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☆ Most Chinese provinces set growth targets of above 5% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Most Chinese provinces aim for economic growth of above 5% this year, pledging to focus on boosting consumption following a lifting of stringent COVID curbs, according to local government work reports. Zhejiang province, which is a "demonstration zone" for China's common prosperity campaign, has set a more than 5% growth target this year, after missing its "around 6%" goal by half in 2022. Growth is expected to rebound to 4.9% in 2023, according to a Reuters poll. China is likely to aim for economic growth of at least 5% in 2023 to keep a lid on unemployment, policy insiders said. The tropical southern province of Hainan set an ambitious target of around 9.5% for 2023 growth, after the island's main tourist hub, Sanya, locked in tens of thousands of tourists last August.

☆ Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/StaffBEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Former high school teacher Ailia was devastated when her 85-year-old father died after displaying COVID-like symptoms as the virus swept through their hometown in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. Her father died in late December, weeks after China dropped its COVID restrictions. Among those fatalities, 90% were 65 or older and the average age was 80.3 years, a Chinese official said on Saturday. Hong recalls visiting with her father to a crowded Wuhan crematorium to collect the ashes of her grandparents - a grim but common experience during China's COVID surge. Relatives were likewise sceptical about official death tolls, with several citing lost trust in the government during three years of "zero COVID" pandemic management.

The UN agency said China was heavily under-reporting deaths from COVID, although it is now providing more information on its outbreak. China's foreign ministry said the country's health officials have held five technical exchanges with the WHO over the past month and have been transparent. Concerns over data transparency were among the factors that prompted more than a dozen countries to demand pre-departure COVID tests from travellers arriving from China. Tensions escalated this week with South Korea and Japan, with China retaliating by suspending short-term visas for their nationals. Still, traffic data and other indicators have not yet fully recovered to levels of just a few months ago.

☆ IEA says clean energy manufacturing set for substantial growth as world enters 'new industrial age'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The world's second largest economy is a major force in technologies crucial to the planned energy transition. "The related clean energy manufacturing jobs would more than double from 6 million today to nearly 14 million by 2030," the IEA said, "and further rapid industrial and employment growth is expected in the following decades as transitions progress." Its report highlighted "potentially risky levels of concentration in clean energy supply chains — both for the manufacturing of technologies and the materials on which they rely." China, it said, was dominating both the production and trade of "most clean energy technologies." "Meanwhile, a great deal of the mining for critical minerals is concentrated in a small number of countries," it added.

☆ China’s local governments set 2023 growth targets, offering clues on economic recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The meetings will culminate in the national parliamentary session to be held in March, in which the premier is expected to disclose the nation’s GDP growth target. So far, a group of government economists and international analysts have said they expect Beijing to set a growth target of above 5% in 2023. On Thursday, Zhejiang province, another major economic powerhouse, announced it’s targeting an expansion of more than 5% in 2023. On Wednesday, Shanghai, the most affluent city in mainland China, announced it would aim for 5.5% growth this year. On the same day, Fujian, Sichuan and Hebei provinces all disclosed growth targets of 6% for 2023.

☆ China's new Covid surge is crippling the world's most important factories and biggest ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesThe surge in Covid-19 cases in China is impacting the completion of manufacturing orders, according to CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map data. "The container pickup, loading, and drayage (trucking) are also affected as all businesses are facing the impacts of COVID. Three major ports across China are experiencing supply chain delivery problems because of Covid, according to the note. "The booking cancellation is increasing as many factories can't operate properly due to a lot of workers getting invested with Covid," the report said. As a result of the Covid impact on trucking, MarineTraffic is seeing a slowdown in port productivity in Shanghai.

China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related. The holiday travel rush is expected to last for 40 days, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15, the Ministry of Transport said this week. China's official death toll of 5,246 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the United States. The United States, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan said they would require COVID tests for travellers from China. Omicron was still the dominant strain in China, Chinese health officials said this week.

☆ China limits how it defines Covid deaths in official count
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Deaths that occur in patients with pre-existing illnesses are not counted as Covid-19 deaths, said Wang Guiqiang, the head of infectious disease at Peking University's No. The clarification of how China officially records Covid-19 deaths comes as cases have soared across the country amid the loosening of restrictions. "So limiting a diagnosis of death from Covid to someone with a Covid positive test and respiratory failure will very much underestimate the true death toll associated with Covid." That narrower criteria means that China's Covid-19 death toll will always be significantly lower than those of many other nations. The World Health Organization states in guidelines that "probable" Covid-19 cases and deaths where Covid-19 was a contributing factor should also be counted as Covid-19 deaths.

Though a tiny fraction of the nation's plantings, the previously unreported total represents the company's biggest ever release of hybrid wheat. NEARLY 100 YEARSFarmers have used hybrid seeds since the 1930s to grow corn, followed by other crops ranging from peanuts to tomatoes. Producing hybrid wheat seeds is still more complicated and expensive than conventional wheat. Hybrid wheat can produce more uniform results across fields than conventional wheat, and may deliver better yields on poor soil, Hankey said. Syngenta projected in 2015 that its annual sales of hybrid wheat seeds could potentially reach $3 billion by 2032.

☆ Beijing and northern China hit by winter sandstorm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Beijing and large swaths of northern China woke to choking sand and dust on Monday, as a winter sandstorm sent air pollution levels off the charts. Beijing used to be hit by sandstorms regularly in the spring, but less so in the winter. Sandstorms also hit northern Hebei and Shanxi provinces, western Gansu, and central and western Inner Mongolia on Monday, state-run news agency Xinhua said. CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty ImagesIn the spring of 2021, Beijing was hit by the biggest sandstorm in nearly a decade, which turned the skies an eerie shade of orange. In previous decades, each May saw at least two rounds of sandstorms, according to Xinhua.

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Investors caught off-guard by China's dramatic COVID policy pivot are betting on both greed and fear as the economy starts to gradually reopen, snapping up shares in businesses from travel agencies and casinos to funeral companies. Providers of death care services, including Hong Kong-listed Fu Shou Yuan International Group (1448.HK), China's biggest cemetery operator and funeral service provider, have also drawn investors. The positioning for both the bright and dark side of China's COVID pivot reflects growing concerns from investors surprised by the rapid policy change, especially as COVID vaccination rates among the elderly remain relatively low. "But we still think that the way China can flatten the curve of new COVID cases without doubling down on tightening looks quite challenging." Morgan Stanley Chief China economist Robin Xing said China's economy may remain sluggish for another quarter or two, but growth will pick up after Spring.

☆ Inside China's fight over the future of zero-COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

After nearly three years, a significant loosening of zero-COVID measures has been signalled by senior government officials and public health experts. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said on Thursday that China's health system had "withstood the test" of COVID, allowing further adjustments to state policies. "You can have zero-COVID, but you can't have a healthy economy, and you can have a healthy economy, but you can't have zero-COVID." Laura Yasaitis, a public health expert at the Eurasia Group think-tank who follows China's zero-COVID policies, said fear of the virus likely varied widely across the country, as well as within cities or provinces. Officials have repeatedly said that China's health system would be unable to cope with a surge in cases, with medical resources unevenly distributed across the country.

☆ China reports third consecutive daily record for new Covid cases
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

That compared with 32,943 new cases a day earlier – 3,103 symptomatic and 29,840 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. Excluding imported cases, China reported 34,909 new local cases on Friday, of which 3,405 were symptomatic and 31,504 were asymptomatic, up from 32,695 a day earlier. Chongqing, a southwestern city of 32 million people, reported 7,721 new local cases for Friday, a jump of almost 20% from the previous day. Guangzhou, a prosperous city of nearly 19 million people in southern China, reported 7,419 new local cases for Friday, down slightly from 7,524 cases a day earlier. New local cases for Friday in the capital Beijing jumped 58% to 2,595, according to figures released by local health authorities on Saturday.

☆ China reports third consecutive daily record for new COVID cases
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Guangzhou Covid-19: China locks down key transportation hub; markets fear economic fallout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —China has locked down a major transportation hub in the south, as the country’s grapples with its largest nationwide Covid outbreak since April. The lockdown also follows rising cases in Beijing, which reported the country’s first Covid deaths in nearly six months. Asian markets and oil prices slid on Monday as investors fretted about the prospect of China re-tightening Covid rules. Guangzhou, one of China’s largest cities with nearly 19 million residents, imposed a five-day lockdown in Baiyun district, which is home to one of the country’s busiest airports. Goldman Sachs analysts said Monday that the latest news on China’s Covid management has been “confusing” to investors.

☆ Investors ignore China Covid spike at their peril
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The blistering relief rally underway in Chinese equities is understandable. Most of China’s trading partners have moved on to living with the virus, but Xi still aspires to keep it out. New cases have officially multiplied from roughly 1,000 per day in October to 25,353 on Thursday. In the second, Covid-19 finally runs wild in China, killing the unvaccinated elderly as it did in Hong Kong earlier this year. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong has risen nearly 30% in the past 14 trading days, Refinitiv data show, while the onshore benchmark CSI300 index gained 9%.

☆ Argentina at the 2022 World Cup: who is in Lionel Scaloni's 26-man squad?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

* Teams will be able to select up to 26 players for this year's World Cup after FIFA increased the maximum limit for squads by three in June, citing the unusual timing of the tournament as well as the impact of COVID-19. Who is in Argentina's World Cup 2022 squad? * Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho, 18, who has made seven appearances for the club this season, misses out. What was Argentina's squad at the 2018 World Cup? * Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City).

☆ China is caught in a zero-Covid trap of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The new political ecology also provided more incentive for local governments to impose more draconian Covid control measures,” Huang said. Chinese health officials maintain that changing tack now would risk a huge surge in infections and deaths that could overwhelm the country’s fragile health care system. Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million, imposed sweeping lockdown measures last month after identifying dozens of Covid-19 cases. On Wednesday, the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, where the Foxconn plant is located, announced new lockdown measures. As the winter approaches, experts warn that China could be hit by a new wave of infections – and a new cycle of draconian lockdowns.

☆ China's Xi defends zero-Covid policy and warns Taiwan at opening of Communist Party Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating the building of a world-class military as he kicked off a Communist Party Congress by touting the country's “zero-Covid” strategy and reiterating policy priorities. Xi described the five years since the last party congress as “extremely uncommon and abnormal”, during a speech that lasted less than two hours — far shorter than his nearly three-and-a-half-hour address at the 2017 congress. Chinese President Xi Jinping, bottom, centre, is applauded by senior members of the government and delegates after his speech on Sunday. The son of a Communist Party revolutionary, Xi has reinvigorated a party that had grown deeply corrupt and increasingly irrelevant, expanding its presence across all aspects of China, with Xi officially its “core”. The day after the congress ends on Saturday, Xi is expected to introduce his new Politburo Standing Committee, a seven-person leadership team.

☆ Xi set to open party congress at challenging time for China
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Tony Munroe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

China's President Xi Jinping attends a wreath laying ceremony on Tiananmen Square to mark Martyrs' Day on the eve of the National Day in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. Still, diplomats, economists and analysts spoken to by Reuters say Xi is set to consolidate his grip on power. In securing a third term Xi breaks with the two-term precedent of recent decades. Also breaking with norms: no successor to Xi, 69, is expected to be identified, analysts say, which would indicate he plans to remain in power even longer. Still, analysts say, the views of any individual matter less nowadays as Xi has sidelined those seen as "reformers" in favour of his more state-driven and nationalistic economic policies.

Note: Data for 2020 is from June 2020 through May 2021; for 2021, it is from June 2021 through May 2022. Path of Hai Feng 718 over 365 days Encounters with Chinese fishing vessels Note: Data is from June 2021 through May 2022. Transshipment allows fishing vessels to stay at sea year-round Parked side by side, carrier vessels exchange fuel, crew supplies and the catch from fishing vessels. This allows fishing ships to fish for longer periods. Fish hold where fish is transported from Fender to maintain a safe distance between ships FISHING VESSEL CARRIER VESSEL Crane to transport catch from fishing vessel to carrier vessel Fish hold where fish is transported from Fender to maintain a safe distance between ships FISHING VESSEL CARRIER VESSEL Crane to transport catch from fishing vessel to carrier vessel Transshipment between a squid fishing vessel and a cargo carrier in the North Indian Ocean last year.

Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute estimated in July that stalled projects accounted for 3.85% of China's housing market in the first half of 2022, equivalent to an area of 231 million square metres. But in June 2020, Jiadengbao Real Estate hit the headlines after a court accused its parent company of illegal fund-raising and seized 340 million yuan worth of its properties, including a number of flats in Xiulan County Mansion. Jiadengbao Real Estate did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. FENCING AND UNDERGROWTHOn a recent day, the main block of buildings at Xiulan County Mansion was surrounded by a tall blue fence while the clubhouse, touted in promotional materials, was covered in a dense undergrowth. "If the government really wants to protect people's livelihoods, and resume construction, we will go back home," Xu said.

☆ China Jails Gang Members Over Attack on Women
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Cao Li | Liyan Qi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—A court in China handed down hefty sentences to members of a gang who carried out a brutal attack on several women in a restaurant three months ago that shocked the country with its violence and reignited debate on gender inequality. Seven members were found guilty of taking part in the assault, and together with 21 others of committing a string of serious offenses over the past decade, according to a social-media post by the Guangyang district court in China’s northern Hebei province. They received jail sentences of between six months and 24 years, it said.

☆ China jails man for 24 years over attack on women at restaurant
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Rhoda Kwan | Rhoda Kwan Is A Taipei-Based Journalist. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A man in northern China was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Friday in connection with an attack on four women at a restaurant that stirred a national conversation on gender-based violence. The attack left two of the women hospitalized. CCTV footage captured a violent attack on women at a restaurant in Tangshan, China, in June. The Tangshan attack, CCTV footage of which quickly spread online, elicited an outpouring of anger among Chinese internet users, many of whom voiced serious concerns over the treatment of women in the country. The verdict on Friday was cheered on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform, with many commenters saying Chen’s harsh sentence was well deserved.

☆ (VIDEO) Fenomen în premieră în China. În Beijing, cerul s-a făcut galben, iar soarele a devenit un punct albastru
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-29 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

O furtună de nisip a lovit Beijingul, fiind purtată de curenţi de aer din Mongolia şi nord-vestul Chinei. Furtuna de nisip, care a învăluit Beijingul pentru a doua oară în mai puțin de două săptămâni, a împins nivelurile de poluare peste limitele considerate periculoase și a făcut ca cerul să devină galben iar soarele să se reducă la un punct albastru, scrie digi24. Pe platforma chineză de socializare Weibo, oamenii au postat numeroase imagini cu „soarele albastru”, iluzia optică fiind un efect al modului în care este difuzată lumina soarelui în particulele de nisip și de apă. Furtuna de nisip a fost cauzată de vânturile puternice care transportau praf din Mongolia, afectată de secetă și din alte părți din nord-vestul Chinei. Nivelul particulelor de dimensiuni mai mici PM2.5 a fost peste 300 micrograme pe metru cub, cu mult peste pragul standard în China, de 35 de micrograme.

Persons: Wang Ji Organizations: Inner Locations: Chinei, Mongolia, Beijing, China, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei

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