Asia-Business

News from China

China's producer prices rise 3.6% in September

16th October 2018

China's producer price index, which measures costs of goods at the factory gate, rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

The growth slowed from the 4.1-percent gain in August.

NBS statistician Sheng Guoqing said the carryover effect contributed 1.9 percentage points to the 3.6-percent year-on-year PPI growth, while new factors contributed 1.7 percentage points.

The prices of the means of production climbed 4.6 percent year-on-year in September, down from 5.2 percent in August, due to a relatively high base of comparison, according to Sheng.

Of all industrial sectors, producer prices in the sectors of nonmetal mineral products, ferrous metal processing, chemical raw materials and products, and coal exploration and dressing saw lower growth rates than in August.

These industries contributed 0.32 percentage points to the 0.5-percentage point drop in the year-on-year PPI growth in September from August, according to Sheng.

On a monthly basis, the PPI increased 0.6 percent in September, picking up from 0.4 percent in August.

For the first nine months of the year, the PPI climbed 4 percent on average from the same period last year.

Tuesday's data also showed the country's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.5 percent year-on-year in September, compared with 2.3 percent in August.

Source: Shanghai Daily, October 16, 2018

China working hard to ensure 'six stabilities'

15th October 2018

Amid complicated international landscape and new changes in China’s domestic economy, experts around the world believe that the Chinese government has sufficient policy tools to tap its inherent dynamism so as to secure robust and resilient economic growth.

These remarks came following the Chinese government’s recent proposal of a target to “stabilize the employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, investment and expectations,” collectively known as the “six stabilities.”

Since the beginning of this year, despite fluctuations of certain economic indicators, the Chinese economy has registered stable growth, with the four major macroeconomic indicators of economic growth, employment, CPI and the international balance of payments basically meeting expectations.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report released on October 8, the International Monetary Fund kept China’s economic growth forecast unchanged at 6.6 percent.

IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld recently said that the Chinese economy saw robust performance in the first half of this year, and that the recent figures which might not be so ideal are still in line with expectations, considering that measures such as strengthening financial supervision and preventing risks would drag down economic growth to a certain degree.

Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific department, says the slowdown in growth is a result of the government’s initiative to deleverage and regulate the economy, which in fact produces a “high-quality” slowdown.

Rhee expressed confidence that the Chinese government has the policy tools to stabilize economic growth and offset negative impacts from the economic and trade frictions with the United States, but meanwhile, deleveraging should forge ahead to ensure more stable and resilient growth in the medium term.

Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, a consultant with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries based in India, said China’s economy, which has started to shift from high speed growth to medium-high speed growth, has stepped into the deep waters of economic restructuring, where certain suffering and pain are inevitable.

The government embraces change and has a mature and sensible understanding of economic development, as indicated by its economic policy adjustments in recent years, he said, adding these adjustments will benefit China’s economy in the long run.

Even though the favorable international environment plays a role in China’s economic success, Bhattacharjee said, its achievements should be mainly attributed to the inner dynamism generated by its domestic policies.

Source: Shanghai Daily, October 15, 2018

China criticizes exclusionism in free trade deals

12th October 2018

China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday said exclusionism should not be pursued in free trade deals.

The remarks were made with regards to a provision in a new trade agreement reached by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"The principle of openness and inclusion should be upheld [in establishing free trade areas], while other members' capacity for external relations should not be restricted. There should be no exclusionism," said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng at a press conference.

He was commenting on a provision in the new "United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement," which stipulates that if a member country wants to enter a free trade deal with a "non-market" economy, it must notify the others three months before starting negotiations, while the others can quit within six months to form their own bilateral trade pact.

"Clauses on the so-called 'non-market' economies do not exist in the World Trade Organization's multilateral trade rules. They are only included in certain members' domestic laws," Gao said. "China opposes the practice of placing domestic laws above international laws and imposing one country's will on others."

"A country should attract trade partners with factors such as market potential and policy environment, based on the principle of mutual respect, equal negotiation and mutual benefits.

"We believe that every economy enjoys autonomy in developing foreign trade relations and will value their trade ties with China in line with their demand for mutually beneficial cooperation."

Gao said the most important thing for China is to follow its own path and do its own job.

"The country will continue to press ahead with supply-side structural reform and optimize its regional, industrial and product structures to push for high-quality development," he said.

"China will continue to firmly support trade liberalization and facilitation and back the multilateral trading system, and work with trade partners to make the global trade mechanism fairer and more equitable."

Source: Shanghai Daily, October 12, 2018

Pudong project cutting red tape for business

11th October 2018

Pudong District is looking at expanding a pilot project to cut red tape, strengthen regulations and improve service, a senior official said yesterday.

Under the pilot, the plan to separate the processing of operating permits and business licenses is now fully operational, district deputy director Ji Zhaoliang told reporters yesterday.

The aim of one-stop government services has also been implemented, allowing approval for 327 enterprise-related procedures to be completed online or with a single visit to a service center.

And the actual processing time has been cut to an average 3.3 working days — 85 percent shorter than the legal maximum of 22 days.

"The reform of separating operating permits and business licenses not only simplifies the single issue of examination and approval but, more importantly, it changes the government's approval management mode," Ji said.

The strategy unleashes the vitality of the market, improves the business environment, expands opening-up of the economy and promotes the development of industries.

"For the next step, the district will further explore new ways to improve the reforms, aiming to offer the most streamlined market access, the most stable risk prevention and the most convenient government services," Ji said.

Source: Shanghai Daily, October 11, 2018

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