China Business Now

China’s GDP in the third quarter reported a lower-than-expected 4.9 percent year-on-year growth yesterday. It was much lower than the 7.9 percent growth rate for the second quarter and the 12.7 percent growth for the first half of the year. Impacted by the power crunch, industrial production growth slumped to 3.1 percent year on year in September from 5.3 percent in August, marking the slowest growth since March 2020. A closer look at industrial production in the first three quarters shows that the value-added of high-tech manufacturing went up by 20.1 percent, driven by a 172.5 percent surge in the production of new-energy automobiles. 

The three astronauts of China's Shenzhou 13 mission entered the country's Tianhe module, the core of Tiangong space station, on Saturday to kick off a six-month expedition to the fledgling orbital lab. Wang Yaping, who is noted for the lecture she delivered from space during the Shenzhou-10 mission in 2013, is set to become China's first female spacewalker, conducting multiple extravehicular activities outside the station during her stay. https://m.21jingji.com/article/20211018/herald/d401e5d5ee149ccc10dd9ec8fbb13a50.html

The Canton Fair has long established its brand to become a significant barometer of China's foreign trade. During the coming session until October 19, around 7,800 companies will participate on-site, while 26,000 firms from home and abroad will join virtually, marking the first time in the Fair’s history to go both on and off-line at the same time. What also makes this year special is that domestic buyers are able to take part for the first time in 64 years.

China’s factory-gate prices in September rose at their fastest pace in more than two decades amid power crisis. The reading is the highest since the start of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) database in October 1996 after the index hit 10.1 in August 2008. The producer price index (PPI), which reflects the prices factories charge wholesalers for their products, rose by 10.7 percent in September from a year earlier, up from a gain of 9.5 percent in August, the NBS said.

Thermal coal futures surged to a record high in China as key mining regions suffered severe flooding, complicating efforts to boost supply and halt an escalating energy crisis. 

All coal-fired power will orderly enter the power market, as the floating range of the market-based electricity transaction prices are adjusted in principle to a range of 20 percent up or down, compared with the current ceiling of 10 percent and the floor of 15 percent from the benchmark price, said the country’s top economic planer. It also requires local government to prioritise supply of low-cost power for residents and agriculture.

Gaining international consensus on climate change and biodiversity is an extremely difficult task, as only 6 out of 20 of the Aichi Targets have been met since countries agreed on them 11 years ago. That brings country leaders to Kunming to discuss a new action plan that they could agree on. 

Lam emphasized Hong Kong’s integration into the national development, stating that the developments of Hong Kong and the country are closely related. “Only by leveraging the Central Government’s policies in support of Hong Kong can we give full play to our unique strengths, which will in turn bring continuous impetus to our economy,” she said.

China's factory activity unexpectedly shrank in September as high raw material prices and power cuts continued to pressure manufacturers in the country. The PMI for manufacturing sector came in at 49.6, edging down from 50.1 in August, slipping into contraction for the first time since February 2020. Both the production and demand are cooling. 

China's months-long regulatory campaign targeting the tech sector is starting to see effects, as Alibaba has started allowing users to purchase items on some of its apps via WeChat Pay, the payments service run by its rival Tencent. Now regulators vow to “reboot” the industry, tearing down the walls to promote connectivity among different internet platforms, a move to protect users' rights and market competition.