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☆ Leading WHO advisers call for 'realistic' COVID data from China at key meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The World Health Organization logo is pictured at the entrance of the WHO building, in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Leading scientists advising the World Health Organization said they wanted a "more realistic picture" about the COVID-19 situation from China's top experts at a key meeting on Tuesday as worries grow about the rapid spread of the virus. The WHO has invited Chinese scientists to a virtual closed meeting with its technical advisory group on viral evolution on Tuesday, to present data on which variants are circulating in the country. Speaking to Reuters ahead of the meeting, she said some of the data from China, such as hospitalisation numbers, is "not very credible". A WHO spokesperson said that a "detailed discussion" was expected about circulating variants in China, and globally, with Chinese scientists expected to make a presentation.

☆ China censors COVID-related content online as New Year's Eve prompts reflection by some
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - New Year's Eve in China prompted an outpouring of reflection online, some of it critical, about the strict zero-COVID policy the country adhered to for almost three years. One Weibo hashtag about the video garnered almost 4 million hits before it disappeared from platforms around noon on Saturday. China has massively reduced its reporting of nationwide figures on COVID-19 infections. Cumulative infections in China likely reached 18.6 million in December, UK-based health data firm Airfinity estimated on Thursday. The infections have prompted international concern, particularly regarding the possibility of a new, stronger variant emerging out of China.

☆ EU urges more checks for COVID variants given surge in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The commissioner's letter, dated Dec. 29, followed an online meeting of over 100 representatives from EU members, EU health agencies and the World Health Organisation to discuss how to deal with the outbreak in China. Italy has urged the rest of the European Union to follow its lead and test travellers from China, but most EU members have said they saw no need to do so. Kyriakides said some EU members had proposed measures such as the random testing of travellers. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says it does not currently recommend measures on travellers from China. It said the variants circulating in China were already in the European Union, EU citizens had relatively high vaccination levels and the potential imported infections were low compared to the number of daily infections in the EU, with health care systems currently coping.

☆ 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.

☆ Oil prices up as U.S. crude stocks seen falling, dollar eases
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies API shows U.S. crude stocks down, fuel inventories up -sourcesU.S. dollar easesSurging COVID-19 cases in China limit gainsDec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as U.S. crude stocks were seen falling last week, while the dollar weakened, making oil less expensive for non-American buyers. Brent crude futures rose 8 cents to $80.07 per barrel by 0126 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 6 cents to $76.29. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by about 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 16, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by 828,000 barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Oil prices, which came close to the all-time high of $147 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine, have unwound most of their 2022 gains.

☆ Recovery in Asia M&A, stuck at 8-year-lows, rests on macro conditions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Deals are set to revive slowly as companies and funds watch out for easier macroeconomic conditions, they said. "This will provide a more stable backdrop for the return of a more robust M&A market," said Maliah. Deals in private equity, a major M&A driver, amounted to $139 billion as of Dec. 15, down 52% on all of 2021. "Banks' ability to write big-size checks is still much challenged," said Samson Lo, UBS's co-head of Asia-Pacific M&A. An improvement in Asian equity capital market volumes from three-year lows will also help M&A deals, dealmakers said.

China reported 2,157 new symptomatic infections Thursday, but officials have stopped counting asymptomatic cases and halted mandatory testing. James Zimmermann, a lawyer, posted on Twitter earlier this week that 90% of his office was sickened. Meanwhile, Beijing has tried to maintain its policy of imposing harsh limits on people’s daily lives whenever an outbreak flared. Although direct comparisons are difficult, officially China has suffered just more than 5,200 deaths — compared with nearly 1.1 million in the United States. It also recently caused social unrest in the form of widespread demonstrations, which appeared to be the catalyst for the abrupt policy change.

According to the group's projections, cases in China would peak around April 1, when deaths would reach 322,000. About a third of China's population will have been infected by then, IHME Director Christopher Murray said. China's national health authority has not reported any official COVID deaths since the lifting of COVID restrictions. Based on China's population of 1.41 billion, and without measures such as a mass vaccination booster campaign, that amounts to 964,400 deaths. China's National Health Commission said on Friday it was ramping up vaccinations and building stocks of ventilators and essential drugs.

☆ New Covid model predicts over 1 million deaths in China through 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

According to the group's projections, cases in China would peak around April 1, when deaths would reach 322,000. About a third of China's population will have been infected by then, IHME Director Christopher Murray said. China's national health authority has not reported any official Covid deaths since the lifting of Covid restrictions. China's zero-Covid policy may have been effective at keeping earlier variants of the virus at bay, but the high transmissibility of Omicron variants made it impossible to sustain, he said. Based on China's population of 1.41 billion, and without measures such as a mass vaccination booster campaign, that amounts to 964,400 deaths.

[1/2] People line up next to a medical worker in a protective suit, at a fever clinic of a hospital amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China December 15, 2022. The pivot away from President Xi Jinping's signature "zero-COVID" policy followed unprecedented widespread protests against it. But, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to phase out its stringent regime. There are increasing signs of chaos during China's exit from the zero-COVID policy - with long queues outside fever clinics, runs on medicines, and panic buying across the country. China Meheco Group Co Ltd (600056.SS) said on Wednesday it signed a deal to import the U.S. drugmaker's treatment.

☆ China’s Covid-19 Surge Puts Strain on Medical Workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Liyan Qi | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Epidemic control workers in Beijing go to disinfect an epidemic area in a recently reopened neighborhood after China lifted its policies such as locking down areas and cities. The death of a Chinese medical student who had been doing hospital work shook healthcare workers across the country and stirred fears of inundated hospitals as the scrapping of Beijing’s strict Covid-19 restrictions has triggered a surge in infections. The West China School of Medicine in the southwestern city of Chengdu said that the first-year medical student, whom it referred to by his surname, Chen, collapsed on Tuesday after completing his clinical work. It said he died of cardiac arrest a little after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

☆ China's COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading "intensively" in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions. "There's a narrative at the moment that China lifted the restrictions and all of a sudden the disease is out of control," he said. "The disease was spreading intensively because I believe the control measures in themselves were not stopping the disease. Beijing started pivoting away from its signature "zero-COVID" policy this month after protests against the economically damaging curbs championed by President Xi Jinping.

☆ India and Vietnam could benefit as chipmakers shift away from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Weilun Soon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Yuichiro Chino | Moment | Getty ImagesU.S. curbs on chip exports to China are the latest shakeup prompting companies to consider moving some of their chipmaking capabilities to nearby Vietnam and India. In October, the U.S. began requiring companies to obtain licenses to export advanced semiconductors or related manufacturing equipment to China. Shift from China to AsiaThe curbs are the latest in a series of upheavals for the $600 billion global semiconductor industry. China firmly in the leadDespite Asia's rising attractiveness for chipmakers, experts point out that China still maintains a lead over regional economies in terms of its competitiveness in chipmaking. In its "Made in China 2025" blueprint released in 2015, the country laid the groundwork for technological self-sufficiency in chipmaking.

Some economists have lowered growth forecasts for early next year for the world's second-largest economy, continuing the grim growth numbers this year that were among the worst of the past half-century. "Compared with other developed countries, medical resources in China are somewhat insufficient," said Nie Wen, a Shanghai-based economist at Hwabao Trust, who has cut his China growth forecast for the first quarter to 3.5%-4% from 5% previously. INFLATION SURGEWith China likely facing waves of COVID infections after the relaxations, the benefits of reopening are expected to arrive with a significant delay. "Given the accelerated reopening timeline, we believe growth may stay subpar near term," Morgan Stanley said after the announcement of the latest easing measures. Lurking among the prospects for China's reopening, however, is a potential surge in inflation, which could hit the global economy as well as China itself.

☆ Eye of the storm: Taiwan at the centre of Sino-U.S. tensions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Ben Blanchard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China likewise views Tsai as a separatist for refusing to accept Beijing's long-standing position that China and Taiwan both belong to "one China". Since Pelosi's visit, China has continued with its military activities near Taiwan, though on a reduced scale. WHY IT MATTERSA newspaper front page reporting about U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pictured in Taipei, Taiwan, August 2, 2022. The United States has long stuck to a policy of "strategic ambiguity" and not making clear whether it would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan. Anti-China sentiment continues to build in the United States, and in its newly Republican-controlled House, along with support for Taiwan.

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoLONDON, Nov 29 - A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. They also cheered a relaxation of regulations on developer fundraising that eases the smouldering property sector bust. A crackdown on demonstrations happened simultaneously, with Chinese authorities making inquiries into some protesters as police flooded the city's streets. Strikingly, hawkish Dutch central banker Klaus Knot also said forecasts of recession may be overdone and fears of "overtightening" policy were a "joke". His boss European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said euro zone inflation, which is expected to ease this month but remain above 10%, has not yet peaked, encouraging speculation of another swingeing 75 basis point interest rate rise next month.

WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - China will likely have a stockpile of 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035 if it continues with its current nuclear buildup pace, according to a report released by the Pentagon on Tuesday. The figure underscores mounting U.S. concerns about China's intentions for its expanding nuclear arsenal, even though the projections do not suggest China is accelerating the pace of its already-brisk warhead development. The report, which primarily covers activities in 2021, said China currently has a nuclear stockpile of more than 400 warheads. The Pentagon's projection for China's nuclear arsenal of 1,000 warheads by 2030 remained unchanged, the official said, adding the projection for 2035 was based on an unchanged pace of expansion. The United States has a stockpile of about 3,700 nuclear warheads, of which roughly 1,740 were deployed, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think-tank.

☆ China's Fosun to raise $561 million from mining sale stake as part of asset selldown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - China's Fosun International Ltd (0656.HK) said on Monday it would raise $561 million by selling part of its shares in Zhaojin Mining Industry Co (1818.HK) as part of its ongoing string of asset sell-downs. The company, through one of its units, is offloading 654.1 million Zhaojin Mining shares for HK$6.72 each, a 1.8% discount from the closing price on Nov. 4. Fosun had owned about 22.85% of Zhaojin Mining's shares and will retain a 2.85% stake in the Hong Kong listed company. The transaction announced on Monday is the second time Fosun has sold Zhaojin stock and has raised $663.73 million from both deals. Fosun, controlled by billionaire entrepreneur Guo Guangchang, was once one of China's most aggressive dealmakers overseas, buying high-profile assets including resort brand Club Med.

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Global credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Fosun International Ltd (0656.HK) by one notch on Tuesday and revised its outlook to "negative" from "ratings under review" amid concerns over the firm's accelerated asset sales. Fosun and its units had earlier cut stakes in firms such as New China Life Insurance (601336.SS) and Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Group (600655.SS). Fosun, controlled by billionaire entrepreneur Guo Guangchang, was once one of China's most aggressive dealmakers overseas, buying high-profile assets including resort brand Club Med. Fosun's cash on hand at the holding company level is insufficient to cover its short-term debt maturing over the next 12 months, Moody's added. Fosun also expects to gradually repay the outstanding senior notes and increase borrowings from banks, the report said.

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Global rating agency Moody's downgraded Fosun International Limited (0656.HK) by one notch on Tuesday and revised its outlook to 'negative' from 'ratings under review', after the firm divested more assets to ease liquidity and debt burdens. "Moody's expects Fosun to face difficulties in refinancing its sizable short-term debt in public bond markets, both onshore and offshore, given the current weak market sentiment," the rating agency said. Fosun's cash on hand at the holding company level is insufficient to cover its short-term debt maturing over the next 12 months, Moody's said. Fosun's management also plans to gradually repay the outstanding senior notes and increase borrowings from banks, the report said. The company did not make any comments on the Bloomberg story or the Citigroup report in response to queries from Reuters.

☆ China likely to ramp up diplomatic 'attacks' on Taiwan, island's foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - China is likely to ramp up its diplomatic "attacks" on Taiwan following last week's twice-a-decade congress, including snatching more of the island's few remaining diplomatic allies, Taiwan's foreign minister said on Wednesday. "China is likely to increase its attacks and threats o Taiwan, especially in the diplomatic field," Wu told lawmakers. Wu said Taiwan has received "signs" and intelligence from unspecified diplomatic allies that China was boosting efforts to lure the island's allies into switching official recognition to Beijing. Under Wu's term, six countries have switched official recognition from Taipei to Beijing, which says Taiwan has no right to state-to-state ties. China has stepped up diplomatic and military pressure to try to force Taiwan to accept Chinese rule.

On a quarterly basis, GDP rose 3.9% versus a revised drop of 2.7% in April-June and an expected 3.5% rise. 1/9 Workers work at a construction site, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China, October 14, 2022. A Reuters poll forecast China's growth to slow to 3.2% in 2022, far below the official target of around 5.5%, marking one of the worst performances in almost half a century. Retail sales grew 2.5%, missing forecasts for a 3.3% increase and easing from August's 5.4% pace, underlining still fragile domestic demand. "On the policy front, the overall policy will remain supportive," said Hao Zhou, chief economist at Guotai Junan International.

☆ This man says he lost all his savings gambling online in China, where players visit 'mirror' websites that change URLs daily and fake 'friends' recruit gamblers in chat groups
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Gambling is illegal in most parts of China, apart from the state-owned national lotteries, and recognised gambling sites are blocked from Chinese users. It is one of many gambling companies that have mirror sites. Experts told Insider mirror websites are a "common" practice by betting companies in countries that don't allow gambling. A virtual armyHuang said it was easy to find a link to a new mirror gambling site once an old one has been blocked: his friends sent him the URL. They make friends with people and claim that they have won money gambling, and encourage other users to visit mirror sites.

REUTERS/Denis BalibouseSINGAPORE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Global oil prices may stay under $100 a barrel for the rest of the year as rate hikes from central banks have tightened credit and reduced investments in risk assets such as commodities, commodities trading major Trafigura said on Tuesday. "The balance of risks and what we know today suggests that it would take quite a few changes in the market for oil to trade well above $100," Rahim said. Oil demand could rebound next year if China lifts COVID-19 restrictions and if the U.S. Federal Reserve pauses or cuts interest rates to support growth, he added. These factors, underpinned by underinvestment in the oil sector and low global oil inventories, could eventually push Brent back above $100 a barrel, Rahim said. The oil market is also watching out for possible supply responses from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries amid lower prices.

☆ Meta shuts down covert influence campaigns it says were run from China and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN Business —Facebook parent company Meta announced Tuesday it had detected and shut down two separate networks of fake accounts engaged in covert influence operations run from China and Russia. Meta publicly detailed the takedown as it remains on high alert for foreign interference in the US midterm elections, a Meta spokesperson told CNN. The company has shared details of the Chinese accounts with the FBI, a Meta spokesperson said. More than 2,000 Facebook accounts and pages were part of the effort to push pro-Kremlin narratives about the war in Ukraine, Meta said. “This was the first Chinese network we disrupted that focused on US domestic politics ahead of the midterm elections,” Meta said.

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