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☆ China Sets Economic Growth Target of Around 5% for the Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Premier Li Keqiang announced China’s target at the start of the country’s annual legislative session. BEIJING—China set an economic growth target of around 5% for the year, the lowest level in more than a quarter-century, as Beijing seeks to shake off the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that knocked the economy off its growth target in 2022. China’s target, announced by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday at the start of the country’s annual legislative session, was lower than the 5.5% gross domestic product growth target set by Beijing last year.

The global economy is showing vigor despite rising borrowing costs and elevated energy and food prices, a sign that central banks may need longer than anticipated to bring inflation under control. Data from the U.S., China and Europe have shown surprising vitality in these regions’ economies since the start of 2023, confounding predictions from the World Bank and other economists that the global economy was set for one of its weakest years in recent decades.

☆ China’s Economy Seen Emerging From Zero-Covid Shadow
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | Keith Zhai | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A worker assembling a bean grinder for export at a factory in China’s Jiangsu province last month. HONG KONG—Economic activity in China expanded sharply for a second straight month, in an early sign the country may be shaking off the impact of pandemic curbs sooner than expected. A gauge of manufacturing rose at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February, while export orders expanded for the first time in almost two years, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. Services and construction activity also expanded further, the purchasing managers index report showed.

Singapore saw an influx of around 2,800 rich foreigners from all countries in 2022, according to an estimate. SINGAPORE—Well-heeled Chinese are leaving China for Singapore, attracted by the city-state’s low taxes and high-quality education, amid anxiety over China’s direction under leader Xi Jinping . The trend is set to accelerate, according to relocation consultants and lawyers, as China’s reopening allows for freer movement across the country’s borders, making it easier for wealthy individuals to move their families overseas and manage their assets from abroad. The shift follows almost three years of strict Covid-19 controls that all but cut China off from the outside world.

☆ Covid-Era Savings Are Crucial to China’s Economic Recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A reluctance to spend by Chinese consumers could reverberate globally. HONG KONG—The strength of China’s economic rebound this year largely hinges on one uncertainty: whether families and large companies are willing to draw down the pile of cash they built up since the start of Covid-19. Chinese families, constrained by Covid lockdowns, hoarded cash and pushed up the country’s household saving rate to a multiyear high of 33% in 2022, up 3 percentage points from the prepandemic trend in 2019, according to estimates by Goldman Sachs.

☆ 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.

☆ China’s Consumers Drive Rebound in Economic Activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A rapid consumption-led recovery of China’s economy would help buttress global demand for goods and services. HONG KONG—Economic activity in China shook off a monthslong slump in January following the lifting of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, a positive sign for a global economy that faces a litany of challenges this year. Official gauges of activity in both manufacturing and services improved sharply, with both sectors rebounding into expansion territory, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

☆ Chinese Consumers Embrace Life Free From Zero-Covid Controls
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tourists in China’s Sichuan province this week. New data point to a sharp rebound in tourism during the Lunar New Year holidayHONG KONG—Chinese travelers flooded tourism hotspots at home, booked more trips abroad and flocked to cinemas halfway through the first long public holiday since Beijing ended zero-Covid controls that had restricted people’s movements and battered consumer confidence. Data released this week point to a sharp rebound in the tourism sector during the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday that started Saturday. Still, some economists cautioned that fully repairing consumer confidence—if that’s possible—will take a while longer.

☆ China’s Reopening Complicates Global Fight Against Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

With China’s economy open again, customers were shopping for flowers for Lunar New Year on Friday in Hong Kong. HONG KONG—Just when signs point to easing inflation worldwide, China’s economic reopening after years of strict pandemic controls is raising questions about whether it could spur costs higher again. Many economists aren’t too worried, but say the initial uncertainty will complicate matters for the Federal Reserve and other central banks that have been raising interest rates to fight inflation by slowing economic growth.

☆ China’s Shrinking Population Is Deeper Problem Than Slow Growth for Its Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | Jason Douglas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s latest economic data showed that the country’s zero-Covid policies led to one of the slowest growth rates in decades last year. But economists say another figure released the same day will be a bigger problem for China’s economy in the future: its shrinking population. China has already rolled back the zero-Covid policies that restrained growth for much of 2022, setting the stage for a recovery this year. The U-turn was part of a broad policy reset aimed at boosting the economy, including an easing of regulations on the property sector and signals that the clampdown on the tech sector has ended.

☆ China’s Economy Faces Deeper Problems Than Its Slowing Growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | Jason Douglas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s latest economic data showed that the country’s zero-Covid policies led to one of the slowest growth rates in decades last year. But economists say another figure released the same day will be a bigger problem for China’s economy in the future: Its shrinking population. China has already rolled back the zero-Covid policies that restrained growth for much of 2022, setting the stage for a recovery this year. The U-turn on its pandemic policies was part of a broad policy reset aimed at boosting the economy, including an easing of regulations on the property sector and signals that the clampdown on the tech sector has ended.

☆ Chinese Exports Fall at Steepest Pace in More Than Two Years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—Chinese exports fell at the steepest pace in more than two years in November, the latest indication of how the country’s pandemic restrictions and waning global demand for goods is throttling China’s economy. Outbound shipments from China plunged 8.7% year-over-year last month, the biggest dip since February 2020, when a nationwide lockdown ground economic activities to a halt. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 2% drop.

☆ Behind Chinese Covid Protests, Economic Worries Simmer Among Youth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—The protests that swept through Chinese cities over the weekend were mainly about unhappiness over Beijing’s strict Covid-control measures, but they also reflected another source of tension Beijing is nervous about: growing economic frustration among China’s younger generation. The rare public displays of discontent, which included protests on university campuses, came as authorities have struggled to put a floor under the economy, which is on track to expand at the slowest pace in more than four decades this year, apart from 2020, the year when Covid-19 first made an impact.

☆ China’s Economy Faces Challenges Despite Latest Moves to Stimulate Growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s recent steps to adjust Covid-19 controls and revive activity in the beaten-down property market stirred hopes that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is putting fresh emphasis on measures to support the economy, potentially leading to a strong rebound in growth next year. But economists warn the moves so far haven’t amounted to a broad shift in Mr. Xi’s policies, and the messaging out of the recent Communist Party Congress only reinforced that the Chinese leader planned to stick to his goals of achieving economic self-sufficiency and “common prosperity”—even at the cost of lower growth rates.

☆ China Consumer Spending Slumps Under Covid and Property Restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—Chinese consumer spending is buckling under the country’s dual campaigns against rising property prices and Covid-19 outbreaks, flashing a warning for global companies that have pinned their hopes on a more free-spending Chinese customer. Retail sales unexpectedly dropped last month and are expected to continue to struggle as Chinese authorities launch wide-ranging lockdowns to contain the latest fastest-spreading Covid outbreaks, and as easing measures do little to reverse a worsening property market meltdown.

☆ China’s Economy Takes a Deeper Hit as Retail Sales Turn Negative
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s economy sank into a deeper funk last month as the weight of strict zero-Covid measures, a real-estate downturn and sinking export demand underscored the difficulties of rekindling growth amid tighter government regulations and a worsening global economy. New data released Tuesday showed economic activity cooling across the board in October. Retail sales contracted unexpectedly for the first time in five months as factory output growth slowed and a pullback in real-estate investment accelerated.

For much of the past year, China’s economy has been reeling under Xi Jinping’s dual campaigns to rein in soaring property prices and to stamp out any traces of Covid-19 within the country’s borders. Now, as he moves to loosen pandemic restrictions, China’s leader, Mr. Xi, is signaling a reversal of his real-estate crackdown, too, a tacit acknowledgment of the economic pain and public frustration that the two policies have engendered.

☆ China’s Factory Slowdown Worse Than Expected Under Weight of Covid Policies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s factory activity contracted in October after a short-lived improvement, a fresh sign of the toll from the country’s stringent Covid policies and of fading global demand for Chinese-made goods. The official purchasing managers index for manufacturing fell to 49.2 from 50.1 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. The result fell short of the 49.7 median forecast of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, underscoring the vulnerability of China’s economy to its pandemic-control policies. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in activities.

☆ An American Helped Build a Business Inside China. Clients Want Him to Leave.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Jason Douglas | Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

It took Jacob Rothman two decades to build a Chinese manufacturing business with his friends and family. Now the 49-year-old American executive says customers want him to make some of his grilling tools and kitchen products elsewhere. Yet “there’s nothing like China,” he added. “We’ve built this supply chain for 30 years to work like a Swiss clock. There’s just nothing like it.”

☆ China’s Xi Jinping, Secure in Power, Faces Deepening Economic Challenges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ China’s New Slate of Top Leaders Stirs Concern Over Economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Keith Zhai | Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Li Qiang, expected to become China’s next premier, is seen as business friendly by some businesspeople, who voiced optimism about the impact he could have on the economy. SINGAPORE—The new slate of China’s top leaders, packed with allies of Xi Jinping, has some economists fearing a further erosion of checks on the power of a Chinese leader who has overseen the biggest expansion of state control over the economy in decades. On Sunday, China unveiled the leaders who will sit on the country’s most powerful decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee. All six men who took the stage with Xi Jinping are seen as loyalists of the Chinese leader.

☆ China’s Economy Grew 3.9% in the Third Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Jason Douglas | Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SINGAPORE—China’s economy grew more strongly than expected in the third quarter as the country bounced back modestly from crippling Covid lockdowns in the spring, though challenges remain as leader Xi Jinping consolidates control of the political apparatus for another five years. China’s gross domestic product grew by 3.9% for the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Monday in a data release that was unexpectedly delayed as Communist Party leaders gathered for a key meeting in Beijing.

☆ China’s Economic Data Gets Harder to Find as Growth Slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—The world is eager for clues about the health of China’s economy as the country endures its worst prolonged slowdown in years. But getting a clear picture has only grown more difficult, as data becomes harder to obtain and unflattering analysis vanishes. On Monday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics abruptly canceled the release of quarterly gross domestic product data just hours before it was set to be published, without providing a reason or setting a new date. Days earlier, the country’s customs agency simply didn’t release monthly official trade data, offering no explanation.

☆ China Abruptly Delays GDP Release During Communist Party Conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A press conference being held Monday on the sidelines of the Communist Party’s 20th National Congress in Beijing. HONG KONG—China abruptly delayed the publication of its third-quarter gross domestic product data on Monday, a day before it was set to be released, an unusual move as the country’s ruling Communist Party stages a key political gathering this week. The GDP figure, as well as a series of other major economic indicators including retail sales, property sales and fixed-asset investment, originally slated to be released on Tuesday, were marked as “delayed” on the website of China’s National Bureau of Statistics Monday afternoon.

☆ China’s Covid-19 Lockdowns Deal Another Blow to Consumer Spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—A renewed wave of pandemic-related lockdowns in major Chinese cities is hampering hopes for a recovery in consumer spending, showing how difficult it is for Beijing to rekindle growth without loosening Covid-19 restrictions. Official data released in recent days showed consumer spending falling sharply during the seven-day National Day holiday when compared with a year earlier, while a private survey of services activity fell into contraction in September.

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