Must-Read China Economic News (April 10-17)
Chinese economy in Q1, GDP, investment, retail, exports, easing restrictions on foreign ownership in telecom services, strengthened capital market regulation, China International Consumer Products...
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:
Chinese economy sustains recovery momentum, makes notable progress in Q1
The Chinese economy has seen strengthened recovery momentum in the first quarter of 2024, with significant strides in cultivating new quality productive force laying a solid foundation for the bid to achieve the full-year growth target of around 5 percent.
China's economy grew 5.3 percent year on year to in the first three months of 2024, accelerating from the 5.2-percent growth for 2023, latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
"China's high-quality development has made new achievements in the first quarter. The national economy has sustained recovery momentum and got off to a good start," Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, told a press conference.
Sheng noted that the 5.3-percent GDP growth was mainly driven by a rebound in the industrial sector and an improvement in the service sector.
Other key indicators also saw sound increases. Fixed-asset investment rose 4.5 percent year on year in the January-March period, with the pace of growth accelerating from the growth of 3 percent for the entire 2023.
Retail sales of consumer goods climbed 4.7 percent year on year, with online retail sales jumping 12.4 percent year on year.
The country's production of smart products has seen particularly rapid growth. In the first quarter, China's output of service robots increased by 26.7 percent from the same period of 2023, while its output of 3D printing equipment saw double-digit growth.
Other Key Macroeconomic Indicators:
China's total import and export of goods expanded 5 percent year on year in yuan terms in the first quarter of 2024, setting new records in both scale and growth rate, said the General Administration of Customs.
Exports from the world's second-biggest economy were 4.9 percent higher year on year, while imports rose 5 percent, the data showed..
China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.1 percent year on year in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, decreased by 2.8 percent year on year in March, the NBS said.
Chinese vice premier stresses timely delivery of homes to buyers
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said active financing support should be extended to compliant real estate projects to ensure that homes are delivered on time to buyers to protect their legitimate rights and interests.
During an inspection tour to understand the real estate market in Zhengzhou, the capital city of central China's Henan Province, He said the delivery of good-quality homes on time will help stabilize expectations and promote the steady and healthy development of the real estate market.
He said that a "white list" mechanism for real estate projects should be optimized so that compliant projects on the list can access funding at ease.
📢Voices on Spot:
Positive factors driving economic recovery are accumulating and strengthening in the first quarter, laying a good foundation for full-year growth.
At a press conference on China’s macroeconomic performance in the first quarter, Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, cited positive factors including rising production demand, stable employment and prices, and growing market confidence.
China strongly opposes the European Commission's subjective, one-sided and erroneous assessment of China's socialist market economy to create an excuse for its discriminatory anti-dumping practices.
The comments by China’s Ministry of Commerce came after the European Commission published an updated report on the so-called "significant state-induced distortions" in the Chinese economy.
There is not only one model of market economy, and it is closely related to the history, culture and actual national conditions of each country, the ministry said.
⭐Policy Moves Much-Talked:
China to lift foreign ownership limit in value-added telecom services in pilot areas
In its latest move to expand opening up, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the country will remove foreign ownership restrictions on some value-added telecom services provided within domestic pilot areas.
The value-added telecom services will include internet data centers, content delivery networks and internet service providers, online data processing and transaction processing, information publishing platforms, online publishing, internet radio and television, among others, said the ministry.
The pilot areas are Beijing's national comprehensive demonstration zone for expanding opening-up in the service sector, Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the pioneer area for socialist modernization in Shanghai, Hainan Free Trade Port, and Shenzhen pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the ministry said.
China to strengthen capital market regulation, risk prevention
China's State Council has released a guideline on strengthening regulation, forestalling risks and promoting the high-quality development of the capital market.
This is the third guideline document on the capital market from the State Council in two decades. The first two were issued in 2004 and 2014, respectively.
The country should build a secure, regulated, transparent, open, dynamic and resilient capital market, the guideline noted.
The guideline demanded strict regulation on the entry into the capital market through securities issuance and listing, urging higher standards for listing on the main boards and the start-up board ChiNext.
⭐Read More:
China's consumer products expo shares opportunities, market with world
China, the world's second-largest economy, is sharing its booming consumer market with companies around the world, with its heavyweight expo hitting a record high scale held in Haikou, capital city of south China's Hainan Province.
The country launched a series of global consumption events at the fourth China International Consumer Products Expo in the island province known for its offshore duty-free shopping and free trade port policies.
Lasting from April 13 to 18, the expo themed "Share Open Opportunities, Co-create a Better Life" hosted over 4,000 brands from 71 countries and regions, showcasing their novel and upmarket products for global consumers.
The expo has become the largest consumer products exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region, a gathering place for global consumer products and a vane for the consumer market, becoming a name card for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, Peng Qinghua, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said at the launch ceremony.
Compiled by Qiao H.