China Archives - Page 41 of 54

China Swings Back To Surprise Trade Surplus, Reversing A Sharp February Contraction

China’s trade balance swung back into positive territory in March as the country’s import growth slowed from a 13-month peak and exports grew faster than expected. March’s surplus of $5.35 billion came as a surprise to many analysts and sharply reverses China’s massive $31.5 billion deficit in February – the country’s largest trade gap in 22 years.

Returning to surplus, exports grew 8.9 percent year-on-year to $165.6 billion while imports grew 5.3 percent y-o-y to $160.3 billion, trade data showed on Tuesday.

China To Impose Lifetime Bans For Food Safety Violators

Any individual or company that has been convicted of food safety crimes in China could be banned from the food industry for life, claimed a report by the China Daily on Monday, as the government continues to crack down on food safety violations.

Last week, China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) implemented a new nationwide regulation that would force all restaurants to display notices of their food safety levels at their storefront.

China Overtakes the US as the World’s Largest Grocery Market

China may be the world’s second largest economy behind the United States, but a recent industry report shows that the East Asian giant is already the world’s largest market when it comes to grocery spending. According to researchers IGD, China collectively spent $970 billion at the supermarket last year, $60 billion more than the US.

In a sign of how quickly China’s middle class as grown, the Chinese grocery sector is now worth $970 billion dollars, tripling in value between 2006 and 2011.

China Opens Up Equity Market To More Foreign Investment

China has said it will more than triple the total amount of foreign investment in Chinese securities, as the existing programme nears its limit. At the same time, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called for bolder financial reforms, calling for the ‘Big Four’ banking monopoly to be ‘smashed’.

Earlier this year, the Chinese state media reported that authorities were considering expanding the capacity of the qualified foreign institutional investor scheme (QFII), a key channel for foreign investment in Chinese capital markets that was first launched in 2003.

China’s Obsession With Stability: Stephen Roach

Given centuries of turmoil in China, today’s leaders will do everything in their power to preserve political, social, and economic stability. That is why they removed Bo Xilai, the powerful Party Secretary of Chongqing, just before a major conference that attacked the economic model that he personified.

BEIJING – The first principle that I learned when I started focusing on China in the late 1990’s is that nothing is more important to the Chinese than stability – whether economic, social, or political.

Fuel Hedging Ban Causes Major Dip In Chinese Airlines’ Profits

China’s biggest airlines have seen their profits plummet in recent months, claimed a report by the Financial Times on Tuesday, with most companies unable to hedge against rising oil prices due to a three-year old government ban on crude future contracts.

According to FT, profits for Air China and China Eastern fell by 38.8 percent and 9.1 percent respectively last year, as growing fuel costs continue to leave a dent on companies’ expense sheets.

Chinese Village Gives Out Gold and Silver As Profit Sharing

Villagers in the eastern China’s Jiangsu province have received gold, and silver, bars as they celebrate the 40^th anniversary of a village-owned business. The Jiangsu Xinchangjiang Group is an electronics, metals and chemicals company, and a top 500 company in China.

According to China Daily, it is the second time the village has handed out gold and silver, after Li Liangbao, Chief of Changjiang village, promised to do so in 2009.

China Inks $31 Billion Currency Swap Deal With Australia

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, signed a $31 billion currency swap agreement with their Australian counterparts on Thursday, as the Chinese government continues its push to establish the yuan as a global reserve currency.

Under the terms of the agreement, businesses from both countries would able to settle trade terms in their respective local currency, significantly reducing the cost of trade across borders.

Chinese Banks To Rake in Record Profits For A Fifth Year, But…

China’s biggest banks are set to report record level of profits for the fifth consecutive year. However, analysts are warning that rising bad debt and non-performing loans may soon trigger a series of worrisome defaults.

The world’s most profitable bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the four other Chinese banking titans, are expected to report their fourth-quarter net income by the end of this month, and analysts are expecting a profit increase of 15 percent.

How China Can Address Its Economic Challenges By 2030: Justin Yifu Lin

In the next 20 years, China will face serious economic challenges: Rising inequality, environmental degradation, external imbalances, as well as an aging society, all present major risks to China’s future. With the nation heading for an inevitable slowdown, can its government provide long-term solutions to its short-term problems?