Page 2 - China Economy

The year's biggest question mark: China

Investors have responded well to bits of optimistic news since late October, but no one can be certain that there is money to be made in China

China's exports slump 9.9% in December as global demand continues to drop

Export growth was robust for most of 2022, providing some support for the world's second-largest economy as it was hit by a housing market slump and weak consumer demand

China consumer inflation accelerates in Dec; PPI falls with soft demand

China abandoned its strict zero-Covid measures last month, lifting lockdowns, removing quarantine and halting regular testing. As a result, economists expect inflation to continue to accelerate

China economy recovering but hampered by repeated coronavirus outbreaks

Wang Jian is anxious to get back to work teaching basketball to children now that China has lifted anti-COVID-19 restrictions. But his gym in the eastern city of Shenyang has been closed for a month because all its coaches are infected. The most optimistic forecasts say China's business and consumer activity might revive as early as the first quarter of this year. But before that happens, entrepreneurs and families face a painful squeeze from a surge in virus cases that has left employers without enough healthy workers and kept wary customers away from shopping malls, restaurants, hair salons and gyms. I hope the situation will turn around in March or April with no more COVID shocks, said Wang, 33, who went without a paycheck for four months when the gym closed during virus outbreaks. If parents worry about possible reinfection, they simply won't send their children for training. The abrupt decision by President Xi Jinping's government to end controls that shut down factories and ke

Prez Xi warns China officials to avoid 'collusion' with big business

He also warned against "any infiltration of capital into politics that undermines the political ecosystem or the environment for economic development"

China's open borders mark an end to covid zero, spark homecoming rush

While the Covid zero policy managed to keep the virus at bay for much of the pandemic as it killed millions elsewhere, they became increasingly irrelevant with emergence of more infectious variants

Diaspora set to rush home as China dismantles Covid Zero, opens borders

The reopening of China's borders marks the end of Covid Zero, a strategy that left it isolated for three years and weighed heavily on its economy

China's services activity shrinks in Dec as surging Covid cases hit demand

The Caixin/S&P Global services PMI rose to 48.0 in December from 46.7 in November, but remained below the 50-point mark, which indicates contraction in activity, for a fourth straight month

China markets start 2023 with a bang as Covid policy shift hastens

Beijing has pledged to expand fiscal spending as part of efforts to boost economic growth

Assumptions that didn't survive 2022

In a year marked by conflict and loss, silver linings were few and far between, with many statements much harder to repeat at the end of 2022 than at the beginning

China's economic activity rebounds in cities where Covid-19 peaked

While mobility still remains well below pre-pandemic levels, the quick rebound in activity in cities like Beijing - where the outbreak was most severe - suggests the economy could recover faster

China further tightens edtech rules in fresh blow to private tutors

The latest restrictions appear in line with Xi Jinping's broader objective of reining in China's increasingly powerful private sector

China job prospects, incomes plunge to new lows amid economic slowdown

But while economic activity is expected to eventually rebound, it's unclear how quick that will happen given the spread of infections and the weakness in confidence

China's economy is showing increasing strain from the Covid tsunami

Even before the curbs were lifted, China's economy was struggling, with a slump in consumer spending deepening and industrial output growing the slowest since the spring lockdowns

China's soaring Covid-19 infections push economic activity off a cliff

Following the recent abrupt end to Covid Zero controls, more cities have been hit by an exit wave of infections in the past week, leading to crowded hospitals and queues at funeral parlors

China finds microchip acquisition difficult due to US-imposed barriers

China has been ruthless in its attempts to acquire high-end microchips as it imports more than $300 bn worth of semiconductors each year

China's budget deficit hits record $1.1 trillion on Covid zero slump

The lockdowns, testing and quarantine rules that were key to the Covid Zero policy put a strain on consumer and business spending, pushing the economy close to contraction in the second quarter

As China cases surge, India must keep an eye on raw material supplies

Epidemiologist forecasts 10% of world population will be infected in next 90-days

Centre to review Covid situation as cases rise in China, other nations

Health ministry asks states to ramp up genome sequencing

China's Covid-19 outbreak has US worried about new mutations of virus

Chinese cities are witnessing a wave of Covid-19 cases, with concerns growing that the government may be hiding the true toll of the virus