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☆ 'Not found': China's ex-foreign minister is gone but wait for explanation goes on
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Hours after China's top legislature convened a special meeting last week to remove foreign minister Qin Gang, photos and mentions of the 57-year-old started disappearing from his former ministry's website. China named veteran diplomat Wang Yi to replace Qin, but gave few further clues on the reason for the change. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Thursday said Beijing will release information in a timely matter regarding Qin and opposes "malicious hype". The foreign ministry removed all online traces to its former chief protocol officer Zhang Kunsheng who was found guilty of corruption and using his position of power to obtain sex in 2016. He then made a triple jump from director of protocol to U.S. ambassador and then to foreign minister and state councillor in five years, bullet-train speed by China standards.

Persons: Qin Gang, Qin, Gang, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Mao Ning, Ian Johnson, Wu Qiang, Wu, Xiao Yaqing, Zhang Kunsheng, Mao Zedong, Mao, Xi, Xi's, Alfred Wu, Lee Kwan, Yew Lun Tian, John Geddie Organizations: Foreign Ministry, State, Information Office, Council, Foreign Relations, Industry, Committee, Communist, Xinhua, Lee Kwan Yew, of Public Policy, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Washington, Singapore, Lincoln

☆ China was once a women’s soccer superpower. This year’s World Cup is a first step in reclaiming that status
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Simone Mccarthy Andrew Mcnicol Candice Zhu Cnn | Simone Mccarthy | Andrew Mcnicol | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The rapid development of women’s soccer programs across Europe and the Americas has fielded a new generation of powerful teams-to-beat. I hope through these matches, we can form a clearer picture of the current position of Chinese women’s soccer,” she told state media earlier this month. China scores against New Zealand during a group match at the 1991 Women's World Cup in Guangzhou. That’s even as more than thirty years ago, when China hosted the first ever-women’s World Cup in its southeastern Guangdong province. But as norms change, seeing China’s women’s team competing on the world stage at events like the World Cup would also “inspire girls” to play, Peng added.

Persons: Shui, ”, Xiao Yuyi, Rajanish, Xi, –, China's Zhang Ouying, Carla Overbeck, Vincent Laforet, Wang Shuang, Germain, Zhang Linyan, Chan Yuen Ting, Chen guo, Chan, Denmark’s Amalie Vangsgaard, Zhang, they’d, China's, Gary Day, William Bi, “, it’s, Qi Peng, China’s, Peng Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, AFC Asian, womens, FIFA, Americas, Roses, Denmark, Haiti, AFC, Asian, America, Rose Bowl, Veterans, Paris Saint, Swiss, Grasshopper Club, League, Jiangsu, CNN, New Zealand, Sports, AP Soccer, Xi, Sport Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, “ Locations: Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Europe, China, England, South Korea, Mumbai, India, Pasadena , California, France, “, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Beijing

☆ China industrial profits extend double-digit slide on weak demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 27 (Reuters) - China's industrial profits extended this year's double-digit pace of declines into a sixth month as waning demand took a toll on companies' profit margins, bolstering the case for more supportive policy to help the economy. In June alone, industrial earnings shrank by 8.3% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. Profits dived for 29 of 41 major industrial sectors during the period, with the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry reporting the deepest slump at 97.6%. "Looking ahead, there's a big chance of China's industrial profits logging positive growth in 2024, said Zheng Houcheng, chief macro economist at Yingda Securities Co, attributing the turnaround in part to expectations for ramped-up stimulus. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) from their main operations.

Persons: Sun Xiao, there's, Zheng Houcheng, Ethan Wang, Qiaoyi Li, Ryan Woo, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Reuters Graphics, NBS, Yingda Securities, ramped, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: BEIJING

The data was deleted from a provincial government website just days after it was published on Thursday. The number of cremations in the eastern province of Zhejiang rose to 171,000 in the first quarter of this year, the website said. That was 72,000 more cremations, a roughly 70 percent increase, than had been reported in the same period last year. In February, China said the official death toll in the mainland since the start of the pandemic was 83,150 — a remarkably low number that independent researchers have said is not credible. Since then, the government has released only weekly or monthly death tolls that, when added up, raise the overall total to about 83,700.

Persons: epidemiologists Locations: China, Beijing, Zhejiang

☆ Dramatic fossil shows pugnacious mammal attacking a dinosaur
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Fossilized skeletons dating to about 125 million years ago from China showing the entanglement of the dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis and the mammal Repenomamus robustus are seen in this 2022 handout photograph. A dramatic fossil unearthed in northeastern China shows a pugnacious badger-like mammal in the act of attacking a plant-eating dinosaur, mounting its prey and sinking its teeth into its victim's ribs about 125 million years ago, scientists said on Tuesday. Dating to the Cretaceous Period, it shows the four-legged mammal Repenomamus robustus - the size of a domestic cat - ferociously entangled with the beaked two-legged dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis - as big as a medium-sized dog. "Here, we have good evidence for a smaller mammal preying on a larger dinosaur, which is not something we would have guessed without this fossil," Mallon added. The researchers discounted the idea that the Repenomamus and Psittacosaurus fossil showed a mammal merely scavenging a carcass.

Persons: Read, paleobiologist Jordan Mallon, Mallon, Xiao, chun Wu, Psittacosaurus, Repenomamus, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: dinos, Canadian Museum of Nature, Thomson Locations: China, WASHINGTON, Ottawa, Liaoning Province, Mongolia

☆ Marriott enters licensing deal with MGM to boost presence in Las Vegas strip
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Doyinsola Oladipo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Logo of Marriott hotel is seen in Vienna, Austria April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo/File PhotoJuly 17 (Reuters) - Marriott International (MAR.O) said on Monday it entered a 20-year licensing agreement that will allow its loyalty members to earn and redeem existing points for booking stays at MGM Resorts International's (MGM.N) properties. The pair launched "MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy," which will allow members of the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program to earn and redeem points for stays at 17 MGM resorts across the United States and Canada. MGM's 40 million members will gain access to the Bonvoy loyalty program. Marriott will earn fees on total room revenue on the MGM Resorts that are part of the agreement, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said.

Persons: Heinz, Peter Bader, Marriott, Kate Xiao, Bill Hornbuckle, Bernstein's Xiao, Anthony Capuano, Barry Jonas, Aishwarya Nair, Shweta Agarwal, Will Dunham Organizations: REUTERS, Marriott, MGM Resorts, MGM, Cosmopolitan, Bernstein Hotels, Reuters, Truist Securities, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, United States, Canada, Las Vegas, Marriott's, Bengaluru, Doyinsola, New York

Prices were also unchanged from a year earlier, retreating from a 0.1% increase in May. The property sector, accounting for one-fourth of activity in the world's second-biggest economy, slumped sharply last year as developers defaulted on debts and suspended construction of presold housing projects. Markets widely expect more stimulus around a meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo late this month, setting the tone for economic policies in the second half of the year. Thirty-one of the 70 cities monitored by NBS recorded month-on-month rises in new home prices, down from 46 in May. Prices were flat after rising in May in tier-one cities including Beijing and tier-two cities.

Persons: Chen Xiao, Hunter, Chen, Zou Lan, Goldman Sachs, dampening, Qiaoyi Li, Liangping Gao, Ryan Woo, Kim Coghill, William Mallard Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Communist Party's Politburo, Zhuge, NBS, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing

☆ China's industrial profits tumble, deepening economic gloom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - Annual profits at China's industrial firms extended a double-digit decline in the first five months as softening demand squeezed margins, reinforcing hopes of more policy support to bolster a stuttering post-COVID economic recovery. "The still slow recovery in industrial profits pointed to sustained difficulties facing business operations," said Wu Chaoming, deputy director of the Chasing International Economic Institute. Wu said the corporate struggles strengthen the case for more policy measures to help companies. "As the external environment becomes increasingly complicated and severe, domestic demand still appears to be insufficient, weighing on further recovery in industrial profits," said NBS statistician Sun Xiao in an accompanying statement, noting that the foundation for a revival in industrial profits is still not solid. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.77 million) from their main operations.

Persons: Wu Chaoming, Wu, Sun Xiao, Goldman Sachs, Li Qiang, Li, Qiaoyi Li, Ryan Woo, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Economic Institute, P Global, Summer, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Tianjin

☆ China's tumbling industrial profits deepens economic gloom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ A Satisfying Steak Salad That’s the Answer to Your Summer Dinner Dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Kitty Greenwald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BEEFED UP You can easily make this fruit- and nut-studded summer salad vegetarian by leaving off the steak. It’s still sure to satisfy. Photo: Linda Xiao for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua

Persons: Linda Xiao, Pearl Jones, Marina Bevilacqua Organizations: Wall Street Locations: BEEFED

☆ A desperate property developer in China said it would give a gold bar to anyone who buys a home it builds. Homebuyers say they're still waiting.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Chinese property developer is offering gold bars to buyers in a desperate bid to boost home sales. According to The Guardian and local media outlets, the property developer in question is Huafa Group, which is based in Hangzhou, a city in eastern China. Disgruntled buyers are raging over the gold barsHowever, some buyers have been kept waiting for the promised gold after purchasing a flat. A staff member at Huafa told Insider the Huafa Hui Tianfu development had "nothing to do" with them. Flashy giveaways are commonplace in China's property marketThis is not the first time Chinese property developers have dangled freebies to entice homebuyers.

Persons: —, they've, monthslong, Hui Tianfu, China's, Zhu, Xian, Shao, Xiao Qiang, homebuyers Organizations: Service, Guardian, Weibo, China's Twitter, Huafu Group, Jiemian, Huafa, Qianjiang Evening, Estate Development Corporation, China Index Academy, Bloomberg, Wall Street Locations: Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou Yuejia

☆ How a quest for identity made China the luxury powerhouse that it is today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Traditions provide identity. As CCP has destroyed Chinese traditions, luxury brands step in to provide that," he tweeted. Consider this: The country's luxury market is set to hit 816 billion yuan, or $115 billion, by 2025. "Traditions provide identity. Rapid urbanization and consumerism did more to fuel China's luxury boom than a lack of religion, he said.

Persons: Desmond Shum, —, That's, PwC, Bernard Arnault —, Shum —, Shum, Simon & Schuster, Pierre Xiao Lu, Lu, Karl Gerth, Gerth, Yuwan Hu, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton Organizations: CCP, Service, Privacy, Shanghai's Fudan University, Wharton, University of California, Daxue Consulting Locations: China, Europe, Today's China, San Diego, Beijing

☆ ‘These jobs can be respectable too’: Why youths in China are abandoning white-collar jobs for ‘light labor’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Such a switch from a white-collar job to "qing ti li huo" (or "light labor" in Chinese) is gaining popularity among younger people in the country. It was only in hindsight that Wang realized she never "personally wanted" to pursue her major, or be in a white-collar job. "I looked back and I realized it was because my parents told me to choose it, people told me that with this major I'd have a really, really great future," Wang said. She earned about 12,000 Chinese yuan ($1,700) a month in her white-collar job. But what may be priceless to her is the self-discovery Wang said she's been able to experience after walking away from her white-collar job.

Persons: Eunice Wang, I'd, Wang, Jia, they're, Jia Miao, Wu Xiaogang, Wu, That's, xiao bai, Miao, Eunice Wang Barista, Wu —, she's Organizations: NYU Shanghai, New York University Shanghai, CNBC, NYU Locations: China, Beijing, United States

The latest surge of dark fleet ships began after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West tried to limit Moscow’s oil revenue with sanctions. The ships most likely sell their Russian oil to China above a price limit set by the sanctions. “The price cap is achieving its dual goals: restricting Russia’s oil revenues while keeping Russian oil flowing, and markets stable and well-supplied,” a U.S. Treasury spokesperson told The Times. The spoofing tankers using American insurance show that the practice is not limited to Russian oil alone. The company, Gatik Ship Management, owns a fleet of 50 newly acquired tankers dedicated to the Russian oil trade, the report said.

Persons: ”, David Tannenbaum, it’s, Samir Madani, Daniel Tadros, Russia Lady Ella, Russia Snow, Price, Konstantin Zavrazhin, Tannenbaum, Mr, Tadros, what’s, Min Chao Choy Organizations: Cathay, Labs, Copernicus Sentinel, Maxar Technologies, The New York Times, The Times, U.S . Treasury, Times, American Club, Club’s, Alma, Cargo, Russia Cathay Phoenix, Hong, International Maritime Organization, American, ”, AIS, telltale, Treasury’s, Foreign, Control, Maritime, C4ADS, Gatik Ship Management Locations: Japan, Kozmino, China, U.S, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine, ”, Hong Kong, Niigata, Russia Ginza, Varna, Bulgaria, Taman, Niigata Port, Siberia, Cathay Phoenix, O.F.A.C, South Korea, Washington, Ginza, Oman, India

☆ The Mystery of the Disappearing van Gogh
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( May | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He also controlled a hidden offshore network of more than 130 companies holding over $5 billion in assets, according to corporate documents obtained by The New York Times. Among them was Sotheby’s invoice for the van Gogh. Today, Mr. Xiao is a man who has fallen far. And the still life, according to several art experts, has been offered for private sale. For a century after van Gogh gathered flowers and placed them in an earthen vase to paint, the artwork’s provenance could be easily traced, and the piece was often exhibited in museums for visitors to admire.

☆ China's industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilize external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ China industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilise external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ This 15-mile, $6.7B bridge is a symbol of China’s ambitions, and its problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The Greater Bay Area is home to 68 million people, covers 21,800 square miles and encompasses 11 cities: Hong Kong, Macao and nine others including Zhongshan and Shenzhen. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan bridge project features artificial islands and an undersea tunnel. That bridge connects the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai with gambling hub Macao and leading financial center Hong Kong. An aerial view of the world's longest cross-sea bridge, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, in Zhuhai city, south China's Guangdong province, 19 March 2019. The latest bridge would connect two mainland Chinese cities that were already under the same regulations, he pointed out.

☆ Sexual harassment debate breathes new life into China’s #MeToo movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Shi has strongly denied the accusations of sexual harassment in two separate statements and claimed the encounters were consensual. The falloutThe allegations have since sparked furious debate on Chinese social media, with related hashtags trending for days and racking up hundreds of millions of views on Weibo. China did not specify sexual harassment as a legal offense until 2021, when it enacted a civil code defining sexual harassment for the first time in the country’s law. But still, the failure of sexual harassment lawsuits – like Zhou’s – in recent years has made it “increasingly clear that seeking legal remedies for sexual harassment is not realistic,” said the Chinese feminist in New Jersey. “Even if I reported it, and he was summoned to the police station, how many days can he be detained for sexual harassment?” she wrote.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with G42 CEO and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with G42 CEO and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team CEOAbu Dhabi royal backed artificial intelligence company G42 and the Mercedes F1 team are partnering to explore ways to deploy AI software and solutions into the team's operations to deliver critical insights. CNBC's Dan Murphy sits with G42 CEO Peng Xiao and Mercedes F1 Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff to speak about the partnership, incorporating AI technology in sports and AI regulation.

☆ Hong Kong woos mainland China crypto firms in push to bolster finance hub status
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A visitor looks at screens showing advertisements of NFTs and virtual lands, at Hong Kong Web3 Festival, in Hong Kong, China April 13, 2023. According to Xiao, many in the crypto industry thought Hong Kong would inevitably adopt the same regulations as mainland China. But he said that the government is now trying to emphasise Hong Kong practices different laws from mainland China under the "One Country, Two Systems" framework. These firms, which have exited countries like Canada and Britain, are among the sponsors of the glitziest Hong Kong parties this week. Reporting by Josh Ye in Hong Kong; Editing by Brenda Goh and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Young people in Greater China are blowing their paychecks every month — even if they don't have to
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"Yue guang zu" ("moonlight clan") refers young singles in Greater China who go broke at the end of each month, or live paycheck to paycheck. Hsu belongs to a group of people in Taiwan, typically young and single workers, called the "yue guang zu" — the so-called "moonlight clan." Eric Hsu Civil engineerBut when a serious knee injury took him out of work for two weeks without pay, Hsu realized he was unable to support himself. "Young people would rather give up that dream and spend money on things they are guaranteed to get today." After his experience, he canceled his credit cards two years ago and committed to saving one third of his salary each month.

☆ Study explains how primordial life survived on 'Snowball Earth'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Life somehow managed to survive during this time called "Snowball Earth," and a new study offers a deeper understanding as to why. "Our study shows that, at least near the end of the Marinoan 'Snowball Earth' event, habitable areas extended to mid-latitude oceans, much larger than previously thought. And the Earth spiraled into Snowball Earth conditions," Virginia Tech geobiologist and study co-author Shuhai Xiao said. Multicellular organisms including red algae, green algae and fungi emerged before the Cryogenian and survived "Snowball Earth." "It is fair to say that the 'Snowball Earth' events were significant challenges to life on Earth," Xiao added.

☆ China's industrial profits slump deepens on soft demand, high costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The slump in Chinese industrial firms' profits deepened in the first two months of 2023, weighed by lacklustre demand and stubbornly high costs as the world's second-largest economy struggled to fully shake the long-term effects of Covid. NBS statistician Sun Xiao attributed the decline to still soft demand despite an uptick in industrial output, according to a statement on the bureau's website. "Currently, international commodity prices remain at high levels and overseas demand is still on a downtrend," Zhou wrote. "Industrial and manufacturing departments still need to offer policy support, alleviating fiscal, cost and financing pressures and stabilizing firm confidence." Foreign firms posted a 35.7% decline in profits, while private-sector firms saw their profits down 19.9%, according to a breakdown of the 887.21 billion yuan ($128.92 billion) profits.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank red flags: Why did almost everyone fail to predict its collapse?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A bank run took down Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, as depositors withdrew $42 billion in a single day. To embrace a uniquely Silicon Valley ethos that champions boldness, growth and disruption. Silicon Valley Bank held 55% of its customers' deposits in long-dated bonds whose value eroded as interest rates went up. Silicon Valley Bank held an unusually large proportion (55%) of its customers’ deposits in long-dated Treasuries. And for most of that year, Silicon Valley Bank was operating with a massive vacancy in its corporate leadership team: a chief risk officer.

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