China’s economy expanded 6.3% in the second quarter, falling short of market expectations as export demand remained tepid and sinking property prices sapped consumer confidence. Compared with a year earlier, China’s GDP in the April-June period was 6.3% larger, the national bureau of statistics said on Monday, quickening from the 4.5% annual growth pace for the first three months of 2023. Economists had forecast growth to accelerate to 7.3%, according to a Reuters survey. For the June quarter alone, growth slowed to 0.8% from a 2.2% quarter-on-quarter clip in the…
Day: July 16, 2023
China’s Second-Quarter G.D.P. Shows Post-Covid Rebound Faltered
Because of the huge impact of the closure of Shanghai, which has 25 million people, comparing this spring and last spring provides “a misleading picture of China’s economic performance,” said Diana Choyleva, the chief economist at Enodo Economics in London. Instead, analysts said, a more accurate measure of the economy emerges by comparing the second quarter of 2023 with the previous three months, after the “zero Covid” policy was scrapped. And by that measure, output was only 0.8 percent higher in the second quarter than the first quarter. When projected…
China’s economy loses momentum in second quarter
Receive free Chinese economy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese economy news every morning. China’s economy lost momentum in the second quarter, with gross domestic product expanding 0.8 per cent against the previous three months as falling exports, weak retail sales and a moribund property sector weighed on growth. The difficulties facing the world’s second-largest economy will put further pressure on global growth and add to calls for Beijing to step up stimulus measures more than six months after China abandoned tough…
Role of monarchy at heart of battle for Thailand’s future
Receive free Thailand updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Thailand news every morning. The conservative establishment in Thailand has many reasons to make sure Pita Limjaroenrat, the winner of May’s general election, does not become prime minister. His policies include military reform, elimination of monopolies and decentralisation of power from Bangkok: collectively, an existential threat to the generals and oligarchs who run the country. But as unelected senators voted down Pita in the national assembly last week they used only one line of…
New Zealand PM says Pacific region less secure amid China’s rise
New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins has said that the Pacific region is becoming “more contested, less predictable, and less secure” as China becomes more assertive. Hipkins said it was important that New Zealand continues to engage with China to listen and to build dialogue. “Our region is becoming more contested, less predictable, and less secure,” Hipkins said in a speech to the China Business Summit on Monday. “And that poses challenges for small countries like New Zealand that are reliant on the stability and predictability of international rules for…
Taiwan Ruling Party Pledges Steady Hand as Opposition Rallies
Taipei, Taiwan — The front-runner to be Taiwan’s next president pledged Sunday to be a steady hand who would keep the peace with China, as his two opponents attended a thronged rally calling for domestic legal reforms and more action to combat high property prices. January’s presidential election comes as China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up military and political pressure to force the island to accept Beijing’s sovereignty, alarming the region and Washington. William Lai, Taiwan’s vice president and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP)…
Labour plans new taskforce to target contractors linked to hostile nations
Contractors linked to hostile foreign powers such as China will be targeted by a new security taskforce if Labour wins the next general election. In a joint initiative from the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, the new body will aim to anticipate risks to Britain’s national security. It comes just days after the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, said China represents the “largest state-based threat” to Britain’s economic security. The government intervened in eight attempted takeovers of UK firms by Chinese buyers last year…
Why Chinese entities are turning to People’s Daily censorship AI to avoid political mines
The situation has led to the emergence of content moderation with Chinese characteristics, with numerous data companies available to screen material before it reaches the public sphere. People’s Daily – mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party and arguably best placed to identify Beijing’s shifting and often vague red lines – is also offering to sell its expertise to companies wishing to eliminate potential political risks. Its product Renmin Shenjiao was launched in July last year, just months before the 20th party congress. Advertisement China’s growing market for outsourced content censorship…
Iran to resume hijab patrols after protests over death in custody
Receive free Iran updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Iran news every morning. Iran has said its morality police will resume patrols to force women to wear headscarves in public, 10 months after the death of a young woman in custody triggered nationwide protests. The Islamic government on Sunday threatened criminal prosecution for women refusing to obey laws requiring them to wear hijabs in public. That marked a change of tone from recent months, when many women had begun leaving their homes without…
Heavy Rains, Flooding Leave 37 Dead in South Korea
Seoul, South Korea — South Korean rescuers Sunday pulled nine bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water, as days of heavy rain triggered flash floods and landslides and destroyed homes across the country, officials said. A total of 37 people have died and thousands have been evacuated since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding South Korea’s central regions. Nearly 900 rescuers, including divers, were searching the tunnel in the central city of Cheongju, where the vehicles, including a bus, were swamped by…