[unable to retrieve full-text content]Following the launch of Washington’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, experts say Beijing should intensify its push for tech self-sufficiency, but be careful not to decouple from foreign firms and institutions altogether.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s fiscal stimulus measures have not been as aggressive as they were in 2020, and the nation’s policymakers have since been critical of stimulus measures utilised by other countries.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Premier Li Keqiang has urged provincial leaders to ‘step up their sense of urgency’ when rolling out support for the economy, amid headwinds from the pandemic and changing international environment.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]US President Joe Biden is set to kick off the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework during his four-day visit to South Korea and Japan which starts on Friday.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Companies in Jiangsu can now claim a reimbursement for maternity leave pay provided to employees who have a second and third child, a policy that could help counter discrimination against women.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Strict coronavirus controls, including lockdowns, have disrupted production and dealt a heavy blow to private firms and the service sector, both major sources of job creation in China.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Some residents in Beijing’s most populous district, Chaoyang, have endured 20 days of lockdown and at least 10 Covid-19 tests since April 25. They have no idea when or under what circumstances they will be freed.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s latest coronavirus outbreak and accompanying travel restrictions have dashed hopes of recovery in the tourism sector. Many small businesses are wondering how long they can hang on.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.1 per cent in April from a year earlier, while the producer price index (PPI) rose by 8 per cent last month, according to data released on Wednesday.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Premier Li Keqiang says China’s employment outlook is complicated and grim and local authorities need to focus on job stability.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Trips taken during China’s Labour Day holiday fell by a third compared with the same period last year, with over 300 million people in 43 Chinese cities under full or partial lockdowns to contain the spread of the latest coronavirus outbreaks.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Local authorities want to brand the Wenchang Space Launch Site as China’s equivalent to the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex in Florida. But a sustainable tourism development plan is struggling to take flight.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Southeast Asian firms will be incentivised to invest in Hainan under the free-trade port plan, especially in the service sector, thanks to the easing of restrictions and lower taxes, authorities say.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s manufacturers are increasingly struggling to recruit workers, as young people turn up their noses at the low wages and lack of advancement opportunities in factory work.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A year after President Xi Jinping declared an end to extreme poverty in China, the economic fallout from Beijing’s zero-Covid ambitions is taking a hefty toll on livelihoods, especially in poorer regions.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China, busy fighting the Omicron variant, saw a very subdued Ching Ming Festival: tourism revenue was sharply down, and national tourist spots were worst hit.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s debilitated domestic tourism industry could be further clobbered by weak consumption during the coming holiday as the masses refrain from travelling far and spending while record numbers of coronavirus cases continue to spur lockdowns across the country. The three-day Ching Ming Festival, or tomb-sweeping festival, takes place from Sunday to Tuesday, and reports by tourism agencies point to a continued preference for short-distance trips – a trend that has gathered steam as people avoid…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]From car parts to food and household cleaners, smaller private firms in China are seeking ways to capitalise on the “void” left by a mass exodus of high-profile Western brands from the Russian market. But the outlook for state-owned companies and banks is a little foggier. Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine have sent the likes of Ford, Coca-Cola and other iconic brands heading for the exit in Russia. This has created opportunities for Chinese firms, despite warnings from the United…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s first-tier cities are losing their lustre as mass lay-offs and rising costs are increasingly driving people to seek a life in secondary cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou amid the economic headwinds facing the country. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou used to be the most glamorous cities in China, heavily coveted by young people and college graduates. Yet, the latest data shows that the populations of these cities have either declined or stagnated. In 2021, the number of residents in…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Private enterprises in China’s industrial sector reported a 1.7 per cent drop in profits in the first two months of the year, according to official figures that highlight the challenges they face from the latest Covid-19 outbreak. Over the same period, state-owned enterprises in the sector saw profits rise by 16.7 per cent, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Sunday. The Covid-19 outbreaks that have been reported nationwide since late February are…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China will remain an important economic partner for South Korea despite the election of a new “pro-American” president that has been critical of Beijing, experts said.In particular, South Korean companies could profit from the economic priorities China revealed during its agenda setting parliamentary meetings earlier this month, including infrastructure investment, information technology and clean energy, according to a report published by the Korean International Trade Association (KITA) on…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Like the rest of the world, China is watching closely as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolds, while also bracing for the impact of escalating Western sanctions against Russia.As the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine, China has a lot at stake, especially as the warring nations are both participants in the Belt and Road Initiative – China’s ambitious plan to grow global trade with billions of dollars worth of investment and infrastructure projects.Physical dangers; communication…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Relaxing rules to allow foreign nannies could boost China’s ailing birth rate by as many as 200,000 a year, and save families as much 200 billion yuan (US$31.6 billion), according to a report published on Wednesday.With the minimum salary for a domestic helper in Hong Kong set at HK$4,630 (US$593.40) per month, hiring a foreign nanny could cut expenses for a Chinese family by 60 per cent. The average salary for a nanny in big Chinese cities 10,000 yuan (US$1,578.48) per month.The money saved…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China has confirmed that it will gradually start pushing back its long-mandated retirement ages in the coming years, in line with Beijing’s plans to better accommodate the needs of the elderly and adjust to new realities stemming from the nation’s rapidly ageing population.The possible raising of its legal retirement ages has become an increasingly debated topic in recent years. And further impetus was given to the idea as recent data sounded alarms over how rapidly China’s workforce is…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Fewer Chinese people chose to get married last year, while on average those that did postponed the age at which they tied the knot, further adding to the population crisis stemming from a plunging birth rate.The number of marriage registrations has been declining since 2013, while data recently released by a number of local authorities confirmed a continuation of the downward trend.It is the latest blow to China’s plans to encourage couples to have more children after the number of births…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Grappling with a population crisis and plunging birth rate, China is embracing a pronatalist policy that could see it lift highly restrictive and controversial policies on women donating and freezing their eggs.Public support has also been growing online in recent weeks, after the National Health Commission (NHC), China’s top health authority, said in December that it had “started revising rules and standards relevant to assisted reproductive technology, based on wide consultations with experts…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China is rolling out support for a record 10.76 million college students poised to graduate this year, amid heightened competition for jobs and slowing economic growth.The government will offer special help to young entrepreneurs as “starting a new business has a multiplier effect in driving up employment”, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planning agency, said on Friday.“In recent years, more college graduates have taken part in entrepreneurship, but…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China has vowed to provide special care for elderly empty nesters, as concern grows over the nation’s fast-ageing population.“We can’t allow urban senior citizens to become isolated without their needs being met in the internet age, nor can we allow the elderly in rural areas to have to collect firewood to prepare a meal by themselves,” said Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development division with the National Development and Reform Commission.Speaking at a press conference this week, Ou said…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]With an increasing number of China’s college graduates delaying their entry into the job market, economists are warning of dire implications and ripple effects if the trend persists or intensifies.Authorities have also repeatedly stressed the importance of creating and finding jobs for the nation’s ever-growing army of fresh graduates, and the situation was again addressed by China’s top economic planner this week.“Various employment policies will favour college graduates, and assistance will…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Consumption over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in China failed to get anywhere near pre-pandemic levels, and some analysts warn that the downtrend could signal a worsening economy.During the holiday period that ended on Sunday, Chinese tourists took 251 million trips and contributed 289.2 billion yuan (US$45.4 billion) in tourism revenue – 26.1 per cent and 43.7 per cent less than the respective totals during the holiday in 2019, and 2 per cent and 3.9 per cent below the holiday last…