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☆ Luxury eyes focused on China after Richemont's Q3 sales miss
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Q3 sales rise by 8% but miss market forecastsMainland China sales drop 24%Company says customer demand in China now picking upAll eyes on China for luxury sector, say analystsZURICH, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Cartier jewellery maker Richemont (CFR.S) missed market forecasts during its latest quarter as the resurgence of COVID-19 in China hit sales there, highlighting the country's importance for the luxury sector. Richemont, whose other brands include Swiss watchmakers IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, has been seeing strong sales growth in Europe, the Middle East and Japan, particularly for jewellery. But the mainland Chinese market - which accounts for about a fifth of the group's sales, according to Zuercher Kantonalbank estimates - struggled with sales down 24% in constant currency terms. The prospect of a pickup in Chinese sales meant analysts were not too worried by Richemont's quarterly miss. "The catch-up from Chinese consumers will come as strong as sales decelerated in 3Q, as they were able to save money during the lockdowns."

☆ Millions of Chinese workers on the move ahead of Friday travel peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] A medical worker helps a patient receiving treatment at the emergency department of a hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 17, 2023. Travellers bustled through railway stations and subways in Beijing and Shanghai, many ferrying large wheeled suitcases and boxes stuffed with food and gifts. The infection rate in the southern city of Guangzhou, capital of China's most populous province, has now passed 85%, local health officials announced on Wednesday. Clinics in rural villages and towns are now being fitted with oxygenators, and medical vehicles have also been deployed to isolated areas. Doctors in both public and private hospitals were being actively discouraged from attributing deaths to COVID, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

☆ Former NATO boss urges countries to show China consequences if it attacks Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen speaks to the media at a press event in Taipei, Taiwan, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Ann WangTAIPEI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Democratic countries should make it clear the "severe economic consequences" China would face should it move against self-governed Taiwan, the former NATO secretary-general said during a visit to the island on Thursday. China, which claims Taiwan as its own despite strong objections of the democratic island, has been ramping up pressure on Taiwan to assert its sovereignty claims, including almost daily Chinese air force missions near the island over the past three years. China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control if necessary. "All those who believe in a democratic Taiwan and rule- based international order must work to ensure Ukraine prevails.

☆ Chinese state media seek to reassure public over COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WUHAN, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese took to the streets to mark the New Year as authorities and state media sought to reassure the public that the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping across the country was under control and nearing its peak. China reported one new COVID-19 death in the mainland for Dec. 31, the same as a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday. State media in the city of Guangzhou in southeastern China said on Sunday that daily cases peaked at around 60,000 recently, and now stand at around 19,000. On Sunday, Australia and Canada joined the United States and others in requiring travellers from China to provide negative COVID-19 tests when they arrive. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen offered on Sunday to provide China with "necessary assistance" to help it deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases.

[1/2] People line up at a makeshift fever clinic set up inside a stadium, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China December 19, 2022. "We stand ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, anything else that we can be helpful with," he said. "We want China to get COVID right," Blinken said earlier this month. “China faces a very challenging system in reopening,” Powell said, adding that its manufacturing, exporting and supply chain remain critical. Officials set up health centers and apps that told people with symptoms how to avoid infecting others, he said.

☆ Asia's year in review: Who had it good — and who had it bad — in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Curtis Chin | Jose Collazo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

As the new year approaches, we turn again to our annual look at Asia's winners and losers. Government and business leaders in every major economy — China now included — may well hope 2023 is the year when draconian pandemic-related lockdowns become a matter of history. Underscoring the Taiwanese tech industry's critical role, a Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)/Boston Consulting Group 2021 study found that 92% of the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity is located in Taiwan. With numbers like those, Taiwan's semiconductor industry ends the year on the move, still building ties and winning growing support from business and government in the United States and elsewhere. Mixed Year: Asia's 'love' for cryptoAs in much of the world, investors in Asia — once bedazzled if not bewitched by the crypto industry — end the year in a mixed mood.

☆ Exclusive: Canada's critical-mineral strategy aims to accelerate permitting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Critical minerals are key elements in EV batteries, electronics and solar panels and play a crucial role in the transition to the green economy. China now dominates the market for critical minerals used in EV batteries. Ottawa will seek "regulatory harmonization" with the United States on critical minerals, the document reads without elaborating, as part of the strategy. Canada has signed similar critical minerals cooperation agreements with Japan and the European Union. On Thursday, Canada said it would beef up rules around foreign investment, in the critical minerals sector and others.

☆ As China moves away from zero-Covid, health experts warn of dark days ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Across the country, however, some parts of residential communities and buildings designated high risk by authorities are still locked down. A QR code for Covid-19 contact tracing displayed at the entrance to a subway station in Shanghai, China, on Monday. Top health officials on November 28 announced a new plan to bolster elderly vaccination rates, but such measures will take time, as will other preparations for a surge. Minimizing the worst outcomes in a transition out of zero-Covid depends on that preparation, according to Cowling. From that perspective, he said, “it doesn’t look like it would be a good time to relax the policies.”

☆ Morning Bid: Powell clears the decks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. Intended or not, investors clearly read Wednesday's keynote speech by the Federal Reserve chair as a green light for a yearend relief rally in beaten down assets. On the face of it, Fed chief Jerome Powell merely confirmed what most had already assumed - that the Fed would downshift the size of its interest rate rises to half a point next month. The upshot is that markets have dragged their implied peak Fed rate next year back below 5% and continue to price up to half a point of cuts by the end of 2023. Core PCE inflation numbers are due later and another barrage of Fed speakers to hold Powell's take up to the light.

☆ Biden’s not the first US President to face a tug of war over China protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Going further could imperil US President Joe Biden’s effort to improve relations between the two countries, after he met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Bali. It’s a strategically defensible position, given the need to avoid a clash with China that could spiral into a superpower clash in Asia. In the run-up to Beijing’s suppression of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, then-President George H.W. China is unrecognizable since 1989, and recent protests – this time arising out of frustration with Covid-19 lockdowns but expressing some dissent towards Xi – are not fully analogous. Biden would be likely to show far less deference to Beijing given today’s broad, bipartisan anti-China feeling in Washington.

☆ Canada says war, climate concerns show need for supply chain shift
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Canada also launched an Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday meant to counter Chinese power in the region. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is interviewed by Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni via video link during a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, U.S., November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidChina now dominates the critical-mineral portion of the electric vehicle supply chain. In recent months, Canada has also been reminding its top trading partner, the United States, of its value as a neighbor. "We of course stand with those protesters," Trudeau said.

☆ India and China are still snapping up Russian oil — but they are demanding huge bargains which is hitting Kremlin's war chest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

India and China now account for two-thirds of seaborne Russia crude oil exports. As major customers, they are demanding huge discounts from Russia, hitting Kremlin's war chest. India and China now account for about two-thirds of all Russian seaborne crude-oil exports, and as major customers, they are demanding massive discounts for their purchases, Bloomberg's oil strategist Julian Lee wrote on Sunday. That is also why Washington doesn't appear to be too worried about India and China's huge purchase of Russian oil, even if they pay prices above a G7 imposed price cap. Russian oil "is going to be selling at bargain prices and we're happy to have India get that bargain or Africa or China.

☆ China’s Xi attempts to claim diplomatic victory in battle for global influence after summit whirlwind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday. Since taking office, Biden has shored up relations with allies and partners to counter China’s growing influence. In a rare, candid moment caught on camera, Xi chided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of leaking details of a brief conversation between them. He also attended the Group of 20 dinner, where he shook hands and chatted with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the Dutch Prime Minister, Xi also invited US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s newly elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit Beijing early next year.

☆ The last panda in Latin America? Mexico to decide what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Xin Xin, the last panda in Latin America, is not your average bear. A native of Mexico, she’s the only remaining member of a diaspora descended from giant pandas China gifted to foreign countries during the 1970s and 1980s. That era may soon end after more than 50 years because Xin Xin, the granddaughter of pandas gifted by China, is childless, in menopause and, at 32, very old. It could be the end for pandas in Latin America altogether if Mexico’s government balks at the price of a new panda. Xin Xin is a second-generation Mexican-born panda, tracing her lineage to Pe Pe and Ying Ying, who arrived to the zoo in 1975.

☆ Analysis: Xi and Biden cool the heat, but China and the US are still on collision course
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The world can breathe a little easier after US President Joe Biden’s talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday. But they could also be read as the kind of lecture that Washington once delivered to Chinese leaders that Xi is now taking the opportunity to throw back at the US. Biden said after the talks that he didn’t find Xi “more confrontational or more conciliatory. Biden publicly told Xi that the US was ready to reengage in climate talks – at an opportune moment for the Egypt climate summit. Before he went to Asia, Biden suggested that China didn’t have that much respect for either Russian President Vladimir Putin or Russia itself.

☆ The World Is Falling Short of Its Climate Goals. Four Big Emitters Show Why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Max Bearak | Nadja Popovich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

Together, the four countries account for more than half of historical emissions of planet-warming gases, which include carbon dioxide and methane. ChinaThis is China’s current emissions track. Change in emissions by 2030 compared with last year On current track Range Paris pledge 1.5°C compatible –100% –75% –50% –25% +25% 0 This is China’s current emissions track. Because China’s emissions are so high, however, no other country will be more crucial in lowering global emissions. IndiaThis is India’s current emissions track.

How Putin and Friends Stalled Climate Progress A handful of powerful world leaders rallied around Russia and undercut global cooperation. Mr. Putin has gained from this as the increasingly autocratic Mr. Xi finds common cause with the Kremlin. “Much depends on whether authoritarian leaders perceive climate action to be in their self-interest.”Though their actions help Mr. Putin, their track records on climate are mixed. Mr. Xi called Mr. Putin his “best friend.”He was returning the favor from a year earlier, when Mr. Putin hosted Mr. Xi at the Grand Kremlin Palace and awarded him one of Russia’s highest medals for foreign dignitaries. At a news conference with Mr. Putin, Mr. Bolsonaro thanked his “dear friend,” saying that Mr. Putin had offered him support when other world leaders were criticizing his Amazon policy.

☆ Stock market continues to sizzle this month
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —October may be famous for historically horrifying stock market crashes like the ones in 1929, 1987 and 2008. Stocks enjoyed another solid rally Monday, continuing a hot streak for the markets this month. The S&P and Nasdaq are each still down more than 20% in 2022, though, which means they are in a bear market. American companies with significant exposure to the Chinese market were also hit hard and sat out the broader market rally. Brands (YUM) was down 2% while Yum China (YUMC), which franchises the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in China, plunged 14%.

☆ Watch: US warns China might have military capability to seize Taiwan in 2027
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

China now boasts the world's largest navy, with some of the newest and most powerful warships afloat. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to bring Taiwan, a self-governed island of 24 million people, under Beijing's control - by force if necessary. CNN's Will Ripley reports.

☆ Xi Jinping’s Ideological Ambition Challenges China’s Economic Prospects
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Lingling Wei | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Xi Jinping laid out ambitious plans two years ago to expand China’s wealth and double the size of the nation’s economy by 2035. The target would require China’s economy to grow an average of nearly 5% annually over 15 years, according to estimates by officials involved in policy-making. Many economists inside and outside of China now believe 5% won’t be achievable, not just for this year, but also for the longer term.

☆ Xi Jinping’s Ideological Ambition Darkens China’s Economic Prospects
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Lingling Wei | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File PhotoHONG KONG, Oct 18 (Reuters) - As Xi Jinping consolidates power at China's 20th Communist Party Congress this week, Chinese women are not holding their breath for progress in gender equality. Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People's Republic, famously said "women hold up half the sky" and gender equality is enshrined in the country's constitution. "The trend (now) is usually women serve as a deputy or more symbolic position," he said. The sole current female member, Sun Chunlan, who has spearheaded China's zero-COVID policy, is 72 and expected to retire. The Chinese government body in charge of women's rights, the Women's Federation, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

☆ EU should treat China more as a competitor, says diplomat chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The European Union should recognise China even more as a competitor and reduce its economic dependency, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday, as the bloc looks to fine-tune relations with Beijing. The bloc has regarded China since 2019 as a partner, tough economic competitor and systemic rival. Borrell told reporters after Monday's ministerial meeting that the role of competitor had become more central. EU diplomats say Brussels is concerned that Xi is setting China on an increasingly authoritarian path and is uneasy about Chinese partnership with Russia. "The objective is not to change radically this policy but, obviously things have happened," one EU official said.

☆ Analysis: Xi's new generals face tough military challenges post-congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Greg Torode | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Now come the tricky next steps for his Central Military Commission: implementing sweeping changes to its leadership, which commands China's two million-strong People's Liberation Army, potentially tightening Xi's grip over the military and its modernisation. Among those expected to step down are the body's vice chairmen, Generals Xu Qiliang and Zhang Youxia, both 72. Diplomatic challenges are also mounting, as China's military modernisation confronts the traditional U.S. strategic dominance in East Asia. Who is chosen could shed light on Xi's military priorities. "There is no shortage of senior military officers who internally parrot Xi's 'fight and win' mantra, but the conundrum for the PLA is the lack of operational experience," said Alexander Neill, a private military analyst.

Then came the pandemic and a property crisis, and with them, clear evidence of the limits of the debt-fuelled, investment-driven model that had propelled China's economy and businesses like Shores'. "If there is no investment, consumption will be like a tree without roots," said Jia, who previously led a finance ministry think tank. Many uncertainties hang over China's economy: the zero-COVID policy, a crackdown on tech and other industries, geopolitical tensions and rising borrowing costs in export markets. China is widely expected to miss this year's 5.5% GDP growth target and Natixis estimates growth may not even top 3% a year into Xi's next mandate. Oxford Economics expects average annual GDP growth this decade to halve from the 1999-2019 average to 4.5% and slow to 3% in the decade after.

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