Readings and Current Events
China Economy
China’s Bank Loans Drop to Worst Since 2017 As Economy Slows (Bloomberg)
Chinese banks lent the least amount of money in almost five years last month, with overall credit growth also slowing down more than expected despite the central bank’s recent efforts to boost lending.
China Reiterates Covid Zero Policy, Urges More Targeted Controls (Bloomberg)
China’s top leaders reinforced the need to stick with the contentious Covid Zero policy, while urging officials to be more targeted with their restrictions so as to avoid damage to the economy.
In a meeting of the new Politburo Standing Committee chaired by President Xi Jinping, they called for “more decisive” measures to curb the spread of the virus and resume normal life and production as soon as possible, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The situation “remains severe” as flareups keep emerging, it said.
The statement could further dampen any speculation about a potential Covid Zero exit, which fueled a huge rally for the nation’s financial markets last week. Speculation of more easing measures has dimmed as some of the nation’s biggest cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing confronted their worst outbreaks in at least several months.
China’s New Leadership Backs a More Targeted Covid Zero Approach (Bloomberg)
China’s top leaders reinforced the need to stick with the contentious Covid Zero policy, while urging officials to be more targeted with their restrictions so as to avoid damage to the economy.
In a meeting of the new Politburo Standing Committee chaired by President Xi Jinping, they called for “more decisive” measures to curb the spread of the virus and resume normal life and production as soon as possible, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The situation “remains severe” as flareups keep emerging, it said.
The statement could further dampen any speculation about a potential Covid Zero exit, which fueled a huge rally for the nation’s financial markets last week. Speculation of more easing measures has dimmed as some of the nation’s biggest cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing confronted their worst outbreaks in at least several months.
习近平什么时候会放弃“清零”?(纽约时报)
中国经济有个最让人捉摸不定的问题,那就是,中国政府什么时候会放弃“新冠清零”政策?
企业和制造商们都在为利润担心,同时,不确定性也在向金融市场扩散。考虑到中国在全球经济中的核心作用,世界其他地方的领导人和政策制定者正在把中国政府的举动作为他们国家经济增长考量的一部分。
Foxconn Plans to Ramp Up China Expansion Despite Covid Upheaval (Bloomberg)
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. intends to keep expanding capacity in China despite persistent disruption from some of the world’s harshest Covid control measures.
The company known as Foxconn intends to raise capital spending in 2023 and the biggest portion of that expenditure will go toward its already giant production base in China, Chairman Young Liu told analysts on Thursday.
Foxconn, maker of most of the world’s iPhones, earlier warned consumer electronics revenue will fall this quarter as it grapples with a Covid outbreak that walled off its main production base.
China $131 Billion Singles’ Day Faces Stagnation After Scandals (Bloomberg)
A year ago, one of China’s most famous internet celebrities sold about $1 billion of products -- from shampoo to scarves -- in a 14-hour livestream as part of Singles’ Day, the country’s annual e-commerce extravaganza.
This year, the 37-year-old super saleswoman known as Viya won’t take part in the world’s biggest shopping event at all after disappearing from the internet since being fined for tax evasion. A slew of other popular livestream stars who have found themselves caught up in President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on celebrity are also likely to be missing this year, dulling the glamor and likely hurting the takings of the marathon event that ends Nov. 11.
Wealth Of China’s 100 Richest On Forbes List Plunges 39% (Forbes)
The collective net worth of tycoons on the 2022 Forbes’ list of China’s 100 Richest fell 39% to US$907.1 billion from $1.48 trillion last year, marking the biggest drop in wealth since Forbes began tracking the country’s wealthiest more than two decades ago. The complete list can be found here and www.forbeschina.com. The list can also be found in the November issue of Forbes Asia and November-December issue of Forbes China.
US-China Relations
China says it is discussing Xi-Biden meeting at G20 in Bali after US President signals he expects to talk about ‘red lines’ (South China Morning Post)
China’s foreign ministry said it was in “communication” with the US over a meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden after the US leader signalled that he was expecting to discuss Washington’s “red lines” over Taiwan and other issues with his Chinese counterpart.
The two sides have not officially confirmed that the meeting will take place, and on Thursday foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said “no information can be provided at this point” about the proposed meeting at next week’s Group of 20 summit in Bali.
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