Day: June 12, 2023

China cuts key policy rate in ‘clear loosening signal’ to support economy after weak trade, inflation data

Media Library

“This is clearly a loosening signal,” said Ding Shuang, chief Greater China economist at Standard Chartered Bank. Ding expects subsequent cuts of the medium-term lending facility (MLF) and also the loan prime rate, which is partly linked to mortgage loans. Advertisement Ding said other policy tools may also be considered, including cutting the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks, property loosening and increased fiscal spending. However, he does not expect big stimulus, saying that 2023 is a year of recovery and the economic growth target of around 5 per cent…

Nio: Chinese electric-car company enters race to lower prices and cut costs

Media Library

China’s electric vehicle price wars have been recharged. Tesla’s decision to increase sales and regain market share in China by slashing prices in late 2022 led competitors such as BYD to follow suit. Nio remained above the fray. Now it has instigated a fresh fight. Chief executive William Li once said the company would not follow Tesla’s lead. A 23 per cent quarter-on-quarter drop in sales in the first three months of the year and a gloomy outlook for the second quarter appear to have changed his mind. Nio’s move…

As New Zealand reshapes ties with China, foreign interference must be brought out of the shadows | Sam Sachdeva

Media Library

With more than $30bn of new spending, a mere $9m initiative in New Zealand’s latest budget might seem too trivial to mention. Yet the New Zealand government’s recent decision to fund an investigation into the impact of foreign interference on ethnic communities is a small step towards tackling an outsized problem: how to deal with meddling from foreign states, our largest trading partner included. China may not have been mentioned by name, but efforts by the superpower to exert influence are of growing concern to New Zealand politicians and policymakers.…

BTS Turns 10; Seoul Lights Up Landmarks to Celebrate

Media Library

seoul, South Korea —  Skyscrapers, bridges and other landmarks in South Korea’s capital will be lit up in purple Monday as the country begins celebrating the 10th anniversary of K-pop band BTS, whose global popularity is a source of national pride. The lights will provide the backdrop for various social media-driven events marking the 2013 debut of the seven-member group, which is now on a temporary hiatus as its singers take turns releasing solo material while the others begin to serve their mandatory military duties. From Monday evening, numerous Seoul…

China’s pressure on ‘weakest link’ South Korea falls flat amid tensions with US

Media Library

South Korea and Japan’s deepening defence co-operation is triggering alarm in China, as the US seeks to rally its east Asian allies amid increasing regional tensions. Tokyo and Seoul sealed an agreement to share real-time information on North Korean missile launches along with the US at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore this month. The announcement, which followed a diplomatic breakthrough between Seoul and Tokyo this year, risks stoking anger in Beijing, which has discouraged South Korea from closer economic and defence ties with the US and Japan —…

South Korea-Japan rapprochement stokes alarm in Beijing

Media Library

South Korea and Japan’s deepening defence co-operation is triggering alarm in China, as the US seeks to rally its east Asian allies amid increasing regional tensions. Tokyo and Seoul sealed an agreement to share real-time information on North Korean missile launches along with the US at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore this month. The announcement, which followed a diplomatic breakthrough between Seoul and Tokyo this year, risks stoking anger in Beijing, which has discouraged South Korea from closer economic and defence ties with the US and Japan —…

Demand grows for Asian investment products that exclude China

Media Library

Global fund managers say they are rushing to meet client demand for new Asian investment products that exclude China, as investor appetite for the region’s largest economy is hit by slowing growth and mounting geopolitical risk. Fund managers said requests for “ex-China” products included the possibility of “Asian allies” funds that would invest in US-friendly markets and provide clear insulation from Beijing-related geopolitical risk in the region. The widespread adoption of such investing would mark one of the biggest structural shifts for Asia-Pacific markets since the advent of “Asia ex-Japan”…

China population: wedding woes see annual unions nearly halved in past decade

Media Library

“If starting a family stands in the way of their own development and happiness, they will opt out of giving birth, or even marriage.” The year-after-year decline in new marriages aligns with the country’s shrinking population, which fell by 850,000 in 2022 – marking the first time deaths outnumbered births since 1961. Advertisement The number of newborns also dropped below 10 million last year for the first time in modern history, intensifying concerns surrounding China’s deepening demographic crisis and sparking new rounds of discussions about how to encourage births. Rising…

Americans ‘Need to Be Prepared’ for Chinese Cyberattacks

Media Library

washington —  The United States may not be resilient enough to fend off and survive Chinese attacks on its critical infrastructure should the present great power competition between Washington and Beijing evolve into an actual conflict, according to a top U.S. cyber official. U.S. officials have ramped up efforts to bolster cybersecurity for the country’s electric grid and water systems — much of them run by private companies — since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, but the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned Monday that…

Myanmar’s junta met jailed NLD chief Suu Kyi twice to discuss peace

Media Library

Myanmar’s junta has met at least twice with Aung San Suu Kyi, the jailed head of the deposed National League for Democracy, to enlist her help in peace negotiations with the armed resistance, only to be rebuffed by the former state counselor, Radio Free Asia has learned. Suu Kyi was visited on May 27 and June 4 in Naypyidaw Prison by three military officers – Lieutenant Gen. So Htut, the junta’s home affairs minister, Lieutenant Gen. Yar Pyae, who has led the military’s negotiation teams for peace talks with ethnic…