US efforts to counter Chinese military expansionism and political influence in the Indo-Pacific took another significant step forward last week with an agreement to deepen defence and security ties with the Philippines. Yet US president Joe Biden’s success in developing bilateral and multilateral alliances may have more to do with growing wariness across the region about Beijing than a sudden desire for closer partnership with Washington. Many people in smaller, traditionally non-aligned countries, worried about getting caught in the middle, would probably prefer their governments not to take sides at…
Tag: Chinese economy
The US-China relationship is still moving slowly towards a collision
I recently attended the China Development Forum (CDF) in Beijing, an annual gathering of senior foreign business leaders, academics, former policymakers, and top Chinese officials. This year’s conference was the first to be held in person since 2019, and it offered western observers the opportunity to meet China’s new senior leadership, including new premier Li Qiang. The event also offered Li his first opportunity to engage with foreign representatives since taking office. While much has been said about the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, appointing close loyalists to crucial positions within…
How war in Taiwan could mean the wheels come off the UK economy
As the world struggles with the economic fallout from the Ukraine war, fears are mounting about a conflict that would be even more consequential: a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Last week, Taiwan’s foreign minister said he was preparing for the possibility of a conflict with China in 2027, and a leaked memo from a four-star US general said his “gut” told him the US – which is committed to defending Taiwan – would be at war with China in 2025. The UK foreign secretary warned last week that such a…
UK and Europe are falling behind US and China in biotech, says AstraZeneca boss
The boss of Britain’s biggest drugmaker has said that the UK and the rest of Europe are falling behind China and the US in the creation of biotech firms and clinical trials of new medicines. Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said that while China had seen an “explosion of biotech companies”, and a “rapid expansion of clinical trials” that puts it ahead of the US, the UK and EU had posted declines. Although the UK is great for science research at universities and in commercial laboratories, he argued that…
China’s economy rebounds faster than expected after Covid reopening
China’s economy rebounded faster than expected, surpassing growth estimates for the first quarter of the year, after the country relaxed its onerous Covid-19 restrictions and consumer spending surged. The world’s second largest economy grew at a rate of 4.5% compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The pace of increase was the fastest in a year and beat the 4% rise forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. China’s consumer economy showed signs of resurgence, with retail sales rising 10.6% in March, representing…
Global oil demand on course for record as China’s economy rebounds
Global demand for oil this year is on track to rise to a record 101.9m barrels per day as China leads an economic surge among developing nations, the world’s leading energy body has forecast. The International Energy Agency’s predicted daily average for 2023 is 2m bpd higher than last year’s figure. The price of a barrel of oil rose from $85.62 (£68.44) to $86.10 on Friday morning after the IEA’s report was published. The agency warned that a recent decision by the world’s biggest oil exporters to cut their production…
China to reopen to foreign tourists for first time since Covid crisis
China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in the three years since the Covid pandemic erupted by allowing all categories of visas to be issued. The removal of this last cross-border control measure on Wednesday comes after authorities declared victory over the virus last month. Tourist industry insiders do not expect a large influx of visitors in the near future or significant boost to the economy. In 2019, international tourism receipts accounted for just 0.9% of China’s gross domestic product. But the resumption of visa…
Xi Jinping vows to oppose Taiwan ‘pro-independence’ influences as third term begins
Xi Jinping has stressed the need to oppose “pro-independence” influences in Taiwan, as he closed the National People’s Congress (NPC) after a week in which the rubber-stamp parliament handed China’s president an unprecedented third presidential term, and key roles at the top of the government were reshuffled. Xi closed the session with a speech to the gathered delegates. On Friday he secured his place as China’s most powerful leader in generations in a carefully choreographed ceremony in Beijing. In his speech on Monday laying out his priorities for China, Xi…
Confusion surrounds China’s energy policies as GDP and climate goals clash
China’s energy policies are fast creating a type of “emissions ambiguity”, as the twin goals of boosting GDP growth and reducing carbon emissions come into conflict. The uncertainty is whether and when the world’s biggest carbon emitter will start to curb greenhouse gas pollution. The release of the country’s annual statistics communique on Tuesday did not clear things up. As Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, noted this month, China’s carbon emissions may have risen 1% or fallen by that amount in 2022.…
Big Buddha and funeral home rights: how China is tackling its massive debt burden
In China’s Sichuan province, Leshan city has plans to sell the operating rights to the Big Buddha, a 71-metre tall Tang dynasty stone statue, in one of a series of creative methods cash-strapped local governments are using raise money. Having spent more than £42bn last year on Covid-prevention measures, and hit by falling tax revenues, by December 2022 local governments had accumulated 35tn yuan (£4.2tn) in debt, up from 30.5tn yuan the previous year. That means that China’s provincial debt burden is roughly 20% bigger than Germany’s total GDP. In…