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☆ China’s Consumers Give Economy a Post-Covid Boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese consumers are going out and spending after three years of enforced austerity. HONG KONG—For years, economists have warned that China’s economy suffered from an imbalance that made its rapid growth unsustainable. The country was too reliant on investments and didn’t have enough consumer spending. On Tuesday, China reported numbers that showed consumer spending was playing a stronger-than-expected role in driving its recovery after the country lifted its stringent zero-Covid measures. The big question is whether it will last.

☆ Chinese Exports Surge as Trade With Russia and Southeast Asia Jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Fact Check-Document mentioning cryogenic-electron microscopy does not prove Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains graphene oxide
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Graphene oxide is not an ingredient in the vaccine,” she said. When contacted by Reuters, a Pfizer spokesperson sent a link with the full list of ingredients of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (here, see page six). No graphene oxide is listed. “We confirm that graphene oxide is not used in the manufacture of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine,” the spokesperson said. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine does not contain graphene oxide.

☆ China’s Housing Market Has Plenty of Space but Not Enough Buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s property market appears to have stabilized after a two-year downturn. But one problem continues to hold back its recovery: a major oversupply of unsold apartments. China had 3.5 billion square feet of finished but unsold apartments in February, according to Wind, a data provider. That is equivalent to around 4 million homes, according to some estimates. It is also the worst oversupply in China since 2017, when it was in the midst of a “slum clearance” program meant to boost demand for new housing by tearing down old, dilapidated buildings.

☆ China’s Smaller Cities Struggle to Unload Empty Apartments
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ China’s Consumers Extend Economic Rebound From Pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jason Douglas | Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A rebalancing of the Chinese economy toward consumption will require policy makers to take steps to boost household incomes, economists say. SINGAPORE—A gauge of activity in China’s services sector reached its highest level in more than a decade in March, a sign that Chinese consumers are heading back to stores and restaurants, powering an economic recovery following the end of almost three years of strict Covid-19 controls. The reading represents a promising signal for the global economy, which depends on Chinese consumers to prop up growth this year as their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe battle rising interest rates, high inflation and the prospect of a squeeze on lending following turmoil in the banking sector.

On a recent trip to Mexico, a small delegation of China-based business executives got a lavish welcome, meeting with a parade of top officials, including the country’s foreign minister, its finance minister, Mexico’s ambassador to China and provincial heads of government. The elite interest in the visit highlights how countries are jostling to grab a piece of China’s manufacturing action as tariff battles, the pandemic and worsening U.S.-China ties jolt companies into reordering global supply chains. Executives are circling the globe looking for factory space or local tie-ups to reduce their dependence on China and its vast factory floor—and governments are pulling out the stops to welcome them.

☆ Americans Encounter Hurdles to Studying in China Even as Covid Restrictions Ease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The number of American citizens studying in China in the 2020-21 academic year was down 97% from two years prior. HONG KONG—Strict pandemic restrictions helped push the number of American university students in China to its lowest level in more than two decades—382 students in the 2020-21 academic year. Now, with China reopening its borders, the question is whether they will come back. During that academic year, the most recent for which data is available, the number of American citizens studying in China was down 97% from roughly 12,000 in 2018-19, and even further below the peak of nearly 15,000 a decade ago, according to data from the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education, a New York-based nonprofit.

☆ Chinese Exports Pull Back Again, Hampering Post-Covid Recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—The export engine that propelled China’s recovery through much of the pandemic sputtered to start the year, complicating Beijing’s efforts to juice an economy that is still reeling from three years of stringent “zero-Covid” restrictions. Exports from the world’s second largest economy fell 6.8% during the first two months of 2023 from a year earlier, extending a string of year-over-year declines stretching back to October, data from China’s customs bureau showed Tuesday.

The city of Zhengzhou in China has seen its fiscal revenue drop and total debt grow in recent years. As China tries to turn the page on one of its worst stretches of growth since the 1970s, its economy is being weighed down by the colossal debts of its local governments, which swelled during the pandemic and are starting to come to a head. Xi Jinping ’s zero-Covid campaign saddled cities with billions of dollars in unplanned expenditures for mass testing and lockdowns. The Chinese leader’s crackdown on excessive property-market leverage led to a sharp drop in land sales, depriving cities of one of their biggest revenue sources.

☆ China Sets Conservative Growth Target as Challenges Loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Premier Li Keqiang announced China’s growth target at the start of the country’s annual legislative session Sunday. HONG KONG—China unveiled its lowest growth target in more than a quarter-century as Beijing faces challenges in the domestic and global economy following its emergence from three years of strict Covid-19 measures. China’s target of around 5% growth this year in gross domestic product, announced on Sunday by Premier Li Keqiang at the start of the country’s annual legislative session, suggests that officials are less concerned about raw economic expansion as they turn their attention to other priorities.

☆ 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.

The company sold 10 million American depository receipts (ADRs) at $19 apiece, according to its regulatory filings, and shares closed at $21.05. The deal is the biggest from a Chinese company selling shares in New York since LianBio (LIAN.O) raised $334 million in October 2021, according to Refinitiv data. Chinese company listings in the United States ground to a halt in 2021 after the debut of ride hailing giant Didi Global Inc (92Sy.MU) in June of that year. As a result, Chinese listings in the United States dwindled and mainland regulators also moved to draw up new guidelines governing companies selling shares overseas. Chinese companies raised nearly $230 million in U.S. listings in 2022, according to Refinitiv data, representing a massive drop from $12.85 billion a year earlier.

☆ 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.

☆ Australia's central bank considered pausing hikes at Dec meeting, still sees more ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank considered leaving interest rates unchanged at its December policy meeting, citing the lagged effects of the aggressive tightening delivered so far and the benefits of moving cautiously in an uncertain environment. However, it was the first time the Board considered pausing since it started raising interest rates in May. Markets are split on whether the RBA will go ahead with another 25 basis point or even pause. They expect interest rates to peak at about 3.7% by August next year. "The Board expects to increase interest rates further over the period ahead, but it is not on a pre-set path," said the bank, reiterating its commitment to bring inflation to its 2-3% target.

Changes continued Monday as authorities announced a deactivation of the “mobile itinerary card” health tracking function planned for the following day. But as the scrapping of parts of the zero-Covid infrastructure come apace, there are questions about how the country’s health system will handle a mass outbreak. Throughout the weekend, some businesses were closed in Beijing, and city streets were largely deserted, as residents either fell ill or feared catching the virus. Covid was “spreading rapidly” driven by highly transmissible Omicron variants in China, a top Covid-19 expert, Zhong Nanshan, said in an interview published by state media Saturday. Authorities recorded 8,626 Covid-19 cases across China on Sunday, down from the previous day’s count of 10,597 and from the high of more than 40,000 daily cases late last month.

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