Must-Read China Economic News (Sept. 11-18)
China firmly opposes U.S. tariff hikes on Chinese goods; China to gradually raise retirement age; China's retail sales up 2.1 pct in August; China int'l service trade fair held in Beijing...
Greetings and welcome to the latest edition of PekingEnsight! We're thrilled to have you join us once again as we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of the Chinese economy.
⭐Under Spotlight:
Xi Jinping urges breaking new ground in Yellow River basin ecological conservation, high-quality development
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 12 called for breaking new ground in the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when he convened a meeting in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province.
He called for promoting ecological protection across the entire river basin to a new level, achieving new progress in green transformation, and bringing new improvements to the lives of the people.
China firmly opposes U.S. tariff hikes on Chinese goods
China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes U.S. abuse of Section 301 to hike tariffs on some Chinese goods, the Ministry of Commerce said on Sept. 14.
The WTO has already ruled that the Section 301 tariffs violate WTO rules. However, instead of rectifying its wrongdoings, the U.S. side further increases tariffs on Chinese products, adding one mistake to another, said the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson.
The move is a typical practice of unilateralism and trade protectionism, said the spokesperson, adding that it seriously undermines the international trade order, as well as the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.
Moreover, the move not only fails to solve the United States' own problems concerning trade deficits and industrial competitiveness, but also pushes up prices of U.S. imports and forces U.S. companies and consumers to bear the additional costs.
The United States should rectify its wrongdoings immediately and remove all additional tariffs on Chinese goods, the spokesperson said, adding that China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the interests of Chinese enterprises.
Chinese mainland to stop tariff exemption on certain Taiwan farm produce
Chinese mainland announced on Sept. 18 that it will stop implementing the policies of exempting import tariffs on 34 agricultural products originating in Taiwan starting from Sept. 25, 2024.
The agricultural products include fresh fruits, vegetables and aquatic products, said a statement from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.
Bans, restrictions and other discriminatory measures imposed unilaterally by the Taiwan region on the export of mainland products have severely hindered cross-Strait economic and trade cooperation, it said.
China launches anti-dumping probe into halogenated butyl rubber from Canada, Japan, India
China on Sept. 14 started an anti-dumping investigation into halogenated butyl rubber imported from Canada, Japan and India.
The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that the anti-dumping probe will examine halogenated butyl rubber imported from these countries from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023. It will also investigate any damage done to the Chinese halogenated butyl rubber industry from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2023.
The ministry has urged interested parties to register with its Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau within 20 days from Saturday, Sept. 14 to participate in the probe.
The investigation is expected to conclude before Sept. 14, 2025, but may be extended for six months under special circumstances.
⭐Key Macroeconomic Indicators:
China's retail sales up 2.1 pct in August
Official data showed that China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 2.1 percent year on year in August.
Online sales remained as a bright spot, rising steadily by 8.9 percent year on year in the January-August period.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesperson Liu Aihua said recent vibrant summer travel and strong cultural and tourism demand underlined the great potential of service consumption, while digital and green consumption also emerged as a new fashion and favorites of consumers.
China has rolled out an array of measures to boost consumption this year, including a program promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins. Recently, the government further stepped up efforts to encourage the purchase of automobiles and home appliances, among others.
China's fixed-asset investment up 3.4 pct in first 8 months
China's fixed-asset investment rose 3.4 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2024.
Investment in high-tech industries posted robust growth, up 10.2 percent in this period, and maintaining double-digit growth for six consecutive months.
China will continue to boost effective investment by promoting major projects, industrial upgrades and equipment renewals, said Liu Aihua, adding that more investment is needed to upgrade new industries, promote low-carbon transformation and improve weak areas of the economy.
China's industrial output up 4.5 pct in August
China's value-added industrial output expanded 4.5 percent year on year in August, official data showed.
The equipment manufacturing sector contributed 47.9 percent to the entire industrial output growth, Liu Aihua said, adding that new growth drivers for the manufacturing sector are being strengthened.
Last month, the output of electronic and communication devices saw double-digit year-on-year increases for 10 consecutive months. The value-added output of smart unmanned aircraft soared by 54 percent, and the production of new energy vehicles surged by 30.5 percent.
China reports increase in number of new foreign firms in Jan-Aug
A total of 36,968 new foreign-invested firms were established across China in the first eight months, marking an increase of 11.5 percent year on year, said the Ministry of Commerce.
During this period, FDI in the Chinese mainland, in actual use, totaled 580.2 billion yuan, down 31.5 percent from a year earlier.
The hi-tech manufacturing sector attracted 12.4 percent, or 72.1 billion yuan, of the total FDI inflow, up 1.9 percentage points from the same period last year.
Notably, FDI inflows into medical equipment manufacturing and instrument and meter manufacturing surged 77.8 percent, while inflows into computer and office device manufacturing grew by 33.9 percent during this period.
China's yuan loans grow by 14.43 trillion yuan in first 8 months
China's yuan-denominated loans rose by 14.43 trillion yuan in the first eight months of the year, central bank data showed.
The increase in social financing scale reached 21.9 trillion yuan in the first eight months, down 3.32 trillion yuan compared to the same period last year.
The central bank said the credit structure has continued to improve, with loans increasingly flowing toward major strategies, key areas and weak links.
In the next step, the central bank will introduce more flexible and targeted monetary policies, while strengthening the intensity of regulation. Favorable policies will be introduced to further reduce enterprises' financing costs and residents' loan costs, and maintain a reasonably ample level of liquidity.
China sees travel surge during Mid-Autumn Festival holiday
Some 629.56 million passenger trips were handled by China's transportation sectors during the three-day holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, up 31.1 percent year on year.
Of the total, China recorded 42.57 million passenger trips by railway, 1.98 million by water, and 5.07 million by air. Road traffic took the lion's share, with 579.94 million passenger trips.
⭐Policy Moves Much-Talked:
China to gradually raise retirement age
According to a decision adopted by Chinese lawmakers on Sept. 13, the statutory retirement age for men will be gradually raised from 60 to 63 in the course of 15 years starting 2025, while that for women cadres and women blue-collar workers will be raised from 55 to 58 and from 50 to 55, respectively, marking the first adjustment in the arrangement since 1950s.
Starting 2030, the minimum year of basic pension contributions required to receive monthly benefits will be gradually raised from 15 years to 20 years at the pace of an increase of six months annually.
Meanwhile, people will be allowed to voluntarily retire by no more than three years in advance after reaching the minimum year of pension contributions. The new policies will also allow individuals to postpone retirement to an even later date if they reach an agreement with employers.
The decision also specifies measures to refine the old-age insurance incentive mechanism, implement the employment-first strategy, ensure the basic rights and interests of workers who have passed their statutory retirement age, and improve elderly care and childcare services.
Experts said this move is a proactive and effective measure tackling the challenge of population aging, mitigating China's declining working-age population and sustaining the momentum and vitality of social and economic development.
China studies measures to boost the development of venture capital
The State Council executive meeting on Sept. 18 noted that efforts should be made to remove bottlenecks and obstacles in the venture capital cycle, including fundraising, investment, management and exit.
Efforts should also be made to support qualified sci-tech enterprises to go public in the domestic and overseas markets, and to promote the virtuous cycle of the venture capital industry.
It is necessary to consolidate the institutional foundation for the healthy development of venture capital, implement key measures for capital market reform, improve the functions of the capital market, and stimulate the vitality of the venture capital market further, it said.
China to promote institutional opening up of services trade
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Sep.12 that it will push forward institutional opening up of trade in services.
The ministry will facilitate the cross-border flow of resources such as talent, capital, technology and data, advance innovation and development in key areas, and expand the international market layout of services trade.
The ministry will improve the support system for the development of services trade, and ensure the high-quality operation of the China International Fair for Trade in Services.
⭐Read More:
China int'l service trade fair held in Beijing
The 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) opened on Sep. 12 in Beijing.
Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," this year's CIFTIS has attracted 85 countries and international organizations and over 450 Fortune Global 500 and leading enterprises.
As a leading player for trade in services, China has been ramping up efforts to boost the sector's growth in a bid to fuel domestic consumption and facilitate global economic and cultural exchanges.
From January to July of this year, China's service trade registered double-digit growth in total trade, exports and imports.
China announces zero-tariff treatment for least developed countries
China will give all the least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, according to a statement from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.
The treatment, effective from Dec. 1 of this year, aims to expand unilateral opening to the least developed countries and achieve common development, the statement said.
For products subject to tariff quota administration, goods within the quota will enjoy zero tariffs, while tariff rates on goods exceeding the quota will remain unchanged, it said.
China to launch population sample survey
China will launch a nationwide population sample survey in 2025 to help monitor the demographic development of the country, according to the NBS.
Some 14 million people from about five million households, or 1 percent of the country's population, will be surveyed from Nov. 1 next year.
China started its first population sample survey in 1987. So far, four such surveys have been conducted.