[🇨🇳] China----News & Views

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China should sell its cars in Pakistan to break the Japanese monopoly on the car market.

 

[Saif]

China offers to buy up commercial housing to boost property market

China cut the minimum down payment rate for first-time homebuyers on Friday and suggested the government could buy up commercial real estate, in some of Beijing’s most ambitious moves yet to lift the ailing housing market out of an unprecedented debt crisis...

www.newagebd.net

China offers to buy up commercial housing to boost property market
Agence France-Presse . Beijing 17 May, 2024, 22:45

A worker rides a bicycle past a housing complex under construction in Beijing on Friday. China cut the minimum down payment rate for first-time homebuyers on Friday and suggested the government could buy up commercial real estate, in some of Beijing's most ambitious moves yet to lift the ailing housing market out of an unprecedented debt crisis.

China cut the minimum down payment rate for first-time homebuyers on Friday and suggested the government could buy up commercial real estate, in some of Beijing's most ambitious moves yet to lift the ailing housing market out of an unprecedented debt crisis.

Property and construction accounts for more than a quarter of gross domestic product, but the sector has been under unprecedented strain since 2020, when authorities tightened developers' access to credit in a bid to reduce mounting debt.

Since then, major companies including China Evergrande and Country Garden have teetered, while falling prices have dissuaded consumers from investing in property.

Under mounting pressure to boost the ailing market and ensure millions of unused homes go to those in need of housing, Beijing convened a video conference Friday, state news agency Xinhua said.

Friday's meeting was attended by regulators, representatives of top banks, local governments and the property market, Bloomberg News reported.

'Great efforts should be made to promote the handling of commercial housing projects classified as under construction that have been sold and are facing difficulties to deliver,' vice-premier He Lifeng told the meeting, according to state media.

'In cities where there is a large inventory of commercial housing, the government can place orders and purchase some of the commercial housing at reasonable prices as appropriate to use as affordable housing,' he added.

No details were provided on how many houses would be bought.

'Relevant local governments should... properly handle transferred idle residential properties through retaking, acquisition... to help housing companies with financial difficulties solve their challenges,' He said.

State media also reported, citing the central bank and the National Financial Regulatory Administration, that they would cut the minimum down payment rate for first-time homebuyers to 15 per cent, one of the country's lowest-ever rates.

The rate will be cut to 25 per cent for second-home purchases, it added.

The moves are some of Beijing's most ambitious yet in seeking to reverse a chronic crisis in the housing market.

'This is the lowest down payment requirement and the lowest mortgage interest rate in history,' Yan Yuejin, research director of the Yiju Research Institute, told AFP.

'These policies send very bullish signals and will be very helpful in boosting market moods,' he added.

'We are very optimistic about the potential effects they will have on boosting the real estate market.'

During a State Council briefing Friday afternoon attended by officials from the housing ministry as well as those from China's top regulator and its central bank, officials pointed to 'significant difficulties' in the market.

'Significant changes have taken place in the supply and demand dynamics of the property market,' said Dong Jianguo, deputy head of China's housing ministry, adding that the sector 'is in the process of adjustment'.

The briefing also saw central bank deputy governor Tao Ling announce that the government would set up a loan scheme for low-income housing totalling over $41 billion.

Shares in Chinese developers have rallied in Hong Kong in recent days on hopes of fresh support for the sector.

Jeff Zhang, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg Friday's move was 'unexpected and positive for property stocks'.

Agile Group soared 23 per cent and Fantasia added 8.3 per cent Friday, while Sino-Ocean Group and CIFI Holdings each gained more than 12 per cent.

Longfor Group added 10 per cent and China Vanke piled on 19 per cent each, having jumped 15 per cent and 16 per cent respectively on Thursday, according to Bloomberg News.

The meeting comes as official figures Friday showed that property prices and sales in the country continued to slip in April.

Further economic data showed that industrial production picked up last month, but consumption continued to slow.

China on Friday also issued around $5.5 billion in ultra-long treasury bonds, Xinhua said, the first batch of a planned sale of nearly $140 billion in such bonds this year.

Measures introduced by the central government to support the sector have so far had little effect.

But HSBC economists wrote in a note that, with Friday's announcement: 'China's property stabilisation plan is underway.'

'The quicker and bolder the intervention plan, the more effective it will be, in our view,' they said.​

 

[Saif]

US tariffs on Chinese EVs hurt green transition: XPeng boss

The president of Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng on Friday criticised the fresh tariffs on Chinese cars imposed by Washington as ‘unfavourable’ for the United States’ energy transition...

www.newagebd.net

US tariffs on Chinese EVs hurt green transition: XPeng boss
Agence France-Presse . Hong Kong 17 May, 2024, 22:28

The president of Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng on Friday criticised the fresh tariffs on Chinese cars imposed by Washington as 'unfavourable' for the United States' energy transition.

US president Joe Biden announced earlier this week the quadrupling of customs duties on Chinese electric cars to 100 per cent, which China slammed as politicising an economic issue and a breach of World Trade Organisation rules.

XPeng president and vice-chairman Brian Gu said at an event in Hong Kong on Friday that the levies will lead to 'higher costs and slower product iteration', hampering the US's green energy ambitions.

'For an auto market as important and large as the US, they would want to have carbon-neutral, green energy transition,' Gu told reporters. 'The tariffs are unfavourable to its own climate and energy transition.'

'I hope one day it can become more open, so that products all over the world can compete there.'

XPeng - which sold more than 1,40,000 cars last year - is not directly impacted by the tariffs as it does not sell in the US, he added.

Gu's comments came a day after XPeng announced its launch in France and Germany, with plans to expand to the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy before the end of 2024.

Asked if he was concerned that the European Union will mirror American tariffs, Gu told AFP that XPeng would press ahead with its global strategy and not be limited as a China-only EV manufacturer.

Europe's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs had 'gone on for some time' but there is 'nothing conclusive', he said.

Founded in 2014, the Guangzhou-headquartered EV manufacturer said on Thursday it will market its premium SUV models in France, with prices starting at $65,200.

The company's senior product planning expert Alan Ma, said XPeng plans to introduce smaller SUVs to the French market in future.

'In France, we can see that smaller cars are more popular... We will fully consider the needs of the French market and bring in smaller models to suit French buyers,' Ma told AFP.​

 

[Saif]

China widening area denial

Discover the significant expansion of China's naval capabilities and its impact on regional and global dynamics, including the modernization of its fleet, development of aircraft carriers, and strategic partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region.

en.prothomalo.com

China widening area denial
Mohammad Abdur Razzak
Updated: 15 May 2024, 16: 16

A nuclear-powered Type 094A Jin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is seen during a military display in the South China Sea April 12, 2018Reuters

People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the naval branch of Chinese military celebrated its 75th founding anniversary on 23 April 2024. Since its establishment on 24 April 1949 till the 1980s, PLAN was an offshore territorial defence navy built on quantitative force. A forward looking development of the navy simmered only in the early 1990s.

Taiwan's first presidential election in 1996 accelerated the navy's modernisation. China was perturbed by the political move across the Taiwan Strait. China viewed the first ever election as prelude to Taiwan declaring independence. To stop Taiwan crossing the red line, China conducted massive naval maneuver in the Taiwan Strait including live fire missiles landing close to Taiwan's coast. China's naval maneuver prompted the US administration to dispatched two carrier task groups to offset China's naval threat.

PLAN leadership got the ground to strongly persuade political leadership for renewed attention toward the long neglected maritime frontiers. Pre-election naval diplomatic engagements brought to the fore China's naval weaknesses over the reunification of Taiwan and in defending its disputed maritime claims over the nine-dash line, Spratly and Paracel Island Groups in the South China Sea, disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu island, first and second island chain and importantly, protecting the Sea Lines of Communication transporting China's ever increasing maritime trade.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership was convinced to prioritize the modernization of the navy to widen sea denial capacity from brown water into blue waters beyond the horizon, below it and above it with a mix bag of offensive and defensive capacity. PLAN since 1990s saw rapid and consistent quantitative and qualitative growth in ships, submarines, and naval aviation including their training and operations.

Traditionally PLAN is subordinate to People's Liberation Army (PLA). PLA had the leadership of Chinese armed forces. In 2023 the CCP leadership appointed Admiral Dong Jun, the former Chief of PLAN as the first ever Minister of Defence to lead Chinese armed forces. Appointment of Admiral Dong was in appreciation of navy's importance to China in the context of geo-political reality and transforming the navy further as the new great power maritime competition is increasing.

China's fast economic growth and progress in civilian and military technology since 1980s were key drivers to navy's modernization. Despite slow economic growth at the beginning of 2020s, China did not alter the course of naval programs.

It is interesting to note that, Admiral Dong's appointment also followed the political blow with Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit in August 2022. "The CCP has handed over the leadership of the PLA to a man who views the world through the lens of war at sea …. Admiral Dong's various appointments should be a reminder of the importance the CCP places on the PLAN and the PLA's overall capability to take Taiwan by kinetic means should other efforts fail."

Since the naval diplomatic confrontation in 1996, PLAN's command structure has been broadened with operational flexibility. With a strength of 240,000 personnel including 15,000 marines and 26,000 naval aviation personnel PLAN today is the second largest navy in the world per tonnage - two million tonnage in 2022, only behind the US Navy. It has the largest number of war ships globally with an overall order of battle approximately 390 ships and submarines compared with the US naval force having approximately 300 ships and submarines in naval inventory.

China's fast economic growth and progress in civilian and military technology since 1980s were key drivers to navy's modernization. Despite slow economic growth at the beginning of 2020s, China did not alter the course of naval programs. During 2022 and 2023, the PLAN commissioned its "eighth Type 055/Renhai-class cruiser, eight more Type 054A/Jiangkai II frigates, and one comprehensive submarine rescue ship.

In addition, the PLAN launched one Type 075/Yushen-class amphibious assault ship, five cruisers and destroyers, two newer Type 054B frigates, and three nuclear-powered submarines." "The total tonnage launched and commissioned in 2023 was about 170,000 tons, compared with 110,000 tons in 2022, although still somewhat lower than the 200,000-ton annual average prior to the COVID-19 pandemic." Naval analysts assessed that the decrease in tonnage production is likely have covered by advanced technologies in new platforms. The PLAN surface fleet strength is projected to be 430 by 2030.

The most significant development since 1996 has been the aircraft carrier program and modernisation of the nuclear submarine fleet. PLAN has two operational aircraft carriers Liaoning (Type 001) and Shandong (Type 002) as of 2024. The third, Fujian (Type 003), completed eight day long first sea trial in May 2024. The fourth (Type 004), possibly with nuclear propulsion, reportedly is under construction. Liaoning and Shandong had their first operational deployment during the 'targeted military operations' that PLAN conducted around Taiwan ahead of the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit in August 2022.

Liaoning was built on the hull of 67,500 ton ex-Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag (Kuznetsov Class). China purchased the hull without machinery and equipment through a Macau based private tourist venture project in 1998. But upon arrival in 2000, the ship was docked in Dalian naval shipyard. Liaoning was commissioned in 2011. Shandong, the second aircraft carrier was built on own design and constructed domestically. It was commissioned in 2019.

The third 80,000 ton Fujian is also designed and built domestically. It is likely to join the PLAN end of 2025 or early 2026. China's aircraft carrier fleet is not of the same capability like its immediate rival USA which has 11 aircraft carriers all powered by nuclear technology. Its submarine fleet is all nuclear.

USA has battle hardened experience over a hundred years in carrier operations in different parts of oceans including the Second World War and other major wars. China has plan to have a fleet around six aircraft carriers by 2030/2035. Next three carriers could be built with nuclear propulsion technology.

While modernising its fleet in quick march, China has limitations in building international network of naval infrastructure. China's growth in alliance building has not been as successful as it is expanding the fleet. China has established its first overseas military support base in 2017 in the Horn of Africa in Djibouti overlooking the global choke points at Bab-el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal. China invested USD 590 million to construct the base as both logistical and operational spring board to boost power projection in the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean.

China has reportedly built Ream Naval Base in Cambodia abutting to the South China Sea. There is debate over the use of this naval base by Chinese war ships. "Controversy over the Ream Naval Base initially arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of a reputed agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China 30-year use of the base, where it would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships." Cambodian government persistently denies having any military agreement with China.

Military ruled Myanmar is also at the center of debate. Great Coco Island with advanced surveillance systems and new naval infrastructures is back in discussion. Large naval infrastructures at Thanlyin Naval Base in Yangon with Chinese assistance can moor ships larger than those in Myanmar's naval inventory. India expresses persistent concern about potential docking of Chinese ships in Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Besides, navies of China, Iran and Russia conduct naval exercises to form 'axis of resistance' against US dominance at sea. With all endeavors on widening area denial well beyond the horizon, PLAN will have to influence its challengers not to interfere in its ambitions in the immediate vicinity and demonstrate the ability to exercise strategic leadership to enforce constabulary roles in Asian waters.

* Mohammad Abdur Razzak is a retired Commodore of Bangladesh Navy and a security analyst.​

 

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/china-launches-anti-dumping-probe-into-eu-us-japan-taiwan-plastics

China launches anti-dumping probe into EU, US, Japan, Taiwan plastics
FE ONLINE DESK
Published :
May 19, 2024 23:14
Updated :
May 19, 2024 23:14

Shipping containers at Pier J at the Port of Long Beach wait for processing in Long Beach, California, US, April 4, 2018. Photo : Reuters/Bob Riha Jr/Files

China's commerce ministry on Sunday launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the European Union, United States, Japan and Taiwan.

The plastics can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics, and medical equipment, the ministry said in a statement.

The investigation should be completed in a year but could be extended for six months, it said.

The European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, said it would carefully study the contents of the investigation before deciding on any next steps.

"We expect China to ensure that this investigation is fully in line with all relevant WTO (World Trade Organization) rules and obligations," a spokesperson said.

China's plastics probe comes amid a broader trade row with the United States and Europe.

The United States on Tuesday unveiled steep tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), computer chips, medical products and other imports.

On Friday, the European Union launched a trade investigation into Chinese tinplate steel, the latest in a string of EU trade and subsidy probes into Chinese exports.

Most notably, the European Commission launched a probe last September to decide whether to impose punitive tariffs on cheaper Chinese EVs that it suspects of benefiting from state subsidies.

Beijing argues the recent focus by the United States and Europe on the risks to other economies from China's excess capacity is misguided.

Chinese officials say the criticism understates innovation by Chinese companies in key industries and overstates the importance of state support in driving their growth.​