Caixin

This file photo taken on 2 October 2018 shows Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma attending the opening debate of the 2018 edition of the WTO public forum on sustainable trade, at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Where to now for Alibaba in the post-Jack Ma era?

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has given up controlling rights in the company he founded, Ant Group Co. All eyes are now on what lies ahead for Ant and Alibaba, which owns 33% of the company and was co-founded by Ma.
Passengers are seen upon their arrival at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, on 8 January 2023. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

China’s international air travel resumes, but Covid turbulence to delay takeoff

While China has reopened its borders, scrapping quarantine requirements for inbound travellers and removing restrictions on international flights, questions remain as to how quickly cross-border travel will return to pre-Covid levels, and how the rampant Covid-19 outbreak nationwide will temper the recovery in demand.
Shanghai, China, on 3 January 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

China’s road to economic recovery faces post-Covid speed bumps

With China's policy pendulum finally swinging from stamping out and controlling the spread of the virus towards spurring economic growth, how will its economy perform in 2023?
The ZTE logo and a sign for 5G are seen at the World 5G Exhibition in Beijing, China, 22 November 2019. (Jason Lee/File Photo/Reuters)

US sanctions forcing Chinese firms to switch to made-in-China tech

According to a development plan for China’s software and information technology (IT) service industry from 2021 to 2025, China is expected to significantly expand its capacity for developing key software and build two to three open-source communities with international influence by 2025. Meanwhile, China’s giant state-owned enterprises are also rushing to crank up domestic purchases of innovative IT applications under government pressure.
Workers load steel products for export to a cargo ship at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, 27 May 2020. (China Daily via Reuters)

Why China’s exports are in the doldrums

The China Containerized Freight Index, which tracks spot and contractual freight rates leaving major Chinese container ports on 12 shipping routes, began to fall in August. These and other indicators point to Chinese exporters bracing for tough times. The main culprit is demand, which has fallen off in recent months in China’s three biggest export markets — the US, the EU and ASEAN.
This handout picture taken and released on 13 October 2022 by Indonesia's presidential palace shows Indonesian President Joko Widodo standing next to a high-speed train at Tegalluar Station, in Bandung, Indonesia, which is planned to be tested with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in November. (Handout/Presidential Palace/AFP)

How China helped build Indonesia’s high-speed rail

The Jakarta-Bandung railway is a landmark project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the country expands its presence in Southeast Asia. While there have been delays and challenges, the project looks to be on track. This and other BRI projects in Southeast Asia are seeing competing investments from the US and West.
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai, China, on 9 November 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

China lines up yet more aid for the property sector, but will it be enough?

Caixin notes that China is poised to roll out more policies to assist developers in an increasingly desperate attempt to arrest a protracted downturn of the multi-trillion-dollar property sector. However, amid the perform storm of changing demographics, Covid-19 disruptions, weakening demand and Beijing’s campaign of deleveraging, industry practitioners are bracing for a tough battle.
People cross a street on The Bund in Shanghai, China, on 12 October 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

China’s rich are getting richer

In 2021, more Chinese families became either rich or richer, with Guangdong overtaking Beijing as the region with the most high-net-worth families in the country. These high-net-worth households largely made up of entrepreneurs, real estate investors and professional financial investors, are expected to transfer an estimated 18 trillion RMB of wealth to the next generation over the next decade.
Employees work on the assembly line during a construction completion event of SAIC Volkswagen MEB electric vehicle plant in Shanghai, China, 8 November 2019. (Aly Song/File Photo/Reuters)

Will Europe pour more money into China?

This year’s dramatic geopolitical changes have significantly altered the calculus for foreign investment in China as large European enterprises are increasingly taking the lead and Japanese businesses are retreating in manufacturing and advancing in services. American companies, on the other hand, are frozen as the US government imposes tough sanctions on China’s tech sector and as manufacturers weigh strategic moves back to the US.