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More support for foreign firms coming

By ZHONG NAN| 2022-05-13 10:33:13

China will continue higher-level opening-up to further improve services for foreign companies, so that they can grow and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic impact, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to the global economy, particularly to industrial and supply chains, the Chinese economy's fundamentals remain unchanged, thanks to its strong resilience, great potential, broad room for maneuver and sound long-term growth prospects, said Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the ministry.Shu said 185 new contracts entailing foreign direct investment or FDI of over $100 million each were signed in China in the first four months of this year, which is equivalent to an average of 1.5 major foreign investment projects being launched every day across the country.Big-ticket projects invested by Germany's Volkswagen Group, South Korean steelmaker Posco and the US retail giant Costco have been implemented well in China, forming strong impetus to rapid FDI growth.China's actual use of foreign capital surged by 20.5 percent on a yearly basis to 478.61 billion yuan ($74.47 billion) in the first four months of this year, said the ministry.FDI flows into the services sector reached 351.94 billion yuan between January and April, up 12.5 percent year-on-year. The growth rates for high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services were 36.7 percent and 48.3 percent, respectively.FDI flows into China's eastern region surged 18.7 percent year-on-year in the first four months, while they grew by 43.7 percent and 26.9 percent in the nation's central and western regions, respectively.Tapestry Group, which owns a number of US fashion brands, including Coach and Kate Spade, opened its travel retail headquarters for China at the Hainan Free Trade Port in Haikou, Hainan province, last month."With the ongoing development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Hainan market continues to unleash vigorous growth momentum. This has attracted our interest and encouraged us to invest more in this fast-growing market," said Yann Bozec, president for Asia-Pacific of Tapestry.Nicolas Poirot, president and CEO for China unit of Air Liquide Group, a French industrial and medical gas supplier operating 120 plants across China, said the country has been one of the group's top three markets for a number of years-and it continues to gain in significance. China, he said, will continue to lead the world's manufacturing sector, especially in industries like steel, chemicals, smartphones and automotives.He said Air Liquide will continue to increase investment in hydrogen energy, production centers for basic electronic material, low-carbon technology applications, high-end manufacturing and research activities in China during the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.As US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday his administration is evaluating whether to cut existing tariffs on Chinese goods imposed during the Trump administration, Shu, from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said that under the current high inflation, the removal of additional US tariffs on Chinese goods will serve the interests of US consumers and businesses, and benefit both countries as well as the rest of the world.Currently, the economic and trade teams of the two sides are maintaining normal communication, she noted.

Global shipping firms get boost in China

By ZHU WENQIAN and ZHONG NAN| 2022-05-12 09:31:41

China has freed up the coastal piggyback system for shipping of foreign trade containers between ports within China, enabling foreign logistics giants such as A.P.Moller-Maersk and Orient Overseas Container Line to plan first voyages by the end of this month, analysts said on Monday.The move highlights China's willingness to further its opening-up policy, they said.Meanwhile, the administrative committee of Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone said at a news conference on Monday that China will introduce a container freight forward rate contract trading platform.Despite a complex international situation and given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Shanghai has encouraged enterprises to resume production, and the business in the bonded zone has operated smoothly in the first quarter, the committee said."The new service (for shipping of foreign trade containers between ports within China) is expected to help cut the logistics costs for both exporters and importers, improve the utilization rates of container ships, and relieve the tightness of shipping capacity to a certain extent," said Zhou Zhicheng, a researcher at the Beijing-based China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.Jens Eskelund, China chief representative of Danish shipping and logistics giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, said the permission for foreign carriers to carry out international relay is very welcome news and represents a tangible step for foreign carriers in China toward achieving market access on reciprocal terms."International relay will allow us to improve services, giving our customers more flexibility and options for their shipments. We are preparing the first shipment in Yangshan terminal in Shanghai, together with the Lin-gang Special Area Administration and other relevant stakeholders," Eskelund said.Hong Kong-based Asia Shipping Certification Services Co Ltd has been officially approved to carry out statutory ship inspection work in the Lin-gang Special Area as the first inspection agency that is not incorporated in the Chinese mainland.In March and April, the daily average container throughput in Yangshan terminal reached 66,000 and 59,000 twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs, each accounting for 90 percent and 85 percent, respectively, of the average level seen in the first quarter."Despite the recent resurgence of local COVID-19 cases, operations at ports have been relatively stable. With more companies resuming their business in late April, operations are foreseen to improve further this month," said Lin Yisong, an official of the Lin-gang Special Area Administration.As of Sunday, 193 companies operating in the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, or 85 percent of the total, had resumed operations. About half of total employees who work in the bonded zone arrived at their workplaces physically."The coastal piggyback system will help boost logistics capacity, improve efficiency and provide more business opportunities for global companies to further expand their market presence in China," said Bai Ming, deputy director of international market research at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation."The move is more advanced than the coastal transportation policies being practiced in some countries. Major economies such as the United States and Japan have not opened up coastal transportation for global shipping firms yet," Bai said.China's total imports and exports of goods expanded 1.9 percent year-on-year to a record 32.16 trillion yuan ($4.77 trillion) last year, despite a worldwide slump in shipments due to the pandemic.

In the first four months, the total value of my country's foreign trade import and export was 12.58 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%

By Sun Shuwen Kong Lingwen Zhao Yut| 2022-05-11 09:36:44

The General Administration of Customs announced today that in the first four months of this year, the total value of my country's foreign trade imports and exports was 12.58 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. Among them, exports were 6.97 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%; imports were 5.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5%.Li Kuiwen, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs: Under the increasingly complex and severe external environment faced by my country's foreign trade development, my country's foreign trade import and export continued to grow in the first four months, and the number of foreign trade enterprises with import and export performance increased by 4.7% year-on-year. This fully reflects the characteristics of my country's economy with strong resilience, sufficient potential, wide room for maneuver, and long-term positive fundamentals that will not change. my country's goal of maintaining stability and improving foreign trade throughout the year is still well supported.Customs statistics show that my country's foreign trade structure continued to be optimized in the first four months, with general trade imports and exports reaching 8.01 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.2% year-on-year. my country's imports and exports to ASEAN, the European Union, the United States and South Korea were 1.84 trillion yuan, 1.73 trillion yuan, 1.56 trillion yuan and 764.92 billion yuan respectively, up 7.2%, 6.8%, 8.7% and 8.4% year-on-year. ASEAN continues to be my country's largest trading partner, accounting for 14.6% of my country's total foreign trade.During the same period, the total import and export between my country and the countries along the “Belt and Road” reached 3.97 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%. The total import and export of my country and the other 14 member countries of RCEP was 3.84 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%.Li Kuiwen, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs: The continuous optimization of the international market layout with close regional cooperation and diversified trade can not only improve the vitality and potential of my country's foreign trade, but also promote my country and the countries along the "Belt and Road" and RCEP member countries. The bilateral trade continued to grow, and the growth rate of my country’s imports and exports with countries along the “Belt and Road” in the first four months was 7.5 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate.

Steel and cement don't reflect China's growth story any more

By China Daily| 2022-05-10 09:37:10

China's investment in the secondary industry grew by 16.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, significantly higher than the 6.8 percent investment growth in the primary industry and 6.4 percent investment growth in the tertiary industry.In contrast steel and cement production, which has been closely linked to investment in the secondary industry, fell year-on-year, triggering doubts about the authenticity of China's economic development story. However, such a mismatch actually reflects the profound changes China's economic structure is undergoing.In the past, China's industrial investment was mainly concentrated in the heavy and chemical industries, given the huge demand for steel and cement. Whenever the investment in the secondary industry increased, steel and cement output would increase, and vice versa.However, ever since China's economy entered the stage of high-quality development, the investment has shifted toward the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sector, which has lesser demand for steel and cement. That explains the lack of synchrony in the growth rate of the secondary industry and steel and cement production.As China's economy shifts from extensive growth based on scale and speed to intensive growth based on quality and efficiency, the correlation between many economic indicators has changed. Therefore, we cannot continue to view and analyze problems using old concepts.In the past, changes in electricity consumption, railway freight volume and medium- and long-term loans of banks were regarded as an important barometer to observe economic trends. However, with the optimization and upgrading of China's economic structure, energy demand in the industry and service sector, and the proportion of railway freight volume in the total social logistics volume are also changing. As a result, the relationship between these indicators and the overall economic situation will naturally undergo change. If the changes of individual economic indicators alone are used to judge the overall economy, we may draw wrong conclusions.Only by deeply clarifying the connotation of various economic indicators and exploring the link between various economic variables, can we make more comprehensive, scientific and rational analysis of China's economy, and draw more scientific and accurate conclusions about its high-quality development.

China's e-commerce logistics sector reports slower contraction in April

By Xinhua| 2022-05-09 10:01:26

BEIJING -- China's e-commerce logistics sector recorded a slower contraction in April compared to March, according to an industry survey jointly conducted by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and e-commerce giant JD.com.The survey showed that the index tracking e-commerce logistics activities stood at 102.2 points in April, down 1.8 points from the previous month.The decline shrank from that registered in March as government policies to smooth logistics alleviated the effects of COVID-19, however demand is yet to recover, according to the survey.The sub-index for business volume dropped 5.8 points from the previous month to 112.4 points.The sub-index for business costs rose 0.8 points in April, nearing the latest peak in 2016, the survey showed.

China's property development loans increase in Q1

By Xinhua| 2022-05-07 09:41:12

BEIJING - China's real estate developers borrowed more money from banks in the first quarter of 2022, data from the central bank showed on Friday.New loans to Chinese property developers totaled 290 billion yuan ($43.72 billion) in the first three months of the year, reversing the decrease seen in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to data from the People's Bank of China.Outstanding property development loans stood at 12.56 trillion yuan by the end of March, the data showed.Outstanding personal housing loans had grown 8.9 percent year-on-year to 38.84 trillion yuan by the end of March, a 2.3-percentage-point decrease in growth rate from the end of December, the central bank said.Friday's data also showed that outstanding RMB property loans rose 6 percent year-on-year to 53.22 trillion yuan by the end of first quarter of this year.China's central and local authorities are fine-tuning housing policies to seek a balance between defusing risks and spurring demand, amid efforts to boost the steady and sound development of the property market.While reiterating that "housing is for living in, not for speculation", a key meeting held last week by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee called for efforts to improve real estate policies based on local realities. It urged support for work to meet the demand of both first-time home buyers and home upgraders, and for work to optimize regulations governing commercial housing prepayments.

China's building materials sector sees steady expansion in Q1

By Xinhua| 2022-05-06 10:00:23

BEIJING -- China saw the added value of its building materials sector rise at a steady pace of 1.6 percent year-on-year during the first quarter, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.In March, the added value of the industry climbed 2.1 percent from a year earlier.China's cement output reached 387 million tons, down 12.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. In March, the cement output fell 5.6 percent year-on-year to 187 million tons.The output of flat glass rose 2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and 2.2 percent in March, the ministry's data showed.

China's large internet companies post steady revenue growth in Q1

By Xinhua| 2022-05-05 10:32:26

BEIJING -- China's large internet companies reported steady revenue growth in the first quarter of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.Revenue of these companies surged 1.4 percent year on year to reach 323.6 billion yuan (about $48.9 billion) during the period, MIIT data showed.Profits declined 10.3 percent from a year earlier to 15.45 billion yuan, with the decline rate expanding 2.9 percentage points from that in the first two months.In the first quarter, China's large internet enterprises invested a total of 17.75 billion yuan in research and development, an increase of 8.4 percent year on year. The growth rate was 11.2 percentage points higher than that in Jan.-Feb.Large internet companies refer to enterprises that focus on the internet and related services with an annual business revenue of at least 5 million yuan.

China's transport investment posts robust growth in Q1

By Xinhua| 2022-04-29 10:55:39

BEIJING - China's transport sector notched an increase in fixed-asset investment in the first quarter of the year (Q1), the Ministry of Transport said Tuesday.In the January-March period, fixed-asset investment in the sector amounted to 636 billion yuan ($96.97 billion), up 9.8 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry.The growth rate climbed 1 percentage point from the fourth quarter in 2021, providing effective support for stabilizing the macroeconomy, said Wang Songbo, an official with the ministry, at a press conference.The majority of the funds went to road and waterway infrastructure construction, with investment in road construction rising 11.8 percent year-on-year to 481 billion yuan in the period.Investment in waterway construction came in at 31 billion yuan in Q1, up 5.4 percent.

China-SE Asia trade up as production resumes

By ZHONG NAN| 2022-04-28 09:48:51

With many Southeast Asian countries resuming factory production as well as imports of more industrial intermediates from China, both shipping costs and trade volume between the two sides have risen significantly this year, exporters and forwarders said on Wednesday."March usually is the peak season for global clients to purchase summer accessories. However, we received many additional orders from Southeast Asia in the second half of this month," said Zhang Shengxian, an exporter of jewelry accessories based at Yiwu International Trade Market in Zhejiang province."The goods orders placed by our Southeast Asian clients have a distinct characteristic-demand for a short production and delivery cycle. We are desperately trying to catch up," Zhang said.While shipping costs for a container shipped from ports in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to ports on the west coast of the United States have dropped from the peak of $15,000 in the second half of 2021 to around $8,000 this month, it still costs a high $1,800 to ship such a box from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province to Port of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.The corresponding figure for shipping to Haiphong Port in Vietnam is even higher, said Ye Jian, vice-president of Ningbo Port Southeast Logistics Group Co Ltd in Zhejiang province.The forwarder said that starting from the second half of March, shipment volume boomed on the routes connecting Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to ports in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam. This caused freight rates to rebound gradually.Before COVID-19, the average freight rate from China to Southeast Asia was between $300 and $400 per twenty-foot equivalent unit or TEU container. It had, however, risen tenfold to nearly $4,000 per box in mid-2021. Owing to sufficient shipping capacity, the price dropped to between $1,200 and $1,300 in January this year, data from the Beijing-based China Container Industry Association showed.Because of the relatively short distance, it normally takes three or four days for a container ship to complete a voyage. Many shipping lines prefer to deploy small and medium-sized container vessels on the routes connecting China with member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Thanks to the complementary trade structure, ASEAN members' resumption of production has notably stimulated exports of China's industrial intermediates and commodities, including processing equipment and their components, textile yarn, motorcycles, clothing, refined oil, wires and cables, as well as other manufacturing parts.Yu Genlai, head of the statistics unit of Haishu Customs, a branch of Ningbo Customs, said the city exported 5.8 billion yuan ($885 million) worth of goods to Southeast Asian countries in March, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.During the same month, Ningbo's exports of high-tech products to the region increased by 80.1 percent year-on-year. Shipments of mechanical and electrical products, textiles, clothing and plastic products have all achieved double-digit growth, Customs data showed.High complementarity in the industrial and supply chains, free trade deals at the regional level, and a new international land-sea trade corridor will continue to boost the close trade relations between China and ASEAN members in the coming years, said Zhang Jianping, director-general of the China Center for Regional Economic Cooperation in Beijing.Trade between China and ASEAN grew by 8.4 percent year-on-year to 1.35 trillion yuan in the first quarter of this year. The region has reemerged as China's largest trading partner in March after the European Union surpassed it in the first two months of this year, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed. Ocean shipping activities between the two sides have been busy.Cargo value generated by the China-Vietnam cross-border freight train services has more than tripled since the beginning of the year. This highlights wider trade between China and Vietnam and a stable supply chain for Southeast Asia as well, further enriched by the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement since Jan 1.The Pingxiang Railway Port-the only cross-border railway port in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region-saw trade value reach 6.32 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, up 240.7 percent year-on-year, data from Nanning Customs showed.

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