[🇨🇳] China----News & Views

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Myanmar airstrikes on border hospital near China kill 10

Myanmar military airstrikes hit a hospital in a city controlled by an ethnic minority armed group close to the China border killing 10 people, local media...

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Myanmar airstrikes on border hospital near China kill 10
Agence France-Presse . Bangkok 03 August, 2024, 01:21

Myanmar military airstrikes hit a hospital in a city controlled by an ethnic minority armed group close to the China border killing 10 people, local media reported on Friday.

Military planes carried out at least two air strikes on Laukkai city, normally home to some 25,000 people, late on Thursday night, a resident told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

Local media quoted one resident as saying 10 civilians were killed in the strike.

Myanmar's northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late June when an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along a major trade highway to China.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) group have held Laukkai since January after more than 2,000 junta troops surrendered there in one of the military's biggest defeats in decades.

MNDAA spokesman Li Jiawen told AFP a military airstrike had hit a hospital in Laukkai, but he had no information yet on casualties.

The junta has been approached for comment.

The junta has bombed Laukkai several times in recent weeks after the MNDAA renewed its offensive in northern Shan state, shredding a Beijing-brokered ceasefire.

Pictures taken on Thursday and shared with AFP by the Laukkai resident showed deserted streets.

In recent days MNDAA fighters have entered the town of Lashio, also in northern Shan state and home to the military's northeastern command.

Fighting was ongoing in Lashio on Friday, a military source told AFP, requesting anonymity to talk to the media.

Local media, citing a local resident, reported that MNDAA fighters had entered a military hospital in Lashio and killed an unspecified number of patients and medical staff.

AFP was unable to reach people on the ground in Lashio or confirm the report.

Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting in Shan state according to the junta and local rescue groups.

Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.

Myanmar's borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

Some have given shelter and training to newer "People's Defence Forces" (PDFs) that have sprung up to battle the military after the coup in 2021.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.​

 

[Saif]

China’s stuttering recovery darkens global corporate growth outlook

Global burger chains to car manufacturers are increasingly feeling the pinch from a faltering recovery in the world’s No. 2 economy, China, and are strapping in for a bumpy ride ahead.

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China's stuttering recovery darkens global corporate growth outlook

A woman leaves a cafe of Starbucks Coffee in Beijing, China. Coffee chain Starbucks, carmaker General Motors and technology firms hurt by curbs on exports to China are among those that have sounded the alarm on weakness in the nation. Photo: REUTERS/FILE

Global burger chains to car manufacturers are increasingly feeling the pinch from a faltering recovery in the world's No. 2 economy, China, and are strapping in for a bumpy ride ahead.

A protracted downturn in the property market and high levels of job insecurity have knocked the wind out of a fragile recovery in China, a global trading powerhouse, and the effects of its slowdown can be felt across borders.

Coffee chain Starbucks, carmaker General Motors and technology firms hurt by curbs on exports to China are among those that have sounded the alarm on weakness in the nation. The Chinese government's stimulus measures have so far failed to boost consumption, and the overleveraged property market has made consumers less likely to spend.

"It's a difficult market right now. And frankly, it's unsustainable, because the amount of companies losing money there cannot continue indefinitely," General Motors CEO Mary Barra said last week as the automaker's division in China shifted from being a profit engine to a drain on its finances.

China's $18.6 trillion economy grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter, and cautious households are building up savings and paying off debts. Retail sales growth sank to an 18-month low in June, and businesses cut prices on everything from cars to food to clothes.

In a bid to stem the rot, China outlined stimulus directed at consumers last month to support equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, but that has not allayed concerns.

US stocks plummeted for second straight session on Friday, and the Nasdaq confirmed it was in correction territory, after a soft jobs report stoked fears of an oncoming recession.

Some analysts have warned that barring a structural shift that gives consumers a greater role in the economy, the current path fuels risks of a prolonged period of near-stagnation and persistent deflation threats.

"There is a deep concern that Beijing is not introducing the kind of stimulus that helps broaden the economic base," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.

"It's becoming more difficult for US companies to look to the Chinese market as a reliable partner."

China remained a drag on Apple last quarter. The iPhone maker's sales declined a much steeper-than-expected 6.5 percent in the country, which accounts for a fifth of its total revenue.

French cosmetics giant L'Oreal said the Chinese beauty market will remain slightly negative into the second half of 2024 with no visible improvement in sentiment.

Other consumer companies' sales have been hurt as well, including Starbucks , McDonald's and Procter & Gamble, while soft domestic travel demand prompted a revenue warning from Marriott.

The sluggish growth was also evident in underwhelming results from luxury goods makers LVMH and Gucci-owner Kering and profit warnings from Burberry and Hugo Boss.

"The world was surprised at how weak China was economically as this year unfolded," said Marc Casper, CEO of medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher.

Meanwhile, foreign automakers from Tesla to BMW, Audi and Mercedes, are locked in an intense price war in China after ceding market share to domestic EV makers, led by BYD, who offer high-tech, low-cost models.

To be sure, the MSCI World with China Exposure Index , which tracks 52 companies with high revenue exposure to China, is up 11.6 percent this year, not far off a 12 percent rise in MSCI's broad gauge of global stocks.

However, most of the China-focused index's performance is thanks to a surge in semiconductor stocks, including Broadcom and Qualcomm, which have benefited from AI-driven demand.

Mounting Sino-US trade tensions and certain domestic policies have added to multinational companies' woes.

Beijing's anti-corruption campaign that began last year has caused disruptions that partly prompted GE HealthCare to lower its revenue growth forecast and sparked concerns over sales of Merck's Gardasil vaccine.

Meanwhile, tighter US export curbs on sharing high-end chip technology with China are impeding chipmakers from serving one of the largest markets for semiconductors.

Qualcomm said it took a revenue hit from the US curbs on exports to China, overshadowing its otherwise upbeat forecast on Wednesday.

Analysts said the pressures are unlikely to ease soon.

"It has been a surprise that (the slowdown) has lasted so long," said Stuart Cole, chief macroeconomist at Equiti Capital.

"Once the Covid restrictions were lifted the general expectation was that China would bounce back. But the Chinese pace of expansion we saw previously will not be seen any time soon."​

 

[Saif]

China issues plan to boost household consumption

China has issued a set of directives aimed at boosting household consumption, a weakness weighing on growth in the world’s second-largest economy, with the plan targeting sectors including child and elder care, and food and beverage...

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China issues plan to boost household consumption
Agence France-Presse . Beijing 04 August, 2024, 22:21

A woman buys food at a stall at the Dacheng Road Night Market in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on August 1. | AFP photo

China has issued a set of directives aimed at boosting household consumption, a weakness weighing on growth in the world's second-largest economy, with the plan targeting sectors including child and elder care, and food and beverage.

Leaders including president Xi Jinping pledged last month to help boost domestic consumption and ease pressure on China's ailing property sector, following a gathering of the ruling Communist Party's top brass.

The State Council, China's cabinet, published a list of 20 general directives on its website on Saturday evening, constituting a general roadmap for ministries and local authorities as the economy recovers after the lifting of strict pandemic measures at the end of 2022 that had hindered growth.

The plan, which does not include proposed budgets, urges authorities to 'increase the supply of care services for the elderly', a sector with growth potential in a country with an ageing population.

It also calls for the development of childcare services, as fewer young people opt to have babies due to the high cost of education and lack of social benefits.

Income tax reductions are also planned to offset the cost of caring for children under three and senior citizens, according to the document.

Beijing also pledged to ensure that eligible small businesses in the service sector can benefit from greater financial support, particularly from banks.

The plan calls for more food-themed festivals to be held, and for the promotion of street food 'snacks' — popular with locals — as well as pledges to encourage major foreign companies in the food and beverage industry to open their first outlets in China.

China is aiming for GDP growth of 'around 5 per cent' this year, but second-quarter growth slowed sharply to 4.7 per cent year-on-year, according to official figures published last month.

Its growth has been battered by a long-running debt crisis in the property market, which accounts for a quarter of gross domestic product.​

 

[Saif]

China youth unemployment jumped to 17.1% in July

Youth unemployment in China ticked up to 17.1 percent in July, official figures showed, the highest level this year as the world’s second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds.

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China youth unemployment jumped to 17.1% in July

People are seen attending a job fair in Beijing, China. Nearly 12 million students graduated from Chinese universities this June, heightening competition in an already tough job market. Photo: AFP/FILE

Youth unemployment in China ticked up to 17.1 percent in July, official figures showed, the highest level this year as the world's second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds.

China is battling soaring joblessness among young people, a heavily indebted property sector and intensifying trade issues with the West.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is responsible for economic policy, on Friday called for struggling companies to be "heard" and "their difficulties truly addressed", according to the state news agency Xinhua.

The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was up markedly from June's 13.2 percent.

The closely watched metric peaked at 21.3 percent in June of 2023, before authorities suspended publication of the figures and later changed their methodology to exclude students.

Nearly 12 million students graduated from Chinese universities this June, heightening competition in an already tough job market and likely explaining July's sharp increase in joblessness.

In May, President Xi Jinping said countering youth unemployment must be regarded as a "top priority".

Among 25- to 29-year-olds, the unemployment rate stood at 6.5 percent for July, up from the previous month's 6.4 percent.

For the workforce as a whole, the unemployment rate was 5.2 percent.

However, the NBS figures paint an incomplete picture of China's overall employment situation, as they take only urban areas into account.

The new unemployment figures come on the heels of other disappointing economic data from Beijing, including figures showing dampened industrial production, despite recent government measures aimed at boosting growth.

Industrial production growth weakened in July, with the month's 5.1 percent expansion down from June's 5.3 percent and falling short of analyst predictions.

China's major cities also recorded another decline in real estate prices last month, a sign of sluggish demand.

Demand for bank loans also contracted for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to official figures published earlier this week.

International challenges are also mounting, with the European Union and the United States increasingly imposing trade barriers to protect their markets from low-cost Chinese products and perceived unfair competition.​

 

[Saif]

China targets dairy imports from EU in latest barb in trade row

Beijing on Wednesday launched a probe into EU subsidies of some dairy products imported into China, the day after the bloc said it planned to impose five-year import duties of up to 36 percent on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

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China targets dairy imports from EU in latest barb in trade row

A staff member arranges cartons of milk on refrigerator shelves at a supermarket in Beijing, China. The EU exported 1.68 billion euros ($1.87 billion) of dairy products to China last year. Photo: REUTERS/FILE

Beijing on Wednesday launched a probe into EU subsidies of some dairy products imported into China, the day after the bloc said it planned to impose five-year import duties of up to 36 percent on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

The investigation, which marks the latest barb in a trade standoff between the two, will cover a range of items including fresh cheese and curd, blue cheese, and some milk and cream, Beijing's commerce ministry said.

"The Ministry of Commerce has decided to initiate an anti-subsidy investigation on imported relevant dairy products originating in the European Union from August 21, 2024," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Officials said they had received an application from the Dairy Association of China for an anti-subsidy probe into European products on July 29, and held consultations with the European Union on August 14.

Beijing said the investigation would cover EU subsidy schemes implemented in the year up to the end of March 2024, and damages to China's domestic industry between the start of 2020 and the end of March this year.

The probe takes aim at major pillars of the bloc's setup including the common agricultural policy as well as national subsidy plans in Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Croatia, Finland, Romania and the Czech Republic. It will last one year but may be extended for up to six months "under special circumstances", the ministry said.

The EU exported 1.68 billion euros ($1.87 billion) of dairy products to China last year, according to figures from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, which cited Eurostat.

The EU Chamber of Commerce in China said the investigation "should not be considered a surprise" in the wake of the bloc's own imposition of import tariffs on Chinese EVs.

"Regrettably, the use of trade defense instruments by one government is increasingly being responded to seemingly in kind by the recipient government," the chamber said in a statement.

It said it "will be monitoring the ongoing investigation and hopes that it will be conducted fairly and transparently", adding that it expected its affected member firms to cooperate.

The news comes a day after the European Commission said it planned to impose five-year import duties on Chinese EVs, unless Beijing can offer an alternative solution to a damaging trade row over state subsidies.

Brussels last month hit EVs imported from China with hefty provisional tariffs -- on top of current duties of 10 percent -- after an anti-subsidy probe found they were unfairly undermining European rivals.

China said this month it had filed an appeal with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the tariffs, saying the EU's decision "lacks a factual and legal basis".

Its foreign ministry has kept up a steady drumbeat of opposition to the measures, on Wednesday slamming them as a "typical protectionist and politically driven act".

"It ignores objective facts, disregards (WTO) rules, goes against the historical trend, (and) damages the EU's green transformation process and global efforts to address climate change," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

She added that the EU "will only harm itself" with the imposition of tariffs.

Brussels has sought to tread carefully as it tries to defend Europe's crucial auto industry and pivot towards green growth while averting a showdown with Beijing.

But it has launched further investigations into Chinese subsidies for a range of transport and green energy firms.

Beijing, for its part, has begun its own probes into imported European brandy and pork.​