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China economy

China economy
Breaking 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.
Demand is soaring for China’s domestically developed C919 large passenger aircraft but a shortage of parts and supply chain production remain a problem. Photo: Xinhua
China airliners

More interest in home-grown C919 lays bare demand-supply mismatch at Comac

Parts shortage and supply chain production remain a problem and may be about more than just aero engines, industrial veteran says.

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Uzbekistan

Jim Rogers eyes up China’s yuan as he warns of a US market crash

Chinese overseas

Why are some Chinese students choosing Spain despite its tough job market?

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China consumption

High-spending counties offer a rare bright spot amid China’s weak demand

Lower costs, lighter debt and return-migrant capital are boosting household purchasing power in China’s smaller cities.

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Retail spending in China’s county-level economies has risen to match or surpass that of the country’s biggest cities, according to data from local authorities. Photo: Xinhua
China property

Rebound in China luxury home sales divorced from rest of market: analysts

Data from a real estate consultancy shows 38 per cent rise in sales of homes priced between 30 million and 50 million yuan in first half.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Karaoke in the car? China’s new wave of gadget-laden electric vehicles

China’s carmakers are competing to turn their vehicles into digital entertainment hubs, offering everything from film projectors to VR features.

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China property

Reclusive Chinese billionaire strikes US$33m deal to take over Shanghai hotel

Online gaming billionaire Chen Tianqiao acquired the Mia Hotel at a discount, as investors bet on a recovery in China’s prime real estate market.

Tech billionaire Chen Tianqiao. Photo: Handout
China’s private sector

South China tech hub’s wet summer puts damper on small business profits

Shenzhen’s wettest July in more than three decades saw foot traffic plummet and also caused severe disruption to airline schedules.

China trade

US-China drone trade dealt another strike as Trump homes in on foreign dominance

Disrupted supply chains could complicate efforts of Chinese firms to expand globally in the fast-growing drone industry, while raising costs for American buyers.

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Artificial intelligence

Back in the Harness: DeepSeek continues its pivot towards agentic AI

With the launch of Harness, China’s DeepSeek continues to build the foundational digital scaffolding for autonomous AI agents.

A customer uses his phone in front of a board with the menu at AGI Bar in Beijing. Drinkers at the AI-themed bar in the city's tech district can even plug in to DeepSeek for free. Photo: AFP
Alibaba

China’s richest province taps Alibaba to power its AI and chip push

Guangdong province deepens ties with China tech giant to boost digital innovation by focusing on AI, semiconductors and smart services.

Guangdong party secretary Huang Kunming (right), welcomed Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming to Guangzhou on Thursday to sign a strategic cooperation framework agreement. Photo: itouchtv.cn
Semiconductors

SMIC eyes expansion amid AI boom, Zhu Rongji dies, Shein nears IPO

This week: SMIC plans to boost chipmaking capacity on AI demand, former premier Zhu Rongji dies and retail investors flood Unitree IPO. Next week: Shein may open Hong Kong IPO, China retail sales may accelerate, Baidu and Alibaba post earnings, robots go on show in Beijing, and more.

Hong Kong stock market

From chasing robots to chasing profits: the numbers moving markets

Unitree Robotics, US inflation rates, gold prices, Hong Kong homes and CK Hutchison’s interim results were in the spotlight this week.

Zhu Rongji

The death of China’s former premier Zhu Rongji

From world leaders paying their respects to his economic legacy, here is some of the SCMP’s reporting on Zhu Rongji’s death.

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji during his visit to Hong Kong in 2002. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Bonds

Hong Kong to list first Shanghai free-trade zone bond to defend yuan hub status

HKEX announces that a Shanghai Electric subsidiary is set to list a 1.5 billion yuan green bond later this month.

A view of the Hong Kong skyline. Photo: Getty Images
Banking & finance

Chinese central bank’s 15th five-year plan

The People’s Bank of China pledges to expand global use of the yuan to make the country a financial powerhouse in its first stand-alone five-year plan in at least a decade.

Hong Kong transport

Transit giant CRRC redoubles Hong Kong push as sales pitch to overseas cities

Beijing’s largest rolling stock manufacturer is eyeing a local Kai Tak project – and its autonomous rail transit vehicle – as a launch pad for global expansion.

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Banking & finance

Chinese banks test repo-linked corporate loans for more market-based pricing

Lenders are shifting loan benchmarks to short-term market rates, which analysts say heightens volatility and tests risk controls.

The depository-institutions repo rate is derived from actual short-term interbank transactions and more directly reflects banks’ funding costs and liquidity. Photo: AFP
China shipbuilding

Shifting tides in maritime sector float Chinese shipyard’s outlook

Formerly moribund facility on Yangtze River fills order book as shipowners favour small and medium-sized container vessels.

Hong Kong stock market

SF Reit reports 7.3% drop in distributable income for first half of 2026

Company’s logistics assets were 96.8 per cent occupied as of the end of June, with macroeconomic headwinds and lease expirations looming.

Zhu Rongji

How Zhu Rongji’s economic legacy endures in China after former premier’s death

Remembered as a candid, decisive leader, the former Chinese premier championed entrepreneurship, welcomed foreign expertise and brought urgency to economic policymaking.

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Former US president Bill Clinton (right) and former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji appear at a press conference in April 1999. Photo: AFP
E-commerce

JD.com’s second-quarter profit rises 15% as food-delivery losses narrow

Net revenue dips, but still beats analysts’ estimate, as e-commerce giant contends with weak demand and fierce competition.

The results underscore the impact of JD.com’s expansion into food delivery, logistics and international operations over the past year. Photo: Xinhua
Semiconductors

Chinese chip foundries surge as AI boom drives triple-digit profit growth

SMIC, Hua Hong Grace results highlight how local foundries are aggressively running their plants at full capacity to meet domestic needs.

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China’s C919 passenger plane

‘Very smooth’: what one traveller saw on C919’s milestone international flight

Comac jet’s flight to Mongolian capital on par with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320, says passenger who hopes to see more C919 destinations.

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China’s Communist Party

Zhu Rongji reforms fuel China’s economic transformation

Straight-talking premier laid much of the groundwork for China’s economic boom, including admission to the World Trade Organization.

Zhu Rongji during a 1999 visit to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese carmakers could capture 15% to 30% of European market by 2035: analysts

‘Made in Europe’ requirement in EU’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act cited as key factor in lowest growth forecast.

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Cars destined for export await loading onto BYD’s Shenzhen car carrier at the port in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in April. Photo: AFP
China's population

China’s marriage rate is still declining. What does it spell for the economy?

Fewer weddings, rising divorces and plunging birth rates risk exacerbating the fallout from a rapidly ageing population.

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Hong Kong stock market

AI surge helps dual-listed stocks’ A-H premium hit 1-year high

Yuan-traded shares have hit a 23 per cent premium over their H share equivalents, the highest in almost 12 months.

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