China Economy

What makes the world's second largest economy tick
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Background explainers, news and analysis on China’s economy, including its opening up, the US-China trade war, the impact of tariffs and trade talks, growth rates and other key economic data, the Belt and Road Initiative, and Greater Bay Area plan.

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News
World Opinion
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives to meet US President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Lima, Peru, on November 16. Photo: AFP
World Opinion
Opinion|2024 shows US-China tensions no longer the biggest story
Unrestrained regional powers jostling for control, building weapons and taking bolder risks are influencing trajectory of world politics.
Consumers shop for refrigerators at a trade-in promotion for home appliances in Handan on October 7, 2024. Photo: Getty Images
China Business
Buy or wait? Consumers put Beijing on hook for more rescue subsidies
Retailers fret about weak sales while ‘greedy’ consumers hold out for bigger subsidies from Beijing next year.
A woman poses next to a Christmas tree in a shop selling Russian products in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Sunday. Photo: AFP
China Economy
China’s finance ministry vows measures to boost consumption and investment
Other priorities set out at meeting include strengthening supply chains, more fiscal backing for tech-focused start-ups, and more aid to businesses facing difficulties.
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Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Tung Chung, with more than 1,200 rooms, is the second-largest hotel complex in the city by room inventory. Photo: Handout
Companies
Shimao slashes Hong Kong hotel price by 25% to speed up restructuring
Mainland Chinese developer is asking HK$4.5 billion (US$579 million) for the asset, down from HK$6 billion in March 2023, according to a source.
A staff prepares drinks at a bubble tea shop. Photo: Guming
China Economy
How China’s consumption downgrade pushed small businesses to the brink
Small-business owners have been forced to cut staff and close stores in ever greater numbers in recent months, adding to China’s economic gloom.
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Workers at an SAIC Motor workshop in Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua
China Business
China will retain car-export crown in 2025, but growth may slow on EU EV tariffs
China’s top auto firms are likely to diversify by introducing petrol cars and hybrid models to blunt the impact of trade barriers.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, left, and China’s President Xi Jinping in front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in May. Photo: Pool / AFP / Getty Images / TNS
Russia & Central Asia
Russia’s overheated economy is squeezing one of its key China trading channels
Investment in Russia’s railways is to be slashed by nearly a third, complicating trade with China, state media reported.
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Photo: AP
Opinion|Why world’s economic powers could find 2025 a year of great struggle
Assumptions about reliable sources of growth and the promise of AI must be questioned if countries hope to keep pace in 2025.
Hongkongers head to Shenzhen via Lo Wu station during the National Day holiday in October. Photo: Eugene Lee
China Business
Hongkongers find lure of Greater Bay Area’s attractions hard to resist: survey
Hong Kong residents are flocking to the Greater Bay Area for shopping, hot springs and more, attracted by cheaper prices and new experiences.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
China Opinion
Opinion|China can’t rely on technology as a panacea for economic recovery
As weak consumption hinders economic growth, policymakers must consider improving labour rights and wealth distribution to boost demand.
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A 56.23-carat pink diamond. Photo: Handout
China Economy
Diamonds are plunging in value around the world. Is China to blame?
China’s demand for natural diamonds has ‘fallen off a cliff’ amid plunging marriage rates, while its factories are churning out synthetic alternatives that are up to 90 per cent cheaper.
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits the Zhejiang Provincial Innovation Centre of Advanced Textile Technology in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua
Politics
China makes new overtures to foreign firms, pledging market access and services
Li uses trip to Zhejiang to reaffirm support for overseas investors and private domestic players.
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Crowds of people walk past the Peace Hotel on Shanghai’s Bund during the Lunar New Year holiday in February 2024. Photo: AFP
China Economy
China sees surge in travel demand for extended Lunar New Year holiday
Flights and group tours are already booking up weeks ahead of the eight-day public holiday, which begins on January 28.
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AI has emerged as a bright spot in a bleak domestic job market in China’s “new economy”. Photo: Shutterstock
Tech Trends
China faces AI talent shortage in otherwise booming industry, report finds
A quarter of ‘new economy’ job openings this year on the Maimai platform have been directly related to AI, as Big Tech firms fight for top talent.
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Illustration: Henry Wong
China Economy
How has Hengqin helped Macau diversify its casino-dominated economy?
Greater Bay Area plan has added impetus to development of neighbouring island in Zhuhai.
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Live streamer Viya Huang Wei sells goods on Taobao in 2019. The Chinese influencer was fined US$210 million in 2021 for tax evasion. Photo: Getty Images
Policy
China’s tax authority to demand online influencer, merchant revenue numbers
A newly proposed regulation would require internet platform operators to report revenue information about users.
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Strong growth in Shenzhen’s trade has been buoyed, in part, by rising demand for Chinese electronics and hi-tech products. Photo: EPA-EFE
China Economy
‘Resilient’ trade gains see Shenzhen poised to overtake Shanghai despite US tech siege
Total trade value in city dubbed China’s Silicon Valley surged past 4 trillion yuan from January to November, with a record year-on-year increase.
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China is looking to build a huge platform for data sharing among highways, railways, waterways, aviation and ports. Photo: Xinhua
China Economy
How China manages big data is changing, as new state-owned firm takes the helm
Restrictive ‘data silos’ have impeded logistics and hindered commercialisation of data, but a new centrally managed company aims to tear down barriers.
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Robots weld bodyshells of cars at Li Auto’s plant in Changzhou, in eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: Xinhua
China EVs
China’s car parts, software industry to hit US$356 billion by 2030
Market for car parts and software is likely to grow at an annualised pace of 28.8 per cent between 2026 and 2030.
Performers wave Chinese and Macau flags at a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese administration. Photo: SCMP / Eugene Lee
Daily Pulse|Xi in Macau, industrial profits and more
This week: Xi in Macau 25 years after handover, weak consumer data and visa waivers. Next week: Industrial profits, Minieye IPO and EV maker Nio’s Firefly.
A woman shops at a clothing store in Beijing, China, on October 18. Photo: EPA-EFE
China Opinion
Opinion|Why China will struggle to boost consumption
A system which emphasises stability and control will face challenges in uncovering the DNA of the Chinese consumer.
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Pop Mart earns most its revenue from proprietary intellectual property products. Photo: Shutterstock
Companies
Chinese toymaker Pop Mart’s 370% surge fuelled by blind box collectibles
Pop Mart’s blind box toys have become a global sensation, turning the toymaker into the hottest Chinese growth company.
Beijing-based Laopu Gold’s shares have surged in Hong Kong this year. Photo: SCMP Pictures
China Business
Laopu Gold outshines Chow Tai Fook as China’s top jeweller with 437% stock surge
The Beijing-based ‘old shop’ jeweller’s unique luxury strategy draws comparisons with Cartier and Tiffany.
A tourist from South Korea visits the Yuyuan Garden Mall in Shanghai on November 30. Photo: Xinhua
China Economy
Why are foreign tourist arrivals in China suddenly surging this month?
Travel platforms such as Fliggy and Trip.com see huge influx in interest as Beijing makes it easier to transit.
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People attend a job fair in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang in October. Photo: AFP
Economic Indicators
China’s youth-unemployment pressure is easing – for now, at least
The youth-unemployment rate fell to 16.1 per cent in November, its third consecutive monthly decline, according to Chinese government data.
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Society
Macau 25 years on: embracing growth beyond gaming
Reclaiming aggressively, breaking gambling monopoly, diversifying the economy: where is Macau heading next?   
Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell. Photo: Reuters
Daily Pulse|China faces uncertainty as Fed signals pause on rate cuts
Looming Trump measures likely stayed Fed’s hand, as promised tariffs and mass deportations are expected to raise inflation and cause knock-on effects around the world.
Opinion
My Take|China’s extended visa-free tourist stays drive momentum for opening
Its latest foreign-visitor policy shows that China is willing to be pragmatic, rather than adhering strictly to ideologies.
SCMP ColumnistZhou Xin
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Editorial|Patience needed when it comes to managing the economic recovery
Bringing about meaningful structural changes and stimulating healthy growth in the world’s second-largest economy is no simple task.
SCMP Editorial
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Outside In|Does Trump’s tariff-happy team realise China is playing weiqi, not chess?
Much depends on how successfully Trump seduces leaders away from multilateral rule-making and how firmly China resists the siren call of bilateralism.
David Dodwell
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Macroscope|Never mind stimulus, rebalancing is China’s real economic challenge
The problem is not China’s leaders lacking the will to enact large-scale stimulus but whether it will work given the present challenges.
Nicholas Spiro
Opinion|Trump effect already felt as China scrambles to mend ties with US allies
Beijing’s moves to ease tensions with India, Japan and others appear to be part of strategy to avoid clash with Donald Trump’s White House.
Shi Jiangtao
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Editorial|Xi puts faith in Lee to deliver on Hong Kong economic development, reform
Hong Kong chief executive on duty visit to Beijing receives praise as well as being instructed to focus on national goals and advantages under ‘one country, two systems’.
SCMP Editorial
Editorial|Culture helps bolster China ties with France
Exhibition at Hong Kong Palace Museum serves as reminder of relationship with China and why it is important for city to ensure it continues.
SCMP Editorial
Editorial|China leaves no doubt on way forward at key economic talks
Wide-ranging measures aim to inject momentum into growth of the domestic economy and reflect tone of earlier Politburo meeting.
SCMP Editorial
Macroscope|Could Trump be a catalyst for the reforms China and Germany need?
As Beijing and Berlin face pressure to stimulate their economies, challenges posed by Trump’s approach could prompt much-needed policy changes.
Nicholas Spiro
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Editorial|Trump a good reason for China, Japan thaw
Crisis of trust between two countries with fragile economies has to be overcome for both their sakes.
SCMP Editorial
2
Editorial|Politburo prepared to do all that it takes in the name of growth
Beijing leaders make it clear that ‘more active’ policies are on the way through the use of fiscal and monetary measures.
SCMP Editorial
My Take|How will China fight a new trade war under Trump 2.0?
With hindsight from Trump’s first term, Beijing could adopt a different approach this time around.
SCMP ColumnistZhou Xin
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