DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ China domestic tourism picks up over Lunar New Year as COVID curbs end
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A total of 308 million tourism trips within China have been made during the current holiday period, up 23.1% from 2022's Lunar New Year break and marking a recovery to 88.6% of the number in 2019, data from the culture and tourism ministry showed on Friday. Revenue generated from domestic tourism during this year's holiday stands at 375.84 billion yuan ($55.41 billion), or 73.1% of that in 2019, according to the tourism ministry data. Authorities in early January ended a requirement that inbound travellers had to undergo hotel quarantine upon arrival, a policy that had crippled international travel. Despite the jump, international travel over the holiday period has yet to rebound to pre-COVID levels. During the Lunar New Year holiday in 2019, a total of 12.53 million cross-border trips were made, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

☆ China says COVID deaths, severe cases have fallen over 70% since peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China Daily via REUTERSHONG KONG, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The CDC said the number of critically ill patients in China peaked on Jan. 4 at 128,000 cases and fell to 36,000 cases by Jan. 23. The number of deaths in hospitals, meanwhile, reached a daily peak of 4,273 on Jan. 4 and fell to 896 by Jan. 23. Visits to fever clinics fell 96.2%, from a peak of 2.867 million on Dec. 22 to 110,000 on Jan. 23. On Jan. 12, authorities announced that nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospitals since China dismantled its strict zero-COVID policy.

☆ Chinese pray for health in Lunar New Year as COVID death toll rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Alessandro Diviggiano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

One Beijing resident said she wished the year of the rabbit will bring "health to everyone". "I think this wave of the pandemic is gone," said the 57-year-old, who only gave her last name, Fang. Chinese health experts say the wave of infections across the country has already peaked. The death count reported by Chinese authorities excludes those who died at home, and some doctors have said they are discouraged from putting COVID on death certificates. The possibility of a big COVID rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, Wu said.

☆ China says COVID outbreak has infected 80% of population
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The possibility of a big COVID-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, a prominent government scientist said on Saturday. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are travelling across the country for holiday reunions that had been suspended under recently eased COVID curbs, raising fears of fresh outbreaks in rural areas less equipped to manage large outbreaks. China has passed the peak of COVID patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and with critical conditions, a National Health Commission official said on Thursday. Nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospital as of Jan. 12, roughly a month after China abruptly dismantled its zero-COVID policy, according to government data. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Death toll from Tibet avalanche rises to 28
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed in an avalanche in the city of Nyingchi in the southwestern region of Tibet, the official Xinhua news agency reported late on Friday. Fifty-three survivors were found, five of whom were seriously injured, Global Times reported, citing a local government official in the western Chinese region. read moreWith an altitude of nearly 4,500 metres (14,764 ft), Doxong La mountain has steep slopes and Doxong La section of the road is rugged. The avalanche was triggered by strong winds as the weather gets warm, Xinhua added. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] A medical worker helps a patient receiving treatment at the emergency department of a hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 17, 2023. Some health experts expect more than one million people will die from the disease in China this year, with British-based health data firm Airfinity forecasting COVID fatalities could hit 36,000 a day next week. Hospitalisations rose by 70% on the previous week to 63,307, according to the WHO, citing data submitted by Beijing. China said last Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospital between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12 - a roughly 10-fold increase from previous disclosures. However, that number excludes those who died at home, and some doctors in China have said they are discouraged from putting COVID on death certificates.

☆ Didi Global's ride-hailing app back on Apple app stores in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Chinese technology company Didi Global's domestic ride-hailing app has returned to China's domestic Apple app store (AAPL.O), according to checks by Reuters on Friday. It also returned to some Android app stores on Tuesday. read moreDidi has been awaiting approval to resume new user registrations and downloads of its 25 banned apps in China as a key step to return to normal business since its regulatory troubles started in mid-2021. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ JPMorgan, Standard Chartered win approval to expand in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 19 (Reuters) - JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Standard Chartered won Chinese regulatory approval on Thursday to expand operations in China, as Beijing encourages expansion by foreign companies after lifting its restrictive COVID policies. British bank Standard Chartered (STAN.L) won an approval to set up a new securities brokerage unit in China also on Thursday, the regulator said. Canada's Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO) in November received regulatory approval to take full control of its Chinese mutual fund venture. U.S. asset manager Neuberger Berman in the same month won approval to set up a new fund unit in China. "China is certainly going to be bit of a long slog," Alexander said, referring to China's lengthy approval process for foreign companies.

China said last Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID died in hospitals between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12 - a roughly ten-fold increase from previous disclosures. However, that number excludes those who die at home, and some doctors in China have said they are discouraged from putting COVID on death certificates. China's chaotic exit from a regime of mass lockdowns, travel restrictions and frequent COVID testing, has also prompted a run on drugs as people fend for themselves against the disease. To meet soaring demand, drugmakers in China are ramping up operations to triple their capacity to make key fever and cough medicines, the state-run China Daily reported on Thursday. Medical facilities are relatively weak in rural areas, thus prevention is difficult and the task is arduous," Xi said, adding that the elderly were a top priority.

☆ China's Xi says COVID containment still under stress - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping said the country's COVID-19 prevention and control is still going through a time of stress but the light is ahead, state media CCTV reported on Wednesday. Xi said there is a need to expand medical resources, increase supply of medical services and the availability of medicines, CCTV reported. He made the comments during a virtual meeting with medical staff in a hospital in northeastern Heilongjiang province. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/StaffBEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Former high school teacher Ailia was devastated when her 85-year-old father died after displaying COVID-like symptoms as the virus swept through their hometown in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. Her father died in late December, weeks after China dropped its COVID restrictions. Among those fatalities, 90% were 65 or older and the average age was 80.3 years, a Chinese official said on Saturday. Hong recalls visiting with her father to a crowded Wuhan crematorium to collect the ashes of her grandparents - a grim but common experience during China's COVID surge. Relatives were likewise sceptical about official death tolls, with several citing lost trust in the government during three years of "zero COVID" pandemic management.

☆ China approves 88 games in January, including titles by Tencent and NetEase
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's video games regulator on Tuesday granted publishing licences to 88 online games, including titles belonging to Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), NetEase Inc (9999.HK) and miHoYo. Shenzhen-based Tencent, the world's largest gaming company, received at least one game licence for a mobile game named "Yuanmengzhixing", the list published by the National Press and Public Administration showed. NetEase, China’s second largest gaming company, also received a licence for a shooting game named "Chaofanxianfeng". miHoYo, the famed developer behind Genshin Impact, secured one licence for a game named Honkai: Star Rail. Unlike in most other countries, video games need approval from regulators before release in China, the world's largest gaming market.

If doctors believe that the death was caused solely by COVID-19 pneumonia, they must report to their superiors, who will arrange for two levels of "expert consultations" before a COVID death is confirmed, it said. "We have stopped classifying COVID deaths since the reopening in December," said a doctor at a large public hospital in Shanghai. Three other doctors at public hospitals in different cities said they were unaware of any such guidance. Before Saturday, China was reporting five or fewer COVID deaths per day. But the hospital told him it had run out of medicine, so they could only go home.

☆ Chinese EV maker Xpeng joins Tesla, Seres in price cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Xpeng lowered the starting prices for its best-selling pure electric P7 sedan to 209,900 yuan ($31,015), according to the notice, 12.5% lower than its previous level. EV makers, though many of them still loss-making, are therefore under pressure to cut prices to sustain sales volumes. Xpeng said it would offer car owners who purchased automobiles before the price cut extended maintenance services for free as compensation. Xpeng is also counting on a revamped version of the three-year-old P7 sedan to be launched in the first quarter to boost sales. The EV maker sold 59,066 P7 cars in 2022, 2.5% fewer than a year earlier.

☆ Factbox: How China is seeking to boost its falling birth rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] An elderly person stands outside a house amid snowfall in Beijing, China January 12, 2023. ONE-CHILD POLICY- China implemented a one-child policy from 1980 to 2015 in response to government concerns about the social and economic consequences of continued rapid population growth. - The policy, which limited families to one child, was strictly enforced with violators fined and mothers often forced to have abortions. - Shenzhen, a city in southern China, gives couples having a third child or more an annual allowance of over 6,000 yuan ($890) until the child turn three. ($1 = 6.7044 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese foreign ministry welcomes visit by U.S. Secretary Blinken
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China welcomes a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday. "China welcomes Secretary of State Blinken's visit to China. Politico reported that Blinken will meet in Beijing with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, on Feb. 5-6. Both leaders had agreed that Blinken would visit China to follow up on their discussions, according to the White House, although no specific date was mentioned then. Last month, a delegation of senior U.S. officials held talks with China's Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng in Langfang, a city neighbouring Beijing, in order to discuss Blinken's visit, according to the U.S. State Department.

After three years of strict and suffocating anti-virus controls, China in early December abruptly abandoned its "zero COVID" policy, letting the virus run freely through its 1.4 billion population. Several experts forecast more than one million people in China will die from the disease this year. TRAVEL RUSHBeijing's main rail station has been packed with passengers leaving the capital in recent days, according to Reuters witnesses. Meanwhile, daily arrivals in the gambling hub of Macau exceeded 55,000 on Saturday, the highest daily arrivals since the pandemic began. China's transport ministry has said it expects more than 2 billion trips in the weeks around the holidays.

☆ China's exports, imports shrink again in Dec on weakening global demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SummarySummary Companies China's Dec exports worst since Feb 2020, slightly better than forecastImports tumble by smaller margin amid lacklustre demandDomestic demand should slowly recover after zero-COVID scrappedExport outlook gloomy in 2023, major threat to China's growthBEIJING, Jan 13 (Reuters) - China's exports shrank sharply in December as global demand cooled, missing their typical year-end bounce, while imports tumbled again as surging COVID-19 infections and a property downturn weighed heavily on domestic demand. WEAK GLOBAL DEMAND COULD TEMPER ECONOMIC RECOVERYChina's commerce ministry said on Thursday that slowing external demand and the rising risks of a global recession are posing the biggest pressures to the country's trade stabilisation, leaving "arduous tasks." REBOUNDAnalysts polled by Reuters expect China's economic growth to rebound to 4.9% in 2023, before steadying in 2024, a Reuters poll showed. Jin Chaofeng, whose company in the east coast city of Hangzhou exports outdoor rattan furniture, said he has no market expansion or hiring plans for 2023 as he remains cautious about the global demand outlook. "With the lifting of COVID curbs, domestic demand is expected to improve but not for exports...," he said.

☆ China set for historic demographic turn, accelerated by COVID traumas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Farah Master | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Ang Ran and her 2-year-old son Tang Ziang look out from their home in Beijing, China November 8, 2022. A glimpse of the scars caused by the pandemic to China's already bleak demographic outlook may come to light when it reports its official 2022 population data on Jan. 17. "In less than 80 years China’s population size could be reduced by 45%. The United Nations predicts China’s population will start to decline this year when India overtakes it as the world's most populous country. U.N. experts see China's population shrinking by 109 million by 2050, more than triple the decline of their previous forecast in 2019.

☆ China condemns Kabul attack, hopes Afghan govt can protect citizens of all countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China strongly condemns the Kabul attack and hopes the Afghan government can protect citizens from all countries, including Chinese nationals, the Chinese foreign ministry said at a regular daily briefing on Thursday. According to Reuters, a suicide bomber killed at least five people outside the Afghan foreign ministry on Wednesday, police said, and a nearby hospital said over 40 people were wounded. "As far as we know there are not many killed or injured in this terrorist attack," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin when asked a question about the blast that reportedly was targeting a Chinese delegation. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The holiday, known before the pandemic as the world's largest annual migration of people, comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat over COVID curbs that saw Beijing introduce transit curbs for South Korean and Japanese nationals on Wednesday. The virus is spreading unchecked in China after Beijing abruptly began dismantling its previously tight curbs in early December following historic protests. Among them, South Korea and Japan have also limited flights and require tests on arrival, with passengers showing up as positive being sent to quarantine. COUNTING DEATHSSome of the governments that announced curbs on travellers from China cited concerns over Beijing's data transparency. Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese state media defended on Wednesday the retaliatory measures against South Korea and Japan over their COVID-19 travel curbs as "reasonable", while Chinese tourists decried Seoul's "insulting" treatment on social media. South Korea, Japan, the United States and more than a dozen other countries imposed at the start of the year requirements for pre-departure negative test results from visitors from China. 'INSULTING'Chinese social media anger mainly targeted South Korea, whose border measures are the strictest among the countries that announced new rules. Global Times reserved a separate article for South Korea, saying the measures made Chinese people suspicious that Seoul was putting up a "political show." Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

☆ China halts short-term visas in South Korea, first response to COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING/SEOUL, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Chinese embassy in South Korea has suspended issuing short-term visas for South Korean visitors, it said on Tuesday, the first retaliatory move against nations imposing COVID-19 curbs on travellers from China. A Chinese embassy official confirmed the new measures. South Korea's Park told Qin the new border restrictions were "science-based" measures, according to his office. Last week, South Korean police tracked down a Chinese man who went missing while awaiting quarantine after having tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival. South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Monday the country's border measures should focus strictly on the safety of its citizens.

☆ China says it carried out combat drills around Taiwan again
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) - China's military said it had carried out combat drills around Taiwan on Sunday focused on land strikes and sea assaults, the second such exercises in less than a month. The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement late on Sunday that its forces had organised "joint combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills" in the sea and airspace around Taiwan. The aim of the exercises was to test joint combat capabilities and "resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces", it added in a brief statement. China carried out similar exercises late last month, with Taiwan reporting that 43 Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides. In August, China staged war games near Taiwan following a visit to Taipei by the then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

☆ Factbox: China to reopen borders, including with Hong Kong, after 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 6 (Reuters) - China will reopen its borders on Sunday, including with its special administrative region of Hong Kong, after nearly three years of COVID-19 closures and restrictions. Travellers from both Hong Kong and China must obtain a negative COVID test result and log it online within 48 hours of departure. Hong Kong and the neighbouring Chinese city of Shenzhen have launched an online booking system for travellers to reserve a slot. China will from Sunday resume issuing tourist and business visas for mainland residents to travel to Hong Kong and Macau. Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong, Bernard Orr and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Beijing News"

25 mentions found