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Beijing craft brewers add Chinese flavours as Great Leap, other microbreweries grapple with expat exodus

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beijing craft brewers add chinese flavours as great leap other microbreweries grapple with expat

For Great Leap Brewing, one of Beijing’s first craft beer brands founded in 2010 to serve the expatriate community, adding Sichuan-style spicy chicken to the menu does not seem immediately intuitive – but Allen Lueth, the company’s chief executive, has his reasons. “The dish goes really well with our beer,” he said. “It’s a big hit, especially among our Chinese customers.” Like Great Leap, many of the city’s foreign-run restaurants and microbreweries that started out with menus catering to Western tastes are now shifting strategies and marketing to locals. Chinese…

Asia faces worst economic outlook in half a century, World Bank warns

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asia faces worst economic outlook in half a century world bank warns

Receive free Asia-Pacific economy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Asia-Pacific economy news every morning. The World Bank has cut its forecast for China’s growth next year and warned that east Asia’s developing economies are set to expand at one of the lowest rates in five decades, as US protectionism and rising levels of debt pose an economic drag. The gloomier 2024 forecasts from the bank underline the mounting concern over China’s slowdown and how it will spill into Asia. China’s policymakers have…

Asia faces one of worst economic outlooks in half a century, World Bank warns

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asia faces one of worst economic outlooks in half a century world bank warns

Receive free Asia-Pacific economy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Asia-Pacific economy news every morning. The World Bank has cut its forecast for China’s growth next year and warned that east Asia’s developing economies are set to expand at one of the lowest rates in five decades, as US protectionism and rising levels of debt pose an economic drag. The gloomier 2024 forecasts from the bank underline the mounting concern over China’s slowdown and how it will spill into Asia. China’s policymakers have…

Chinese households opt for domestic goods as budgets tighten, national pride swells

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chinese households opt for domestic goods as budgets tighten national pride swells

Last year, consumption accounted for 32.8 per cent of the growth in China’s gross domestic product, down from 54.5 per cent in 2021. According to Morning Consult, a US company that measures Chinese consumer sentiment, trust among consumers towards their finances and the state of the economy showed improvement in August while still falling short of its 2021 peak. 02:50 China’s live-streaming industry heats up as millions of would-be hosts vie to break into the field China’s live-streaming industry heats up as millions of would-be hosts vie to break into…

SKorea Women Take Gold in Badminton, Beating China at Asian Games

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skorea women take gold in badminton beating china at asian games

South Korea won the women’s team singles in badminton Sunday at the Asian Games, defeating China 3-0. An Seyoung and Kim Gaeun won their singles matches and Lee Sohee and Baek Hana teamed up in doubles to beat the sport’s No. 1-ranked female pair, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China. Lee said the team surprised itself. “Playing in China against the Chinese pair who are also the world No. 1, I didn’t expect to win,” Lee said. “I thought it would be a very tough match. This game was…

German manufacturers resist trade tensions in China’s Mittelstand enclave

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german manufacturers resist trade tensions in chinas mittelstand enclave

With its steep red-tiled roofs, signs pointing to the Bierplatz and loudspeakers playing The Blue Danube, Taicang’s new town square feels like a version of Germany from someone’s imagination. Over three decades this city 50km from Shanghai has become a favoured place to invest for German businesses seeking growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Many are family-owned and often highly specialised Mittelstand businesses of the type that have powered German exports and built the country’s reputation for high-end manufacturing. Today, business ties between Germany and China are frayed, with Berlin…

Germany Welcomes China’s Support for G20 Debt Restructuring Framework

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germany welcomes chinas support for g20 debt restructuring framework

Germany has welcomed a show of support from China for the G20 debt restructuring framework for poorer countries in a joint statement after their financial dialog in Frankfurt over the weekend. “We welcome the fact that the Chinese side is also committed to this in our Joint Statement, because solutions are inconceivable without China as such an important player in world politics,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Sunday, after his meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Neither provided further details on the rules for the restructuring plans and…

Investors read the runes on course of Japan’s monetary policy

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investors read the runes on course of japans monetary policy

Six months after Kazuo Ueda became the first academic to take the helm of the Bank of Japan, investors are still poring over his every word for any hint on when he might start unwinding the country’s ultra-loose monetary policy. Economists and BoJ watchers remain deeply divided on when the exit could begin, and how it would be carried out. A disorderly exit would cause a jump in 10-year Japanese government bond yields, a decline in Japan’s main stock index, Topix, and a stifling of the economy — just when…

SenseTime says a former IP rights employee is under police investigation in China

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sensetime says a former ip rights employee is under police investigation in china

SenseTime, one of China’s top artificial intelligence companies listed in Hong Kong, said the mainland police are investigating a person who previously worked for its intellectual property (IP) unit. “A former employee of SenseTime’s Intellectual Property Division is currently under investigation by the Public Security Bureau due to [a] suspected commercial-related case,” the company said in a statement sent to the Post on Sunday. The Hong Kong-based firm added that it maintains a commitment to ethical conduct and has “a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption and any form of illegal activities”,…

Indonesia Set to Launch Southeast Asia’s First High-Speed Railway, Largely Funded by China

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indonesia set to launch southeast asias first high speed railway largely funded by china

JAKARTA, Indonesia —  Indonesia is launching Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative that will cut travel time between the capital and another major city from the current three hours to about 40 minutes. The project has been beset with delays and increasing costs, and some observers doubt its commercial benefit, but President Joko Widodo has championed it and will be inaugurating the 142.3-kilometer railway as it begins commercial operations Monday. The Chinese-made bullet train, called “Whoosh,” will connect Jakarta with Bandung,…