Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 172

China’s economy at a glance, August 2024

There was nothing in China’s latest data release to fundamentally change our views around its economy – authorities continue to prioritise the supply side of the economy, which, in the face of subdued domestic demand, is expanding export volumes and leading to growing trade tensions with other major economies. Our forecasts are unchanged – we see growth at 4.7% this year (below the full year

China's faltering growth revives cash vouchers talk

Another round of bad Chinese economic figures is raising pressure on Beijing to loosen the fiscal spigot further and even dole out shopping vouchers to get growth back towards this year's target of roughly 5 per cent. After a dismal second quarter, the world's second-largest economy lost momentum further in July: new home prices fell at the fastest pace in nine years, industrial output slowed,

China’s Economic Malaise: A Global Ripple Effect

China’s economic engine, which has long been the world’s growth driver, is losing steam. Recent data highlights a deepening slowdown with far-reaching global consequences. The Chinese economy is under increasing strain, with its weakest growth in five quarters. Efforts to bolster consumer spending have yielded disappointing results, and China’s GDP grew by only 4.7% in the second quarter, below

From China’s Past: Chinese Exclusion Act May 6, 1882

This act provided an absolute 10-year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration. For the first time, Federal law proscribed entry of an ethnic working group on the premise that it endangered the good order of certain localities.Read more

China’s No. 2 official travels to Russia to ‘deepen’ ties as Ukraine war grinds on

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is set to meet with Russian leaders in Moscow Wednesday during a four-day trip to Russia and its ally Belarus as Beijing shrugs off Western criticism of its robust Kremlin ties amid the war in Ukraine. Li, China’s No. 2 official under leader Xi Jinping, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hold talks on China-Russia cooperation and strategic ties with

India’s top court creates safety task force after rape, murder of doctor

India’s Supreme Court has set up a national task force of doctors to make recommendations on workplace safety following the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a state hospital that prompted nationwide protests. The court, which took up the case on its own, said on Tuesday that the doctors’ panel was being established to frame guidelines for the safety and protection of medical workers across

From China’s Past: The Rape of Nanking, 1937

In 1931, the Japanese occupied the Chinese province of Manchuria transforming it into a Japanese puppet state. It was the first step in Japan's drive to control all of China. Six years would elapse before the Japanese took the next step in their plan of conquest. In early July 1937, Japanese and Chinese troops clashed in Peking in an incident at the Marco Polo Bridge. Using this as justification,

Vietnam, China sign 14 agreements during top leader’s visit to Beijing

Vietnamese leader To Lam rounded off his three-day trip to China on Tuesday with a visit to the Central Party School, which provides training to Communist Party officials. He also led a Vietnamese delegation to Beijing-headquartered artificial intelligence company Megvii, the Vietnam News Service reported.Lam’s first foreign trip since being appointed to his country’s top job on Aug. 3 began on

CHINA-TAIWAN WEEKLY UPDATE, AUGUST 16, 2024

The PRC released four members of a Taiwanese fishing boat on August 13, whom it detained near Kinmen on July 2.The crew’s release does not indicate a change in the PRC’s long-term coercion campaign against Taiwan, however. The PRC continues to hold the Taiwanese captain of the crew and the boat, with no confirmed date for their release. The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) detained the crew and boat for

Is China conducting ‘gray zone’ warfare for Russia?

In October 2023, damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia knocked it out for six months. Suspicion quickly fell upon a Chinese-owned, Hong Kong-flagged container ship called the Newnew Polar Bear. Now the South China Morning Post has reported that the Chinese government agrees the anchor of the Newnew Polar Bear severed the pipeline. Chinese authorities add that the