Yingda Securities Co, attributing the turnaround in part to expectations for ramped-up stimulus. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) from their main operations.

Persons: Sun Xiao, there's, Zheng Houcheng, Ethan Wang, Qiaoyi Li, Ryan Woo, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Reuters Graphics, NBS, Yingda Securities, ramped, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: BEIJING

☆ China's industrial profits tumble, deepening economic gloom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - Annual profits at China's industrial firms extended a double-digit decline in the first five months as softening demand squeezed margins, reinforcing hopes of more policy support to bolster a stuttering post-COVID economic recovery. "The still slow recovery in industrial profits pointed to sustained difficulties facing business operations," said Wu Chaoming, deputy director of the Chasing International Economic Institute. Wu said the corporate struggles strengthen the case for more policy measures to help companies. "As the external environment becomes increasingly complicated and severe, domestic demand still appears to be insufficient, weighing on further recovery in industrial profits," said NBS statistician Sun Xiao in an accompanying statement, noting that the foundation for a revival in industrial profits is still not solid. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.77 million) from their main operations.

Persons: Wu Chaoming, Wu, Sun Xiao, Goldman Sachs, Li Qiang, Li, Qiaoyi Li, Ryan Woo, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Economic Institute, P Global, Summer, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Tianjin

☆ China's tumbling industrial profits deepens economic gloom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ China's industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilize external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ China industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilise external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ China's industrial profits slump deepens on soft demand, high costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The slump in Chinese industrial firms' profits deepened in the first two months of 2023, weighed by lacklustre demand and stubbornly high costs as the world's second-largest economy struggled to fully shake the long-term effects of Covid. NBS statistician Sun Xiao attributed the decline to still soft demand despite an uptick in industrial output, according to a statement on the bureau's website. "Currently, international commodity prices remain at high levels and overseas demand is still on a downtrend," Zhou wrote. "Industrial and manufacturing departments still need to offer policy support, alleviating fiscal, cost and financing pressures and stabilizing firm confidence." Foreign firms posted a 35.7% decline in profits, while private-sector firms saw their profits down 19.9%, according to a breakdown of the 887.21 billion yuan ($128.92 billion) profits.

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