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☆ China's capital grapples with scorching summer heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Beijing’s temperature soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) again Thursday, as the Chinese capital grapples with what is shaping up to be one the most severe heat waves on record. China has been gripped by scorching heat waves for weeks, which authorities said had arrived earlier and been more widespread and extreme than in previous years. People shield themselves from the sun amid extreme heat on July 5, 2023 in Beijing. The persistent heat waves have put huge stress on the country’s power grids as demand for air-conditioning soared, with some local governments urging companies and residents to curb the usage of electricity. As the climate crisis intensifies, scientists say dangerous, record heat waves are set to become more frequent and more severe.

Persons: Tianyong Jia, heatstroke, Niño, El Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, heatstroke, China News Service, Beijing Daily, World Meteorological Organization, El Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, China, Northern China, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, 17.18C

☆ China's northern cities brace for more torrid heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A man pulls a cart carrying jugs of water amid the orange alert for heatwave, at a hutong alley in Beijing, China July 5, 2023. The torrid heat has gripped China for several weeks, pushing local governments to ask residents and businesses to curb the usage of electricity. It is expected that the maximum temperature in most areas of the city will rise above 40 degrees Celsius, according to the state-backed Beijing Daily. The meteorological observatory in northern Hebei province also issued a red alert, with temperatures in some areas expected to reach 40-43 Celsius on Thursday. China's Meteorological bureau issued orange alerts, the second highest alert, in mostly northern China with temperatures expected to hit 40 degree Celsius and above.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Bernard Orr, Ella Cao, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Beijing Daily, China's Meteorological, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Hebei province, North China, Mongolia, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Chongqing

☆ China beats its own record for hot days over six months
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has registered the highest number of hot days over six months since records began, according to authorities, as the country confronts another record-breaking summer of blistering heat. The national average was calculated from the number of high temperature days recorded by weather stations across the country. Northern China, a heavily populated region with hundreds of millions of residents, has been particularly hard hit, with more heat waves expected in coming weeks. So far this year, Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, has seen 17 high temperature days, followed by Beijing’s 14 days. As the climate crisis intensifies, scientists say dangerous, record heat waves are set to become more frequent and more severe.

Persons: Beijing’s, Sheng Jiapeng, Zhou Bing, El Nino, ” Zhou Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, National Climate Center, Museum, China News Service, Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Times, El Nino, El, Xinhua Locations: Hong Kong, China, Northern China, Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, Beijing, Sichuan

☆ Beijing braces for extreme heat for third straight day
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A woman fans herself while resting in the shade in an alley during a heatwave in Beijing on June 23, 2023. Beijing on Saturday maintained its hot weather alert at "red," the most severe in China's color-coded warning system, with the Chinese capital expected to cross the 40 degrees Celsius (104F) threshold for a third straight day. Nearby provinces including Hebei and Shandong also kept their "red" alerts on Saturday as vast tracts of northern and eastern China sizzled in record temperatures. In China's four-tier weather warning system, the color red indicates the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. On Friday, Beijing baked in temperatures as high as 40.3C, after sizzling at 41.1C on Thursday, the second-hottest day recorded by the Chinese capital in modern times.

Organizations: Saturday Locations: Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, China, 41.1C

☆ Beijing temperature: Hottest June day recorded in Chinese capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Beijing’s temperature soared above 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) Thursday, setting a new record for the capital’s hottest day in June, as millions across heavily populated northeast China endure heat wave conditions forecast to stretch into the weekend. Thursday’s high of 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) broke the previous record of 40.6 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit), set on June 10, 1961, when China began keeping detailed records, according to state media The Beijing News. This year, extreme weather has come even earlier – since March, temperatures in dozens of Chinese cities have hit record seasonal highs. June typically sees highs of 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit). Beijing may top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday and Saturday before dropping to high 30 degree Celsius levels (upper 90s to low 100s degrees Fahrenheit) for much of next week.

Persons: Andy Wong, Tesla Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Beijing, Beijing Meteorological Observatory, CNN Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chinese, Sichuan

The indictments mark the first time the U.S. has sought to prosecute any of the Chinese companies responsible for manufacturing precursor chemicals used to make the painkiller. The companies at the heart of the three separate indictments are accused of selling precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, which in turn has flooded the U.S. with the drug. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced the unsealing of an indictment against the China-based chemical company Hubei Amarvel Biotech, along with its executives Qingzhou Wang, 35, Yiyi Chen, 31, and Fnu Lnu, also known as Er Yang, with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation, and money laundering offenses. "Fentanyl poses a singular threat, not only because the smallest doses can be lethal, but because fentanyl does not occur in nature. In the Eastern District of New York, prosecutors announced the unsealing of two more indictments against three other Chinese companies and individuals accused of conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the U.S.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Qingzhou Wang, Yiyi Chen, Fnu Lnu, Er Yang, Joaquin, El, Guzman, Lisa Monaco, Blinken, Wang, Chen, Yang, Sarah N, Lynch, Luc Cohen, David Brunnstrom, Chizu Nomiyama, Angus MacSwan Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Justice, U.S, Hubei Amarvel Biotech, Justice Department, Embassy, Global Coalition, Administration, of, U.S . Prosecutors, Hebei Sinaloa Trading, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Washington, Sinaloa, Mexico, Manhattan, Hubei, cryptocurrency, Los Angeles, Honolulu , Hawaii, New York, of New York, Hebei Sinaloa, U.S

[1/5] People walk on a street amid an orange alert for heatwave in Beijing, China June 22, 2023. China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. A red alert indicates the temperature is set to rise above 40C within 24 hours. The China Meteorological Administration said on Thursday it expected high temperatures to persist across much of the country's north for the next eight to ten days. High temperature monitoring and warnings would continue on a rolling basis in places including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Inner Mongolia, it added.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Ryan Woo, Casey Hall, Sonali Paul Organizations: heatwave, REUTERS, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Inner Mongolia

☆ Beijing braces for blistering hot weather as heatwaves return
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, June 22 (Reuters) - Beijing on Thursday issued its second-most severe warning for high temperatures that are expected to persist through the weekend as northern China battled another round of heatwaves in a week. The Chinese capital raised an orange alert, warning temperatures could rise as high as 39 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) in most parts of the city from Thursday to Saturday. Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong in northern China were hammered by heatwaves last week, prompting local authorities to step up efforts to safeguard crops, ensure the safety of tourists, and suspend outdoor work during the hottest part of the day. China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. An orange alert is issued when the maximum temperature exceeds 40 Celsius in a single day, or the maximum temperature remains above 37 Celsius for two consecutive days.

Persons: Ryan Woo, Michael Perry Organizations: heatwaves, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang

☆ China's May factory output, retail sales growth miss expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Employees work on a drilling machine production line at a factory in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China November 14, 2018. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected output growth to cool to 3.6% from 5.6% in April. Fixed asset investment expanded 4.0% in the first five months of 2023 from the same period a year earlier, versus expectations for a 4.4% rise. Analysts have cautioned that China's data readings last month may be highly distorted by comparisons with a very weak performance last year, when many cities were under stringent COVID lockdowns. Reporting by Albee Zhang, Ellen Zhang and Kevin Yao; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stringer, Albee Zhang, Ellen Zhang, Kevin Yao, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, National Bureau of Statistics, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING

☆ Ports in China's oil hub Shandong scrutinizing old tankers -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Qingdao and Lanshan are two of the top five biggest Chinese oil importing ports, according to data from Kpler. Shandong is home to numerous independent refineries known as teapots that account for up to one-fifth of China's processing capacity. Port authorities could detain ships for days to rectify any issues, prompting shippers to divert cargoes to other Chinese ports, the sources said. Almost all tankers hauling crude to Qingdao for independent refiners are more than 10 years old, said Vortexa analyst Emma Li. In April, tankers calling at Shandong ports experienced delays after customs authorities stepped up checks on diluted bitumen cargoes.

Persons: Seapalm, Emma Li, Eikon, Muyu Xu, Florence Tan Organizations: Kpler, Shandong Maritime Safety Administration, Reuters, Seapalm Shipping, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China's Shandong, Qingdao, Rizhao, Lanshan, Shandong, Tokyo, Cameroon, Seychelles, Jiangsu, Hebei, Liaoning, Beijing

The Hebei-based company is also considering establishing a research and development centre in Thailand that could work on battery powered pickup trucks, Narong Sritalayon, managing director of Great Wall Motor Thailand said in an interview. "I think there is a lot of things we can learn from Thailand's unique market for pickup trucks," Narong said. Great Wall launched its Ora Good Cat compact EV in Thailand in late 2021. Great Wall entered Thailand in 2020 after taking over a former General Motors Co (GM.N) plant that currently makes two of its Haval hybrid vehicles for sale in the country. But the facility could be upgraded for battery cell production with additional investment depending on demand and Thai government support, Great Wall added.

HONG KONG, May 15 (Reuters) - China will launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture to foster a friendly child bearing environment, the latest move by authorities to boost the country's falling birth rate. Promoting marrying, having children at appropriate ages, encouraging parents to share child-rearing responsibilities, and curbing high "bride prices" and other outdated customs are the focus of the projects, the Times said. The association already launched projects in 20 cities including Beijing last year, the Times said. "The society needs to guide young people more on the concept of marriage and childbirth," demographer He Yafu told the Times. Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China has an inflation problem. It’s way too low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s raising the specter of a tailspin of falling prices and wages from which the economy may struggle to recover. “Our core view is that China’s economy is deflationary,” wrote Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Research, last week, soon after China released its first-quarter GDP growth figures. Instead of spending money, people are hoarding cash at a record rate. “Even with a conservative estimate, 500 billion yuan in consumption vouchers will drive one trillion yuan in overall consumption, ” Li said in a video posted on his Weibo social media account on Tuesday. In return, the government could receive at least 300 billion yuan through taxes generated by the increase in spending, he said“So it only takes 200 billion yuan in spending for the central government to drive one trillion yuan in consumption,” he said.

☆ Sandstorms, dangerous pollution return to Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A woman poses for pictures near the Forbidden City, as the city is shrouded in smog amid a sandstorm, in Beijing, China March 10, 2023. The capital Beijing has seen regular air pollution and an unseasonal number of sandstorms over the past few weeks. On Tuesday morning, smog and misty grey clouds could be seen enveloping Beijing and the city's real-time air quality index was at a serious pollution level, according to the website of the Beijing Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center. The concentration of fine particulates in the air in Beijing is currently 46.2 times the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline value, according to IQAir, a website that issues air quality data and information. Beijing has regular sandstorms in March and April as it is near the large Gobi desert.

☆ Great Wall of China: Six sections with beautiful views
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Whether you’re planning to visit the Great Wall for the first time or the 50th, the following destinations are sure to make your trip to China even more worthwhile. The juxtaposition of its ruins against the rammed-earth Great Wall makes Bataizi a unique place to spend a morning or afternoon. Laoniuwan (aka the Old Ox Bend Great Wall)Laoniuwan, where the Great Wall and the Yellow River meet. Alex SherrAs the locals say, Laoniuwan is where the Great Wall and the mighty Yellow River shake hands. The piled-stone wall at Dushikou is unique, as many other sections of the Great Wall close to Beijing were constructed using kiln-fired bricks.

Persons: CNN —, I’ve, Alex Sherr, ”, Alex Sherr Mutianyu, you’ll, William Lindesay, Pan, Zuoyun, You’ll, Simatai, Yatou’s, Emperor Jiajing, Lamb Organizations: CNN, Tourism, UNESCO, Northern Barbarians Locations: Beijing, China, Turtle, Gansu, Sitan, Jingtai County, City, Jingtai, Lanzhou, Gansu province, Turtle City, Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, it’s, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Xizhazi, Bataizi, Datong, Shanxi province’s, Zuoyun, Zuoyun County, Laoniuwan, Pianguan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia, marveling, Pianguan, Tangjiazhai, Beijing’s Miyun, Miyun, It’s, Dushikou, Chicheng, Hebei province, Hebei, Liuliqiao

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports fell sharply in 2022 because of the disruption caused by lockdowns to control the coronavirus epidemic and the massive exit wave of infections when they were lifted. But the import rebound could be smaller than some analysts anticipate because domestic gas production is rising strongly and the country has mostly completed its transition to natural gas for urban residents. Both LNG and pipeline imports remained subdued in the first two months of this year with any rebound delayed until later in 2023. China’s LNG purchasers have proved price-sensitive and will likely wait for prices to decline before increasing imports and refilling storage. PIPELINES NOT LNGThe shift from LPG and especially gasworks gas has turbocharged consumption of natural gas over the last decade.

☆ Thick sandstorms shroud Beijing and several provinces in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - Capital Beijing and several provinces in China will be affected by thick, dense sandstorms that will severely affect visibility, Chinese weather authorities said on Wednesday. The Central Meteorological Observatory issued yellow warning signals from Wednesday to early morning Thursday for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces. Many areas will have low visibility, weather forecasters said, cautioning drivers on speed. China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Beijing, which was also issued a yellow sandstorm warning, has experienced sand and dust storms over the past several days, causing pollution levels to drastically increase.

☆ China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Data from swine fever virus testing companies show that the number of positive detections exploded after the new year holiday. "We guess that the current swine fever infection area in northern production areas may be reaching 50%," it added. We feel it hasn't ended yet, that's the problem," he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of disease outbreaks in China. HARD TO ASSESSChinese farms typically do not report disease outbreaks to the government, making it challenging to get an accurate picture of the extent of the infections. Though not as serious as in 2019, the disease could reduce production by more than 10%, Huachuang analyst Xiao Lin told Reuters.

☆ China's so desperate to boost its birth rates, it's even cracking down on customary betrothal gifts for brides to help people get married more easily
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China's cracking down on the custom of the "bride price" to facilitate marriages and boost birth rates. These betrothal gifts include cash, jewelry, cars, and even real estate. A delegate from the state-backed All-China Women's Federation proposed that authorities look into measures to curb expensive betrothal gifts, the women's rights organization said in a Wednesday statement. Still, nearly three-quarters of marriages involve the custom of betrothal gifts, according to a 2020 survey of 1,846 China residents by Tencent News. This is because betrothal gifts — which are typically given after negotiations between the two families — can include cash, jewelry, cars, and even real estate, according to the Tencent News survey.

☆ Pollution returns to northern China as industrial activities rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 6 (Reuters) - Thirteen northern Chinese cities surrounding the capital Beijing have issued pollution alerts over the last few days, raising concerns that an industrial recovery in the region is increasing smog levels. All 13 cities, including Tianjin and Tangshan, China's biggest steelmaking centre, had issued "orange" heavy pollution alerts by Sunday, the second-highest alert, the National Joint Research Center for Tackling Key Problems in Air Pollution Control (NJRC) said. NJRC said the recent spike had been driven by an increase in industrial activity, with steel and cement plants operating at higher levels, and diesel truck traffic also rising. China has been trying to re-energise its economy since lifting strict COVID-19 curbs at the end of last year, raising fears that pollution could be allowed to rise. An orange alert means the three-day average air quality index (AQI) has risen above 200, classified as "heavy pollution", and normally triggers industrial closures or output cuts under Chinese regulations.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangHONG KONG/BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 3 (Reuters) - As unprecedented protests against China's zero-COVID policies escalated in November, Li Qiang, the man recently elevated to No.2 on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, seized the moment. Meanwhile, some local-level party workers and healthcare officials were grappling with growing challenges in implementing the zero-COVID policy. "From my perspective, it's not that we set out to relax the zero-COVID policy, it's more that we at the local level were simply not able to enforce the zero-COVID policy anymore," the official said. In mid-November, when Xi was still in Southeast Asia, he ordered Chinese authorities to "unswervingly" execute the zero-COVID policy, said two of the people, after which some cities retightened curbs. Xi's vacillating led to renewed debate on COVID policy among top leaders during mid to late November, one of these people and another person said.

☆ Column: China widens renewable energy supply lead with wind power push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

China added more wind generation capacity in the past two years than over the previous seven, and in 2022 generated 46% more wind power than all of Europe, the second largest wind generation market, according to data from think tank Ember. MAJOR MILESTONESWhile China has deployed record volumes of both solar and wind power capacity over the past decade, wind generation capacity has grown more steeply than solar capacity since 2020. For industrial scale electricity generation, wind power is often preferred over solar due to the ability for wind turbines to generate electricity around the clock, while solar power generation drops off as the sun sets. Beyond cementing China's place in the international green energy hierarchy, the climb in wind power capacity has helped redraw the energy mix across several key provinces. China’s wind power generation by key ProvinceIn addition, higher generation of renewable power has helped cap power costs for consumers just as the prices of coal and natural gas have pushed sharply higher on international markets.

☆ China provinces top list of world's most climate-vulnerable regions - data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - China is home to 16 of the 20 global regions most vulnerable to climate change, according to data published on Monday, with some of the world's most important manufacturing hubs at risk from rising water levels and extreme weather. The data showed that some of the engine rooms of the global economy face catastrophic hazards such as rising sea levels, river flooding and wildfires, which could also depress property prices and deter investment, XDI said. "We're already feeling the significant impacts of weather events around the world, and they will only increase," XDI Chief Executive Rohan Hamden told reporters. "Finally, we just want to make sure that every investment decision is made in a climate-resilient way." The shift of global manufacturing to Asia has driven a substantial increase in infrastructure investment in already vulnerable regions throughout China, making it more susceptible to the impacts of climate change, Hamden said.

☆ China's cities are struggling to pay their bills from three years of Covid and a real estate crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rolling lockdowns seriously dented household incomes, leading many to reduce spending, which in turn resulted in less tax revenue for local governments. “China’s runaway local debt poses a serious threat to the country’s overall economic health and will weigh heavily on China’s still-nascent recovery,” said Singleton. Debt that is backed by local governments but which doesn’t show up on their balance sheets could be much bigger. That’s more than 20% higher than the estimate of 53 trillion yuan made by Goldman Sachs in 2021. Their debt squeeze could pose a serious threat to China’s financial system, particularly to small regional banks.

☆ 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.

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