Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
China’s economy shrank for the first time in decades in the first quarter of the year, as the virus forced factories and businesses to close.
The world’s second biggest economy contracted 6.8% according to official data released on Friday.
The financial toll the coronavirus is having on the Chinese economy will be a huge concern to other countries.
China is an economic powerhouse as a major consumer and producer of goods and services.
This is the first time China has seen its economy shrink in the first three months of the year since it started recording quarterly figures in 1992.
“The GDP contraction in January-March will translate into permanent income losses, reflected in bankruptcies across small companies and job losses,” said Yue Su at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Last year, China saw healthy economic growth of 6.4% in the first quarter, a period when it was locked in a trade war with the US.
In the last two decades, China has seen average economic growth of around 9% a year, although experts have regularly questioned the accuracy of its economic data.
Its economy had ground to a halt during the first three months of the year as it introduced large-scale shutdowns and quarantines to prevent the virus spread in late January.
As a result, economists had expected bleak figures, but the official data comes in slightly worse than expected.
Among other key figures released in Friday’s report:
Factory output was down 1.1% for March as China slowly starts manufacturing again.
Retail sales plummeted 15.8% last month as many of shoppers stayed at home.
Unemployment hit 5.9% in March, slightly better than February’s all-time high of 6.2%.
Analysis: A 6% expansion wiped out
Robin Brant, BBC News, Shanghai
The huge decline shows the profound impact that the virus outbreak, and the government’s draconian reaction to it, had on the world’s second largest economy. It wipes out the 6% expansion in China’s economy recorded in the last set of figures at the end of last year.
Beijing has signalled a significant economic stimulus is on the way as it tries to stabilise its economy and recover. Earlier this week the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, the People’s Daily, reported it would “expand domestic demand”.
But the slowdown in the rest of the global economy presents a significant problem as exports still play a major role in China’s economy. If it comes this will not be a quick recovery.
On Thursday the International Monetary Fund forecast China’s economy would avoid a recession but grow by just 1.2% this year. Job figures released recently showed the official government unemployment figure had risen sharply, with the number working in companies linked to export trade falling the most.
China has unveiled a range of financial support measures to cushion the impact of the slowdown, but not on the same scale as other major economies.
“We don’t expect large stimulus, given that that remains unpopular in Beijing. Instead, we think policymakers will accept low growth this year, given the prospects for a better 2021,” said Louis Kuijs, an analyst with Oxford Economics.
Since March, China has slowly started letting factories resume production and letting businesses reopen, but this is a gradual process to return to pre-lockdown levels.
Media caption Why does China’s economy matter to you?
China relies heavily on its factories and manufacturing plants for economic growth, and has been dubbed “the world’s factory”.
Stock markets in the region showed mixed reaction to the Chinese economic data, with China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index up 0.9%.
BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed in a phone conversation Tuesday to join hands to uphold multilateralism and tackle global challenges.
Xi told Macron that China will continue to unswervingly pursue an opening-up strategy of mutual benefit, and work together with peoples around the world, including the French people, to forge ahead with the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Xi thanked Macron for his warm congratulatory message on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Noting that the French government and people have rendered much help and support to the construction and development of the PRC, Xi stressed that China’s development cannot be separated from the rest of the world, and the world’s development cannot be separated from China.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties, the Chinese president said, recalling his successful state visit to France in March at the invitation of Macron, during which the two leaders together opened a new chapter for bilateral ties.
The two sides have continuously consolidated political mutual trust, achieved new results in practical cooperation in economy, trade, culture, people-to-people and other fields, and made more effective communication and coordination in international affairs, Xi said.
The Chinese president said he is willing to maintain exchanges and communication with Macron, and join hands with the French president to push forward bilateral cooperation to yield more high-quality results, uphold multilateralism, oppose unilateralism, promote an open world economy, and tackle global challenges.
The Chinese side actively supports France in holding the second Paris Peace Forum, and welcomes France to participate in the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) as a guest country of honor, Xi said.
For his part, Macron once again congratulated the PRC on its 70th founding anniversary, saying that France and China enjoy close and lasting relations.
He said Xi’s state visit to France in March effectively pushed forward the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Under the current circumstances, Macron said, it is of great significance to maintain bilateral strategic communication.
He said France stands ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation with China in such fields as trade, civil nuclear energy, aviation and culture, jointly revitalize multilateralism, and work together to address major global issues including the environment and climate change.
Macron said he is willing to maintain close exchanges with Xi and looks forward to visiting China again in the near future.
The French side actively supports the second CIIE, he said.
The two heads of state also exchanged views on major international and regional issues of common concern.
Image copyright EPA
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 