Day: June 20, 2023

Biden Says Xi Was Not Informed About Spy Balloon

Media Library

This was not the first time Mr. Biden has made off-the-cuff remarks about foreign policy during an evening fund-raiser. At another such event in New York in October, he warned donors that the world was closer to nuclear destruction than at any time since John F. Kennedy faced off against Nikita S. Khrushchev over Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962. “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Mr. Biden said then, prompting a nervous reaction. In California on Tuesday, Mr. Biden was…

Analysts: Thailand’s talks with Myanmar military expose ASEAN divisions

Media Library

Thailand’s decision to hold talks with Myanmar’s military has again tested the unity of Southeast Asia’s main regional bloc, analysts said, questioning why the Thai government called the meeting especially after being trounced in last month’s election. Key member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that have criticized the Burmese junta – Malaysia, Singapore and current ASEAN chair Indonesia – snubbed the gathering, which Bangkok defended on Tuesday by saying it was held in Thailand’s best interests. Thailand and Myanmar, along with five other ASEAN countries – Brunei,…

Biden calls Chinese president Xi a ‘dictator’ a day after Blinken visit aimed at easing tensions

Media Library

US president Joe Biden has called Chinese president Xi Jinping a dictator and said Xi was very embarrassed when a Chinese balloon was blown off course over the US earlier this year. Biden made the remarks one day after secretary of state Antony Blinken met Xi on a trip to China that was aimed at easing tensions between the two countries. “The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it was he…

Biden Refers to Chinese President Xi as a Dictator During Speech at Fundraiser

Media Library

Kentfield, California/Washington —  U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator, adding that Xi was very embarrassed when a Chinese balloon was blown off course over the U.S. recently earlier this year. Biden made the remarks at a fundraiser in California a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Xi on a trip to China that was aimed at easing tensions between the two countries. “The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two…

Not just business: EU firms in China aim to de-risk as they reassess ‘how many eggs to keep’ there

Media Library

“Faced with growing risks and a more volatile operating environment, European companies are still reassessing how many eggs to keep in their China basket,” the report says. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are set to be the main destinations in supply-chain relocations, followed by the European market, as the two markets account for 48 per cent of relocation plans, according to the report. Advertisement Meanwhile, one in 10 European firms in China said they have already moved, or plan to move, their Asia headquarters out of…

A spending injection alone is not the cure for China’s ailing economic recovery

Media Library

The writer is chief China economist and head of Asia economics at UBS Investment Research, and author of ‘Making Sense of China’s Economy’ After a promising start, China’s economic recovery has waned in the past two months. Investors have been disappointed by the lack of policy responses, with some questioning whether China’s government still cares about economic growth. In the past week or so, hope has grown for a major stimulus package. What should we expect? I believe the government does care about growth and will intervene to stabilise the…

A spending injection is not the cure for China’s ailing economic recovery

Media Library

The writer is chief China economist and head of Asia economics at UBS Investment Research, and author of ‘Making Sense of China’s Economy’ After a promising start, China’s economic recovery has waned in the past two months. Investors have been disappointed by the lack of policy responses, with some questioning whether China’s government still cares about economic growth. In the past week or so, hope has grown for a major stimulus package. What should we expect? I believe the government does care about growth and will intervene to stabilise the…

China Cuts Interest Rates in Effort to Boost Flagging Economic Growth

Media Library

Chinese commercial banks lowered interest rates on Tuesday as Beijing seeks ways to boost economic growth, which has been disappointingly slow as the country recovers from pandemic-era lockdowns and supply chain bottlenecks. The move took place just days after the Chinese central bank announced it would cut the interest rate it charges on several different facilities it uses to supply commercial banks with cash. The change in commercial banks’ prime rates, which are offered to borrowers with the best credit, were relatively modest. The rate on one-year loans fell to…

Singapore bargain-hunters target distressed Chinese properties

Media Library

Singaporean and other foreign investors are stepping up purchases of foreclosed properties in China, as Beijing’s crackdown on speculation and a slowing economy lead to a wave of defaults by developers. Sales of Chinese distressed properties, including office buildings and factories, hit a quarterly record of $1.93bn in the last three months of 2022, according to MSCI, up 14 per cent from the same period a year earlier and 73 per cent higher than in 2019, the first year it tracked such data. Benjamin Chow, head of Asia real assets…

China jobs: record youth unemployment ‘unsolvable for a while’, fifth job crisis since 1978 seen only getting worse

Media Library

“The problems won’t just disappear in the short term, but will remain unsolvable for a while,” he added during an interview with the Economic Observer newspaper last week. In May, the jobless rate for the 16-24 age group hit a record of 20.8 per cent, up from the previous high of 20.4 per cent in April. The overall urban surveyed jobless rate, however, remained unchanged from April at 5.2 per cent last month. Advertisement Despite the record figure, National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Fu Linghui claimed last week that “some…