Tag: Economy

China’s Slow Economic Recovery Expected to Challenge Asia

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Taipei, Taiwan —  China’s recent economic slowdown will have a negative but limited impact on the rest of Asia this year as China struggles to recover from the impact of the global pandemic and strict COVID Zero restrictions throughout 2022, according to analysts. Beijing has set a modest 5% growth target for the country this year as it recovers from a sharp drop last year because of the COVID restrictions, but even that may be a challenge because of problems across its economy, said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for…

Packages From China Are Surging Into US; Some Say $800 Duty-Free Limit Was Mistake

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Washington —  Conservatives anxious to counter America’s leading economic adversary have set their sights on a top trade priority for labor unions and progressives: cracking down on the deluge of duty-free packages coming in from China. The changing political dynamic could have major ramifications for e-commerce businesses and consumers importing products from China valued at less than $800. It also could add to the growing tensions between the countries. Under current U.S. law, most imports valued at less than $800 enter duty-free into the United States as long as they…

China Must Act Fast to Bolster Recovery, Says Senior Economic Official 

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BEIJING —  China needs to step up measures as soon as possible to bolster a faltering post-COVID recovery in the world’s second-largest economy, a senior economic official with the country’s top political advisory body said on Sunday. Analysts at major international banks have downgraded economic growth forecasts for 2023 after May data showed demand weakened in China and abroad, raising the case for more stimulus. “It is better to introduce measures sooner [rather] than later,” said Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the economic committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative…

Flood of Packages from China Prompts Congress to Look at Duty-Free Limit

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WASHINGTON —  Conservatives eager to counter America’s leading economic adversary have set their sights on a top trade priority for labor unions and progressives: cracking down on the deluge of duty-free packages coming in from China. The changing political dynamic could have major ramifications for e-commerce businesses and consumers importing products from China valued at less than $800. It also could add to the growing tensions between the countries. Under current U.S. law, most imports valued at less than $800 enter duty-free into the United States as long as they…

China Cuts Interest Rates in Effort to Boost Flagging Economic Growth

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Chinese commercial banks lowered interest rates on Tuesday as Beijing seeks ways to boost economic growth, which has been disappointingly slow as the country recovers from pandemic-era lockdowns and supply chain bottlenecks. The move took place just days after the Chinese central bank announced it would cut the interest rate it charges on several different facilities it uses to supply commercial banks with cash. The change in commercial banks’ prime rates, which are offered to borrowers with the best credit, were relatively modest. The rate on one-year loans fell to…

Consumption Soft Even Amid Deep Discounts During Major China Shopping Festival, Analysts Say

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Hong Kong —  Chinese consumers snapped up billions of dollars’ worth of items in China’s first major online shopping festival after emerging from the pandemic as merchants slashed prices, but analysts say that consumer confidence still remains weak. Chinese merchants offered customers steep discounts during the 618 shopping festival, which ran on China’s major shopping platforms from the end of May until June 18, in the hopes of shoring up sales amid a weaker-than-expected recovery in consumption. Major shopping festivals, like e-commerce retailer JD.com’s 618 and Alibaba’s Singles’ Day, are…

China’s Targeting of US Firms Politically Motivated, US Ambassador Says

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Washington —  The United States will push back on China’s targeting of American firms, which Washington considers politically motivated and unfair, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday. Several U.S. companies have faced increased scrutiny in China in recent months, including U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc, which China’s cyberspace regulator said in May would be barred from selling to operators of key infrastructure. Businesses groups have warned about the rise in China’s use of exit bans, pressure on foreign due diligence firms, and the vague wording of…

Italy PM: Good Ties With China Possible Without Belt and Road 

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Milan —  Good relations with China are possible even without being part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) deal, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an interview published Sunday, as her government weighs abandoning the project. Italy is the only major Western country to have joined China’s BRI scheme, which envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. In an interview with Il Messaggero daily, Meloni said it was too early to anticipate the outcome of Italy’s decision…

China’s 1st Domestically Made Passenger Plane Makes Inaugural Flight 

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Beijing —  China’s first domestically made passenger jet flew its maiden commercial flight Sunday, as China looks to compete with industry giants such as Boeing and Airbus in the global aircraft market. The C919 plane, built by the Commercial Aviation Corporation of China, carried about 130 passengers on the flight, according to state-owned newspaper China Daily. The jet took off Sunday morning from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and landed less than two hours later in Beijing. The flight was operated by state-owned China Eastern Airlines and the side of the plane…

US Commerce Secretary: US ‘Won’t Tolerate’ China’s Ban on Micron Chips

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The United States “won’t tolerate” China’s effective ban on purchases of Micron Technology MU.O memory chips and is working closely with allies to address such “economic coercion,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Saturday. Raimondo told a news conference after a meeting of trade ministers in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework talks that the U.S. “firmly opposes” China’s actions against Micron. These “target a single U.S. company without any basis in fact, and we see it as plain and simple economic coercion and we won’t tolerate it, nor do we…