Containers at the Lianyungang Port in Lianyungang City, east China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: Xinhua

Topic

China tradei

China’s export-driven economy was for decades the workshop of the world. In 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO), it accounted for 4 per cent of the world’s exports, and by 2017, that had risen to 13 per cent. The trade war with the United States damaged China’s exports as tariffs made its goods more expensive for American buyers. The coronavirus outbreak subsequently damaged overseas demand for Chinese products, leading many analysts to predict a huge slump in exports over the second quarter of the year. Imports have become an increasingly closely watched gauge of China’s economic health, as it transitioned away from an export-driven growth model towards a more consumption-based model.

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Pragmatism is at play in each relationship between the West and China, not least with Berlin and Beijing. For German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, that means continued engagement and commerce.

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  • More multinationals undergoing a ‘decoupling’ with their China-based operations, hindering investment plans, new EU Chamber of Commerce survey finds
  • Business analysts break down why a dearth of expatriates could be underscoring a recent plunge in foreign direct investment in China
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European firms have been revising expectations for the Chinese market while planning for a projected economic slowdown, further adding to China’s challenges and ‘setting a negative cycle in motion’.

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China’s exports returned to positive growth in April amid a recovery of global demand, but analysts said the focus should still be on sustaining momentum in domestic demand.

On Tuesday, the US revoked licenses allowing Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant blacklisted by the US, to buy semiconductors from Intel and rival Qualcomm Inc.

A high-level official with the International Monetary Fund has said if divisions persist between China and the West, the damage that would be done to the global economy would be considerable.

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Relaxed mountain setting chosen so Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron can speak frankly on myriad mutual grievances and grounds for cooperation.

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French President welcomes Beijing’s commitment to ‘refrain from selling any weapons or aid’ to Russia, but commerce official reinforces the need to enhance bilateral trade.

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As geopolitical changes have made working with China more risky than before, European firms have backed away from infrastructure projects linked with the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Xi says China and Europe can contribute to world peace, ahead of meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

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A record 246,000 international visitors flocked to the spring session of the Canton Fair over the last three weeks in Guangzhou, but deals signed rose by only 10 per cent from the previous edition.

More than 46 per cent of urban residents polled by People’s Bank of China say job market is ‘uncertain’, while 62 per cent aim to save more, in continued challenge for policymakers counting on domestic consumption to propel the economy.

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China’s overseas vehicle shipments are set to grow at a clip this year, bolstered by surging sales in markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as the country’s heft in manufacturing electric cars goes from strength to strength.

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China’s steel production has increased, but a property market downturn and slowdown in infrastructure spending have seen prices plunge steeply, leading to overcapacity and trade tensions.

France is Chinese president’s first stop on Europe trip, and Beijing is pinning its hopes on Paris to push Brussels to adopt more ‘positive and pragmatic’ approach to China-EU ties.

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After Beijing’s recent lifting of crippling wine tariffs that had been in effect since early in the pandemic, Chinese customers will need to be convinced to buy new stocks of Australian wine.

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Trade talks between Taiwan and the United States for a phase-two deal have begun, with progress likely to be ‘harder’, analysts say, as more contentious topics fall under the microscope.

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The stricter rules are not surprising since Australia has to protect critical assets, but collaboration with Beijing especially in sectors such as green energy would be unavoidable.

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Struggling US-China ties, a human rights shock and a student in big trouble: these are the highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents from April 2024.

Scientists have successfully grown rice in the harsh deserts of China’s Xinjiang region in half the time compared to conventional farming methods, a major step in the country’s campaign to ensure food security.

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