New data show China’s factories are revving up economy but consumer, property weakness persists
China’s exports and imports returned to growth in April after contracting in the previous month while consumer prices rose for the third straight month. Production of 3D printing equipment, new energy vehicles and integrated circuit products increased 55.0 per cent, 39.2 per cent and 31.9 per cent year-on-year, respectively, NBS said.
China’s economy rumbles from a lull as exports, imports return to growth signalling demand recovery
China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, although data on exports, consumer inflation, producer prices and bank lending for March showed that momentum could be faltering again. A protracted property crisis is also showing few signs of abating, spurring calls for more policy stimulus.
China’s faces serious demographic crisis as its rapidly ageing migrant workforce can’t afford to retire
Pensions in China are based on an internal passport system known as hukou, which divides the population along urban-rural lines, creating vast differences in incomes and access to social services. Monthly urban pensions range from roughly 3,000 yuan in less-developed provinces to about 6,000 yuan in Beijing and Shanghai. Rural pensions, introduced nationwide in 2009, are meagre.
Biden signs into law Congress bill that bans TikTok use in America as its Chinese owners vow to go to court
TikTok also has come under fire for its negative influence on children and teenagers, including data collection and other privacy issues. However, the bill’s language appears to leave room for the US government to do more than just target TikTok and its parent company or address concerns over what content children are exposed to or about their privacy.
‘Truth is Treason in an Empire of Lies’: American doctors call for vigilance as SCOTUS hears Covid censorship case
“If we win, it will solidify every American’s right to free speech,” said Laura Bono, CHD executive vice president, “[And] not just ours. These cases will shape the future of free speech in America and the world.”
West calls Russia’s ‘election was an election without choice’ but China, India back Putin
Arriving in Brussels on Monday, EU foreign ministers roundly dismissed the election result as a sham ahead of agreeing sanctions on individuals linked to the mistreatment and death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
China’s military and state media rap US following explosive report on SpaceX spy satellite plans
Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge, a magazine overseen by the ruling Communist Party, was quoted in an interview as saying the SpaceX satellite project posed “a challenge to global security and stability”.
Drink-and-Drive: How Kenya’s ex-president signed away standard gauge railway deal with China without reading it
The SGR contract left no room for rescheduling of the loan of approximately Ksh400 billion ($3.8 billion). The government, it now emerges, had to sit down with unwilling Chinese government to insert a clause in the agreement that now allows for rescheduling of repayment or renegotiating the loan without ceding sovereignty.
No man, No cry: Chinese women eschew hunt for husbands, prefer ‘singledom’ as economy stutters
China’s single population aged over 15 hit a record 239 million in 2021, according to official data. Marriage registrations rebounded slightly last year due to a pandemic backlog after reaching historic lows in 2022. A 2021 Communist Youth League survey of some 2,900 unmarried urban young people found that 44 per cent of women do not plan to marry.
China unveils plan to drive economic growth above 5 per cent annually, IMF forecasts 3.5 per cent shrink
China started the year with a stock market rout and deflation at levels unseen since the global financial crisis of 2008-09. The property crisis and local government debt woes persisted, increasing pressure on China’s leaders to come up with new economic policies.
