Taiwan’s parliament has approved a trade pact with the mainland that will reduce tariffs on hundreds of products and deepen economic ties between the two sides. Even though opposition lawmakers argued against the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) – claiming that it will take away local low-income jobs and that it supports Beijing’s political aim [...]
China may have reached a long-looming milestone by surpassing Japan as the world’s second-largest economy. Speculation was sparked after Yi Gang, director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), on Friday said in an interview on the SAFE website: “China is in fact already the second-biggest economy. With the expansion of the economic base, the [...]
Statistics released Thursday showed China’s economic expansion slowing in the second quarter of 2010. GDP expanded by 10.3%, less than the 11.9% increase posted in the first quarter. Consumer price inflation eased to 2.9% in June, a drop from May’s figure of 3.1%. Producer price inflation similarly slowed to 6.4%. Industrial output increased by 13.7%, [...]
An adviser to the People’s Bank of China, Xia Bin, has said that the country’s GDP may slow by around 2-3% in the first half from the rate posted in the first quarter, according to the China Securities Journal. The adviser recommended China continue to pursue its target of $1.1 trillion in new lending for [...]
China’s economy grew 11.9% in the first quarter to $1.19 trillion, 5.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Economic growth in the first quarter accelerated from the 10.7% figure recorded in the fourth quarter of last year and was above expectations [...]
China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to a seasonally adjusted 55.1 in March from 52 in February, indicating that manufacturing is accelerating in an environment of increasing demand and loose credit. The PMI data offers further evidence that China may wish to pursue contractionary monetary policy and allow the renminbi to appreciate relative to other [...]
A government researcher said China’s GDP will grow by 12% this quarter. Yu Bin, head of macroeconomic research at the State Council Development Research Center, made his comments following industrial output figures that showed 20.7% year-on-year growth in the first two months of the year. Growth figures this year have been particularly high given last [...]
China’s Ministry of Finance changed the way it accounts for government spending so that the spending deficit for 2010 remains below 3% of GDP. The change, which shifts spending from one year to another, was disclosed in a ministry report. It does not imply a fundamental change in the state of government finances but reflects [...]
Power output in China surged last month due to economic expansion and a cold snap. Electricity generation in December leap up 25.9% year-on-year, the strongest growth in a non-holiday month in the last 12 years. Over 70% of power generated in China is used by industry, and some observers say the figure is a more [...]
Weak global demand caused China’s exports to fall for the ninth month in a row in July, by 23% year-on-year. It was a steeper decline than the 21.4% drop reported in June. Experts predict demand will increase by the end of the year as consumers overcome the worst uncertainties of the recession. Imports fell 14.9% [...]
