• March 09, 2020

• March 09, 2020

The People's Bank of China has opened the country's mobile payment market to foreign companies in a move intended to encourage innovation and competition, according to a report in Securities Daily. The move by the central bank means that foreign companies can apply for a license to offer payment services in China. Foreign players in China's mobile payment market will be required to keep personal information and payment details within China's borders. A number of foreign payment companies, such as Paypal, have previously established ties with partners in China, but they have been limited to providing cross-border payment services to citizens of China. The move is an expansion of a market dominated by domestic payment giants Alibaba and Tencent, which make up 93% of the market. There are currently 243 mobile payment companies operating in China.

• March 18, 2018

Xi Jinping was elected Chinese president by a unanimous vote Saturday morning at the ongoing session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC). Thunderous applause reverberated in the Great Hall of the People when the election result was announced. Xi, 64, stood up and bowed, while the voters responded by standing up and clapping vigorously. Li Keqiang and Zhang Dejiang, who stood beside Xi, shook hands with him and expressed congratulations. Xi was also elected chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by a unanimous vote. Right after the election, Xi took a public oath of allegiance to the Constitution. "I pledge to be allegiant to the Constitution of the PRC, safeguard the Constitution's authority, fulfill my legal obligations, be loyal to the country and the people, be committed and honest in my duty, accept the people's supervision and work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful," he said. This was the first time for a Chinese president to take such an oath upon assuming office. Last October, Xi was elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and appointed CMC chairman of the CPC at the first plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. He was first elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in late 2012, and Chinese president and CMC chairman of the PRC in March 2013. In the president's first five-year tenure, China has made historic achievements and undergone historic changes -- Having "stood up" and "grown rich," China is "becoming strong."  Xi told the Party's 19th National Congress in the opening speech that socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered "a new era." At the Party congress, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was written into the CPC Constitution, and into the country's Constitution on March 11, making it the guiding principle of China. He laid out a two-step approach to future development: working to basically realize socialist modernization from 2020 to 2035; developing China into a great modern socialist country from 2035 to the middle of the century. "I am so lucky to be part of such a great age led by a great man," said Yu Zhigang, an NPC deputy. "The unanimous vote showed that as our leader Xi has our full support and trust and bears our high expectation." Gesang Zhoigar, an NPC deputy from Tibet Autonomous Region, was also deeply touched by the election. "Being one of more than 3 million people from Tibet, I have strong trust in Comrade Xi, the whole Party's core, our nation's leader and the army's commander," she said. Also on Saturday, lawmakers elected Li Zhanshu as chairman of the 13th NPC Standing Committee and Wang Qishan as vice president of China. A total of 14 vice chairpersons and a secretary-general were also elected for the 13th NPC Standing Committee. They al...

• March 14, 2018

There's been a sharp rise in exports from Wales to China. That's according to Welsh Economy Secretary Ken Skates, who said: "We know that Welsh exports to China have grown significantly from nearly £194m in 2012 to nearly £313m in 2017 but I want to see those figures grow further.” With that in mind, Mr. Skates will shortly lead a trade visit of some 25 Welsh companies to China, on which we will reveal more information tomorrow. The news comes at a time of record relations between China and Wales. As just one example of this blossoming relationship, we reported in November that the number of Chinese students in Wales had risen dramatically over the last few years. Whilst there’s been an overall drop in the number of Asian students who were studying in Wales since 2013, over the same period, the number of Chinese students in the country rose by 90 percent. This contrasted with a fall of over fifty percent in the number of Bangladeshi and Indian students. Perhaps with its new community in mind, Wales recently hosted its largest ever celebration of Chinese New Year.

• March 10, 2018

Economic fundamentals and a stable yuan will keep China's foreign exchange reserves basically stable, a central bank official said. Forex reserves had been on the rise for 12 months before February's decline, Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), told a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual legislative session. The slight decline in February was caused by both the rise of the U.S. dollar exchange rate index and the falling bond price index in the international market, Pan said. The U.S. dollar exchange rate index rose 1.7 percent last month while stock markets in the United States, euro zone and Japan all dropped by 4 - 5 percent. China's forex reserves stood at 3.1 trillion U.S. dollars in February, down nearly 27 billion U.S. dollars from January. The forex stockpile has increased steadily since February 2017 after dipping below 3 trillion dollars in January last year.

• February 28, 2018

Total assets in China's banking sector saw steady growth in the past few years despite economic headwinds, with leading domestic players assuming greater presence in the global system. By the end of 2017, the total assets of China's banking industry reached 252 trillion yuan (about 39.9 trillion U.S. dollars), up 8.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). The data also marked a 88.6-percent surge from the sector's asset scale five years ago. By the end of last year, there were 4,549 institutions in the sector. The banking sector is the pillar of China's financial system. In recent years, the Chinese government has tightened regulation over the industry as defusing major risks is one of the three tough battles the country has vowed to fight. The non-performing loan ratio of commercial banks stood at 1.74 percent at the end of 2017, with outstanding bad loans at 1.71 trillion yuan. The ratio declined for the first time since 2012 to the current level in the last quarter of 2016, an encouraging sign for an economy trying to solve its debt problem. The data also showed Chinese commercial banks capital adequacy ratio and liquidity coverage ratio were 13.65 percent and 123.26 percent, respectively. "Chinese banks' capital adequacy ratio is higher than the international minimum standard by two to three percentage points, meaning there is enough ammunition to fend off risks," said CBRC official Xiao Yuanqi. While playing a bigger role in supporting the real economy, Chinese banks have become increasing competitive in the global arena in recent years. In 2017, four Chinese banks, including Bank of China and China Construction Bank, made it to the Financial Stability Board list of 30 global systemically important banks. Data from UK-based magazine the Banker showed 126 Chinese banks were included in the 2017 top 1,000 ranking, seven more than the previous year. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dominated the ranking for the fifth year running. 

• February 28, 2018

China on Sunday updated its list of "sensitive sectors" for outbound investment subject to additional regulation, deleting telecoms and electricity and adding the arms industry and several high-profile sectors.  Effective from March 1, investment in overseas projects of telecoms operation, massive land development, and electric mains and power grids need only complete record filings with authorities like other common sectors, with official approval no longer necessary, according to a statement of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).  Those sectors had been considered sensitive according to the previous list published 2014. Meanwhile, the arms industry was added to the list. Outbound investment in properties, hotels, cinemas, entertainment, sports clubs, and equity investment funds will also be restricted, according to the NDRC, as the government has stepped up efforts to curb irrational overseas investment.  The NDRC kept cross-border water resource development and news media on the list. China's non-financial outbound direct investment dropped 29.4 percent to 120 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.

• February 10, 2018

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang on Friday called on countries throughout the world to open e-commerce markets for each other to brace for the fresh growth opportunities in emerging trade. "On the basis of risk control, market thresholds should be lowered at the maximum level to facilitate free trade," Wang said when addressing the first Global Cross-Border E-commerce Conference in Beijing. Wang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the world should make joint efforts to set up common regulatory rules, share customs information and promote "single window" clearance. The Belt and Road Initiative should also be propelled to help less-developed countries narrow the "digital divide," with measures to foster e-commerce professionals, according to Wang. China's e-commerce sector has witnessed booming development. Its e-commerce exports surged 41.3 percent last year, while imports rocketed by 116.4 percent. More than 1,000 people from 125 countries and regions attended the conference.