Day: November 10, 2023

More than three-quarters of 3,000 shoppers recently surveyed by Bain & Co plan to spend less or maintain their expenditure at 2022 levels during this year’s Singles’ Day, according to the US consultancy’s report published on Tuesday. An employee sorts out garments for Singles’ Day online orders at a warehouse in a garment factory in Huzhou, a city in eastern Zhejiang province, on November 8, 2023. Photo: Xinhua “The Chinese macroeconomic headwinds that are making consumers more value-conscious have been well publicised,” the report said. These include “a slowdown in…

So far, 36 countries have backed the initiative, pledging to come together next year to explore ways to implement and improve new regulations on the matter. In October, the Biden administration also announced requirements for the approval of advanced AI products. Under the new rules, such initiatives must receive federal government certification, ensuring they cannot be repurposed for creating biological or nuclear weapons. AI deal shows China, US can cooperate on tech rules despite rivalry: analysts China has also advanced significantly in this sector. In his work report delivered at…

As China looks to cement its place as the world’s largest shipbuilder, a fully functional dispute resolution process remains a particular “sore spot” amid Beijing’s soft power shift and push for a Maritime Silk Road, industry insiders said. China is a world leader in terms of shipbuilding capacity and trade volume, but it lags far behind in services surrounding the industry despite a surge in demand, said Zhang Shouguo, executive vice-president of the China Shipowners’ Association, on Wednesday at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Amid China’s transformation from…

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Friday for greater cooperation on climate change, global debt relief and the prudent use of economic tools for national security at the end of two days of talks in San Francisco with her Chinese counterpart He Lifeng. The dialogue came before Wednesday’s meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, which is aimed at putting a floor under deteriorating relations between the two adversaries. “We agreed that in-depth and frank discussions matter, particularly when we disagree,” Yellen said. “And I…

For many start-ups, it was a time of plenty. To encourage what it termed “mass entrepreneurship and innovation”, Beijing was prepared to take action. The figurative red carpet was laid out in rapid fashion to transform the Chinese economy and its society through the internet, with financial resources, tax incentives and policies designed to spur activity. As the money flowed, so too did the ambitions of budding entrepreneurs. Small and medium-sized business starters are like orphaned children, completely on their ownHuang Panlong But what appeared to be a blazing furnace…