[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s pork output posted a sharp recovery last year after the sector was decimated by an incurable hog disease in 2019, official data showed on Monday.China’s 2020 pork output fell by just 3.3 per cent from a year earlier to 41.13 million tonnes after plunging by 21 per cent in 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics said.But some analysts said they had expected a much bigger fall in 2020 after the African swine fever ravaged China’s breeding stock in 2019.China’s stock had fallen by an…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s services sector activity expanded at a slower pace in December, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday, as sporadic coronavirus outbreaks tempered the recovery in consumer confidence and weighed on new business growth.The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased to 56.3, a three-month low, in December from 57.8 in November, but remained well above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis, pointing to brisk expansion.A sub-index for…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s has expanded the list of industries in which it will seek to encourage foreign investment by 10 per cent.A total of 127 areas have been added to the list, taking the total to 1,235 from 1,108 on the previous list. The new list will come into effect on January. 27China will seek to attract foreign investment in advanced manufacturing including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and 5G-related technology development, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday.China…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s central state planner on Monday called on companies to step up imports of spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) and thermal coal to ensure energy supplies ahead of an expected cold spell.Demand for natural gas, a key heating fuel for the winter in China’s north, is expected to surge further as cold snap is forecast from Monday to hit large parts of the country’s central, northern and eastern regions, causing temperatures to drop by as much as 10 to 12 degrees Celsius (50 to 53.6 degrees…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s industrial firms reported a seventh straight month of profit gains in November, supported by strong production and sales, as the recovery from the Covid-19 downturn continued.Profits in the month rose 15.5 per cent year on year to 729.3 billion yuan (US$111.9 billion), easing from October’s three-year high of 28.2 per cent, according to figures released on Sunday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).China’s industrial sector has rebounded well from the shock of the pandemic, with…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China will overtake the United States to become the world’s biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries from the Covid-19 pandemic, a think tank said.“For some time, an overarching theme of global economics has been the economic and soft power struggle between the United States and China,” the Centre for Economics and Business Research said in an annual report published on Saturday.“The Covid-19 pandemic and…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China will lower import tariffs on 883 products from the start of January, including some aviation equipment, logs and paper products, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.It will also further lower import tariffs on some information technology products from July 1, China’s Ministry of Finance confirmed.China will lower import tariffs for some non-alloyed nickel and the minor metal niobium in 2021 to encourage more imports of commodities that are in high demand domestically.China tariffs:…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s manufacturing recovery, fuelled in part by demand from Covid-constrained consumers abroad, has soared past expectations this year – so much so that factories are now struggling to fill a shortage of blue-collar workers to clear mounting orders.The country’s output of industrial robots, computer equipment and integrated circuits has roared back from its coronavirus paralysis. For those items, production for the year to November is up 22.2 per cent, 10.1 per cent and 15.9 per cent,…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged at its December fixing on Monday, as expected, although improving economic fundamentals have raised speculation about a rate hike next year.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85 per cent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 per cent, confirmed the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).For the year, the one-year LPR was down a total 30 basis points of rate cuts, and the five-year rate was cut…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The incoming Biden administration should keep up the pressure on China to stick to the phase one trade deal and use tariffs as leverage, according to outgoing US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.In a rare interview late on Tuesday, Lighthizer said Beijing had done a “reasonably good job” in implementing parts of the deal. He also defended the Trump administration’s record in shredding the status quo on trade and imposing unilateral tariffs on US$370 billion worth of Chinese goods.Beijing…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose 6.3 per cent in the first 11 months of 2020 year on year to 899.38 billion yuan (US$137.3 billion), the Chinese commerce ministry said on Tuesday.For November alone, FDI rose 5.5 per cent from a year earlier to 98.7 billion yuan (US$15 billion).This marked the eighth consecutive month for positive growth in FDI.FDI into China had risen by 18.3 per cent in October from a year earlier to 81.87 billion yuan, while for the January-October period, FDI…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s vehicle sales are likely to hit 25 million units this year, an industry body said on Friday, as the world’s biggest vehicle market continued to lead the global car industry recovery from lows hit during the coronavirus pandemic.Fu Bingfeng, executive vice-chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), told an annual conference of the association in Beijing that CAAM expects Chinese sales this year of over 20 million passenger vehicles and 5 million commercial…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China is planning to include new measures to encourage more births and address its rapidly ageing population as part of its new 2021-25 “five-year plan”, state media reported on Monday.China will offer extensive financial and policy support to encourage couples to have more children, the official China Daily cited experts as saying.“More inclusive population policies will be introduced to improve fertility, the quality of the workforce and the structure of the population,” said Yuan Xin, vice…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China left its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged for a seventh straight month at its November fixing on Friday, matching market expectations.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85 per cent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 per cent.The rate decision came after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) kept borrowing costs on the medium-term lending facility (MLF) unchanged for a seventh straight month this week.MLF, one of the PBOC’s main…

Australia typically accounts for up to 40 per cent of the world’s malting barley trade, used in beer production, and 20 per cent of feed barley. Well over half its total exports, around 6 million tonnes in a good year, go to China, the world’s biggest beer maker. Photo: Bloomberg

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose by 18.3 per cent in October from a year earlier to 81.87 billion yuan (US$12.4 billion), the Chinese commerce ministry said on Monday.This marked the seventh consecutive month for positive growth in FDI.For the January-October period, FDI rose by 6.4 per cent from a year earlier to 800.68 billion yuan (US$121.2 billion), quickening from the 5.2 per cent gain seen in the first three quarters.Foreign investment in the service industry came in at 625…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s new bank loans fell more than expected in October to their lowest in a year, but the drop was likely seasonal and policymakers are expected to maintain solid support for the economy as the global pandemic drags on.Authorities have stepped up support for cash-starved smaller companies after a record coronavirus-induced slump early in the year.rBut while China’s economy is recovering quickly from the health crisis, surging infections in Europe and the United States are clouding the global…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Vehicle sales in China rose 12.5 per cent in October from the same month a year earlier, the seventh straight monthly rise as the world’s biggest vehicle market leads the global industry in recovering from lows hit during the coronavirus pandemic.Sales reached 2.57 million vehicles last month, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed.Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) surged 105 per cent to 160,000, their fourth consecutive month of gain. NEVs include battery…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady for the sixth straight month at its October fixing on Tuesday, encouraged by an extended recovery in the world’s second-largest economy from the coronavirus shock.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85 per cent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 per cent – as widely expected by the market.Most new and outstanding loans are based on the LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060 would require investments of more than US$5 trillion, which would include renewable power generation capacity, consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday.President Xi Jinping said at the United Nations General Assembly in September that China would achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, the first time the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide has committed to ending its net contribution to climate change.If delivered, the pledge would…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The coronavirus pandemic is expected to lead to the slowest growth in more than 50 years in East Asia and the Pacific as well as China, while up to 38 million people are set to be pushed back into poverty, the World Bank said in an economic update on Monday.The World Bank said the East Asia and the Pacific region this year is projected to grow by only 0.9 per cent, the lowest rate since 1967Growth in China is expected to come in at 2 per cent this year, boosted by government spending, strong…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]FTSE Russell will add Chinese government bonds to its flagship World Government Bond Index (WGBI), the index provider said on Thursday, paving the way for billions of dollars of inflows into the world’s second-largest economy.The Chinese government bonds will be included on the index from October 2021, pending confirmation in March 2021. The addition will be phased into the index over a period of 12 months.“Since being placed on the watch list, the Chinese authorities have implemented…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The cost of China’s much-loved pork rib dishes is soaring after Beijing suspended imports of pig meat from major supplier Germany, hurting restaurants still recovering from the coronavirus hit earlier this year.Pork ribs are one of China’s bestselling menu items, but many restaurants specialising in the cut rely on imports, which can be up to 10 times cheaper than local supplies.Germany was among the biggest suppliers of ribs to China until it confirmed its first case of African swine fever, an…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]US pork exports to China have surged beyond pre-trade war levels, led by higher shipments from Brazil’s JBS SA and China’s WH Group, owner of Smithfield Foods, according to Panjiva, the research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.JBS may have shipped 370 per cent more US pork to China this year through until the end of August than at the same period in 2017, while exports linked to WH Group rose 90.1 per cent, Panjiva said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods shipped 7.3 per…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]At the Yiwu Fuye Christmas factory in eastern China, workers are stitching and testing out Santa Claus toys, checking they play a Christmas tune at the press of a button.But the jingles are the only seasonal cheer in the factory in the city of Yiwu, which produces 80 per cent of Christmas consumer goods exported globally, according to state broadcaster CCTV.Yiwu is a city dedicated to Christmas all year round, filled with factories, showrooms and stores that deliver decorations and toys to…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady for the fifth straight month at its September fixing on Monday, as expected.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85 per cent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 per cent.Most new and outstanding loans are based on the LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.Thirty-one out of 35 traders and analysts, or nearly 90 per cent, in a snap Reuters poll conducted last week…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The head of a major apparel industry group told US lawmakers on Thursday that blanket import bans on cotton or other products from China’s Xinjiang region over forced labour concerns would “wreak havoc” on legitimate supply chains.Stephen Lamar, president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said his industry is working hard to root out products made with forced labour from its supply chains, but Xinjiang, where China has detained over 1 million Muslim Uygur, represents a unique…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]New home prices in China rose at a slightly faster monthly pace in August, as consumer demand showed signs of picking up in a boost to an economy recovering from the coronavirus crisis.Average new home prices in 70 major cities climbed 0.6 per cent in August from a month earlier, a touch better than a 0.5 per cent increase in July, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.On an annual basis, home prices rose 4.8 per cent in August,…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s foreign exchange reserves rose less than expected in August amid persistent weakness in the US dollar and solid gains in the yuan as China’s economy recovers steadily.The country’s foreign exchange reserves – the world’s largest – rose US$10.2 billion in August from July to US$3.165 trillion, central bank data showed on Monday.Economists polled by Reuters had expected the country’s reserves would climb by US$21.61 billion.Foreign inflows into Chinese stocks and bonds also have been…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Taiwan paved the way for an eventual free trade deal with the United States on Friday by announcing an easing of restrictions on the import of beef and pork as the island looks to boost ties with Washington at a time of tensions with China.Taiwan has long sought a free-trade agreement with the US, its most important supporter on the international stage, but Washington has complained about barriers to access for pork and beef. Taiwan said that was for health grounds, especially with concerns…