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☆ China launches 'unprecedented' crackdown on its healthcare industry amid economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —China has launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign targeting its hospitals, pharmaceutical industry and insurance funds as it grapples with mounting economic challenges and long-standing public frustration about high costs in the behemoth healthcare sector. Some areas have set up hotlines for phoning in tips about corruption in the sector, according to state media. At least one state media report has described the campaign as “unprecedented in the depth, breadth and intensity” of targeting the healthcare sector. Despite wide health insurance coverage, absolute costs of healthcare can be a heavy burden for many in China. “Given the economic slowdown and the shrinking fiscal revenue, the debt-ridden local governments really don’t have the capabilities to invest more in the medical sector and corruption continues to be an issue,” said Huang.

Persons: That’s, Xi Jinping, Ren Jianming, Yanzhong Huang, ”, Huang, Jade Gao, Xi Chen, ” Chen, Winning Health Technology Group’s, Zhou Wei, Sun Ningling, ” “ Organizations: CNN, behemoth, Communist Party, China News Service, Center for Integrity Research, Education, China’s Beihang University, Publishing, Council, Foreign Relations, Getty Images, Yale School of Public Health, Getty, Health Commission, NHC, Central Commission, CSI, Reuters, Shanghai Serum, Winning Health Technology, Peking University People’s Hospital Locations: China, Yunnan, Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, United States, New York, AFP, Guangzhou, Shenzhen

☆ A Biography Examines Anna May Wong, a Revered and Reviled Chinese American Star
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Casey Schwartz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“She’s been unfairly forgotten and neglected,” said the actor Paul Giamatti, a longtime admirer of Wong. Days later, government tanks rolled through Tiananmen Square, leaving thousands injured or dead. Watching the scene unfold on his parents’ television, Huang knew that he could not remain in China. Two years later, he arrived in Tuscaloosa to earn his master’s degree. “Like in ‘Out of Africa,’ when Meryl Streep says, ‘I had a farm in Africa,’” Huang said, “well, I had a Chinese takeout in Tuscaloosa.”

Persons: Wong, “ She’s, ”, Paul Giamatti, Huang, they’d, ’, Meryl Streep, ‘, ” Huang Organizations: Peking University Locations: Formosa, China, Beijing, Shanghai, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Africa

Weilun SoonWeilun Soon is a Singapore-based reporter for The Wall Street Journal, covering Asia’s financial markets with a focus on cryptocurrencies, commodities and fiat currencies. He most recently led Business Insider’s coverage of Asia’s technology sector. Before that, he was a reporter covering economics, business, technology, politics and defense for Singapore-based news outlets. Weilun also spent four years in the financial sector, managing investment content strategies for some of Wall Street’s largest firms, based in Hong Kong and Singapore. Weilun is a graduate of Columbia University's Journalism School and Peking University in Beijing, China.

Persons: Weilun Organizations: Wall Street, Business, Columbia University's Journalism School, Peking University Locations: Singapore, Wall, Hong Kong, Weilun, Beijing, China

Aug 16 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. The word 'crisis' should always be used responsibly and judiciously when covering financial markets, business and economics, but are we at that point now with China? The People's Bank of China may have finally pulled the interest rate lever, but it had the expected impact of slamming the exchange rate. Compare and contrast China with Japan, as per Tuesday's bumper Q2 GDP data, and the U.S., where figures on Tuesday showed a surge in retail sales. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Wednesday:- New Zealand interest rate decision- China house prices (July)- Japan tankan surveys (August)By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Zhang Dandan, JP Morgan, Josie Kao Organizations: Peking University, People's Bank of, Atlanta, Thomson, Reuters Locations: China, New Zealand, Japan, Asia, People's Bank of China, U.S, Hong, Zealand

☆ Humanity is on the brink of major scientific breakthroughs, but nobody seems to care
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Humanity could be on the brink of making major progress in multiple areas of science. These are artificial intelligence, room-temperature superconductors, and nuclear fusion. A lesson from ChatGPT: people get excited by progress when they understand what it means. It's not a surprising attitude from the man who also said "we wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." Efforts remain underway to replicate a room-temperature superconductor's creation.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Thiel, LLMs, chatbot, Marc Andreessen, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Andreessen Organizations: Milken, Peking University, Times, Milken Institute Locations: Korea, Beijing, Silicon, California, ChatGPT

☆ Room-temperature superconductors and nuclear fusion will need a ChatGPT moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

These are artificial intelligence, room-temperature semiconductors, and nuclear fusion. A lesson from ChatGPT: people get excited by progress when they understand what it means. In South Korea last month, researchers declared the discovery of the world's first room-temperature, ambient pressure superconductor – a rock-like material known as LK-99. But if Andreessen and his ilk want the general public to get excited by nuclear energy and superconductors, they have the answer in their own backyard in ChatGPT. Humans need to see and understand the benefits of progress for themselves.

“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

☆ China's real youth unemployment rate could actually be close to 50% - more than double the official rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China's youth unemployment rate may be severely skewed, a Peking University professor wrote. While official statistics for March cited a 19.7% rate, Zhang Dandan estimated it's closer to 46.5%. According to Zhang Dandan, whose findings were recently published in the financial magazine Caixin, March's youth unemployment rate could have been as much as 46.5% when accounting for 16 million non-students not actively seeking work, Reuters reported. This is more than double that month's official 19.7% rate, as published by the National Bureau of Statistics. To be sure, the US Labor Department's unemployment rate doesn't include Americans who have stopped looking for work.

Persons: Zhang Dandan, COVID Organizations: Peking University, Service, Reuters, National Bureau of Statistics, US Labor Locations: Wall, Silicon

ORLANDO, Florida, July 20 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks have traded at a discount to global peers for over a decade but have rarely been cheaper than they are now. The fact that U.S. equities are more expensive than Chinese stocks is nothing new. At minimum, investors will need clearer evidence of a turnaround in China's economic and market conditions before moving back into its equities in any great size. The era of double-digit annual GDP growth looks to be over, and challenges are multiple and mounting. Nominal annual GDP growth of 4.8% in the second quarter was lower than real GDP growth of 6.3%, a huge deflation red flag.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, China's, Zhang Zhiwei, Zhang Dandan, Jamie McGeever, Jamie Freed Organizations: Nasdaq, NYSE, Monetary Fund, Citi, Bank of America, Societe Generale, Peking University, Wall, Reuters, Thomson Locations: ORLANDO, Florida, China, United States, U.S, Beijing, India

But last week, Chinese state media slammed Goldman Sachs after the Wall Street firm recommended selling shares in local banks because of their exposure to risks in the domestic economy. Group of 20 central bankers and finance ministers are meeting this week in India, with this data adding to their worries about the state of the global economy. Some pessimists say the Chinese economy has peaked and a significant slowdown is coming. But, Mr. Pettis added, international investors need to look at China differently than they once did. “When China was growing at double-digit rates, even poor parts of the economy were growing,” he said.

Persons: ” George Magnus, DealBook, Xi, Goldman Sachs, Covid, Michael Pettis, Pettis, ”, “ Organizations: Oxford University’s China Center, UBS, West, Street, Peking University Locations: China, Beijing, India, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Kyiv

During her first day of meetings in Beijing, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen criticized punitive measures the Chinese government has taken against American firms. I’ve made clear that the United States does not seek a wholesale separation of our economies. Ms. Yellen conveyed her objections to China’s top officials, including Premier Li Qiang, in what was the first visit to China by a Treasury secretary in four years. A Treasury Department official said Ms. Yellen had discussed the outlook for the economy in an informal discussion with her former counterparts that lasted more than an hour. “The United States will, in certain circumstances, need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security,” Ms. Yellen said.

Persons: Janet L, Yellen, I’ve, Biden, Yellen’s, Li Qiang, Ms, “ I’ve, Mark Schiefelbein, Wang Yong, Wang, ”, Shi Yinhong, “, China’s, Michael Hart, “ We’ve, Mr, Hart, Liu He, Yi Gang, Li, Li’s, ” Claire Fu, Christopher Buckley Organizations: U.S, American Chamber of Commerce, Boeing, Bank of America, Cargill, Group, Bain & Company, Beijing, Biden, of, People, ., Center for American Studies, Peking University, “, Renmin University, U.S . State Department, Chamber of Commerce, Treasury, People’s Bank of China, Treasury Department Locations: Beijing, United States, China, American, Shanghai, U.S, States

☆ China’s Catch-22 situation for the economy – and how to invest around it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A look through China's economy today reveals a few dilemmas, especially for investors trying to gauge future growth. The nature of China's economic recovery over the last few months from Covid have unique characteristics that aren't easily captured in broad strokes, Goldman Sachs' Andrew Tilton and a team pointed out back in late May. That means the stock winners of China's recovery are likely hidden under broader market performance. One month since Goldman's assessment, China's economic trajectory remains the same. "If weak confidence becomes so entrenched, it could be self-fulling and derail the economic recovery."

Persons: outflows, Michael Pettis, Chang Li, There's, — it's, Goldman Sachs, Andrew Tilton, Covid, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Peking University, CNBC, Citi, AIA, Hong Locations: U.S, China, Hong Kong, Shenzhen

☆ Blinken to fly to Beijing for high-stakes diplomacy after spy balloon saga
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane for travel to Berlin at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, June 22, 2021. Andrew Harnik | Pool | ReutersBEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to Beijing this weekend in his first trip to China under the Biden administration. watch now"And so I think that the administration's goals are, at this point unrealistic because of the way Beijing has framed its interest in its strategy." Its appearance had forced Blinken to indefinitely postpone his Beijing trip at the time. The U.S. recognizes Beijing as the sole government of China but maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan, a democratically self-governed island.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Andrew Harnik, Biden, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Scott Kennedy, Blinken, Matthew Miller, Drew Thompson, Lee, Thompson, they're, there's, TikTok, Kennedy, Jia Qingguo, Jia Organizations: Joint Base Andrews, Reuters, Reuters BEIJING —, U.S, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CNBC, U.S . Department of State, People's, U.S ., China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S . Defense Department, Lee Kuan Yew, of Public Policy, Congress, chipmaker Micron, Washington , D.C, Pacific Command, Peking University, Asia Vision Locations: Berlin, Joint Base Andrews , Maryland, Reuters BEIJING, Reuters BEIJING — U.S, Beijing, China, People's Republic of China, U.S, Singapore, Washington ,, Taiwan, South China, Taiwan Strait, Asia, Russian, Ukraine

☆ China eyes Blinken's visit this week with deep distrust toward the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The coverage of Blinken’s visit in China is not nearly as extensive or enthusiastic as it has been in the West,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington. (Chinese experts say it was because the US failed to lift sanctions on Li, imposed in 2018 over China’s purchase of Russian weapons.) China cut off talks with US military commanders following former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August. Zhao said China has adopted “a brinkmanship policy” to highlight the risk of military confrontation to the US. Wang, the expert at Peking University, said Blinken’s long-delayed visit is the “last chance” to repair ties with China before the US election next year.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Washington, Blinken, Qin Gang, State Department –, ”, Yun Sun, “, “ We’re, ” Daniel Kritenbrink, Trump, Wang Yong, Biden, Joe Biden, ” Wang, Tong Zhao, Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu, Li, Nancy Pelosi’s, Zhao, ” Zhao, ‘, Blinken’s, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Sun, ” lockdowns, Xi Jinping’s, Xi, Wang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China’s, State Department, Biden, China Program, Stimson, State, Peking University, Foreign Ministry, Carnegie Endowment, International, Defense Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Washington, East Asia, Taiwan, South China

☆ An albino giant panda thought to be the only one in the world was filmed in the wild in China — take a look
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An all-white giant panda was spotted in China's Wolong National Nature Reserve. It is thought to be the only albino giant panda in the world. Footage captured at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province shows the panda with a female panda and a cub, per China Xinhua News. It is believed to be the only albino giant panda in the world, according to South China Morning Post. The panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan province, southwest China.

Persons: —, Li Sheng Organizations: Nature Reserve, Service, China Xinhua, China Morning Post, Nature, ABC, Peking University Locations: Sichuan Province, China, Sichuan, ABC Australia

☆ China may have to bail out one of its poorest provinces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Hong Kong CNN —One of China’s poorest and most indebted provinces has admitted defeat in trying to sort out its finances and is appealing to Beijing for help to avert default. Guizhou, located in a mountainous region of southwest China, has hired a top state-owned distressed debt fund, China Cinda Asset Management, to resolve its “urgent” problems. China’s local governments are struggling with trillions of dollars of debt, after three years of strict pandemic controls and a real estate crash drained their coffers. The Pingtang Bridge links two cities in southwest China's Guizhou province. In China, most local government liabilities are composed of “hidden debt” issued by their financing arms.

☆ Most Americans are not confident in how China's Xi will handle world affairs, Pew survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Meanwhile, Xi has consolidated his power in China and is seeking to to bolster China's global influence. It is unclear how aware Pew survey respondents were of such world events and developments. Economic cooperationU.S.-China cooperation on economic matters was one of two areas in which Pew survey respondents remained more optimistic. General pessimismPew survey respondents mostly did not see areas of potential cooperation between the U.S. and China. Certainly not the climate," the Pew report said, citing a 25-year-old unnamed woman who participated in a focus group.

☆ Dollar strength is good for some sectors but bad for workers, says Carnegie's Michael Pettis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDollar strength is good for some sectors but bad for workers, says Carnegie's Michael PettisMichael Pettis, senior fellow at The Carnegie Endowment and finance professor at Peking University, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the yuan rate surmounting the dollar, the status of the global dollar reserve, and the state of dollar dominance worldwide.

☆ 'Steady hand': China surprisingly retains central bank chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, March 12 (Reuters) - Yi Gang's surprise re-appointment as China's central bank governor on Sunday means a pro-market mind of high international stature will continue to represent the world's second-largest economy on the global stage. The PBOC governor has high global exposure through institutions such as the Group of 20, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others. "The central bank governor is not a job that can be easily taken over by someone else. Under Yi, the central bank has cut the reserve ratio 14 times since early 2018, pumping more than 10 trillion yuan into the economy. "Yi has been a steady hand in managing policy and the appointment underlines the importance of policy stability," said a policy insider who spoke on condition anonymity.

☆ Beijing has 'really serious' headwinds but this year is a bit like 2021, professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBeijing has 'really serious' headwinds but this year is a bit like 2021, professor saysMichael Pettis, professor of finance at the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, says he's expecting "enormous growth mostly as a partial reversal of the horrible previous year."

☆ Genetics study lays bare Ice Age drama for humans in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Tom Bjoerklund/Handout via REUTERSMarch 1 (Reuters) - Europe was no balmy paradise during the Ice Age, with the vast glaciers that blanketed large parts of the continent rendering wide swathes inhospitable for humans. While some populations hunkered down and survived in relatively warmer parts of Europe, including France, Spain and Portugal, others died out on the Italian peninsula, the study showed. "It refreshes our knowledge of how human beings survived the Ice Age," added paleogeneticist and study co-author He Yu of Peking University in China. Homo sapiens arose roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa, then spread worldwide, reaching Europe at least 45,000 years ago. The only people who survived this harshest period in Europe were hunter-gatherers who had found refuge in portions of France and the Iberian peninsula, the study found.

October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. Zhang Guocheng, 91 Zhao Zisen, 90, developed China’s first practical optical fiber Tang Hongxiao, 91 The obituaries began accumulating. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years.

☆ 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's Covid wave drives up consumer interest in insurance after health system shortfalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For people planning to spend more on that health category, 47% said in December they intend to spend more on health insurance. "This experience is also driving increased interest in commercial health insurance which could cover access to premium private providers," Lipson said. Anecdotes depict a public health system overwhelmed with people at the height of the wave, and long wait times for ambulances. Some of the players in China's health insurance industry include Ping An , PICC and AIA . Hospital fundingHowever, one of the barriers to improving China's public health system is its fragmented financing system, according to Qingyue Meng, executive director at Peking University's China Center for Health Development Studies.

On a quarterly basis, GDP stalled, coming in at 0.0% in the fourth quarter, compared with growth of 3.9% in July-September. For 2022, GDP expanded 3.0%, badly missing the official target of "around 5.5%" and braking sharply from 8.4% growth in 2021. Other indicators for December such as retail sales and factory output, also released along with GDP data, beat expectations but were still weak. At an agenda-setting meeting in December, top leaders pledged to focus on stabilising the economy in 2023 and step up policy support to ensure key targets are hit. China is likely to aim for economic growth of at least 5% in 2023 to keep a lid on unemployment, policy sources said.

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