Economy

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?
Pedestrians in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, on 20 December 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Tug of war: Taiwanese businesses in China tussle with decoupling and integration

While investments by Taiwanese enterprises in mainland China have declined due to geopolitical factors and Covid-19, many still have one foot in the massive domestic market. As a result, a number of Taiwanese enterprises have turned into “new mainland enterprises” as they integrate into the mainland’s domestic market. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han looks into where Taiwanese enterprises are moving towards.
Guangdong and other provinces and cities in China have been organising trade delegations all over the world. (Internet)

China is sending out trade delegations in full force

Over three years of the pandemic, China’s economy has suffered, and it is now making up for lost time by sending delegations overseas to gain the business that it previously missed out on. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing takes a look at China’s strategy of sending trade delegations out in full force.
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.
Toyota Motor Corporation's cars are seen at a briefing on the company's strategies on battery EVs in Tokyo, Japan, 14 December 2021. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Japan and China: Growing economic interdependence amid decoupling talks

Academics Guanie Lim and Chengwei Xu examine the close interdependence of Japanese and Chinese firms through the case study of Toyota. Amid the talk of geopolitical tensions accelerating the risk of decoupling, some hard facts may put things into perspective.
Bustling Vietnam, with much potential to be a leading crypto hub in the future. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP)

Vietnam's vibrant crypto scene needs a regulatory framework

Vietnamese academic Huy Pham analyses Vietnam’s growth as a crypto hub. While it is high on the rankings in terms of crypto adoption rate, much still needs to be done to create a stable regulatory framework if it is to take advantage of the vast potential it has in growing its cryptocurrency industry.
Advertisements for crypto exchange show a Bitcoin symbol at Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station, in Hong Kong, China, 27 October 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Hong Kong and Singapore vying for crypto hub: Price to pay and lessons to learn

While Singapore and Hong Kong are hyped to be vying for cryptocurrency hub status, academic Ben Charoenwong notes that both cities have faced challenges navigating the tricky world of becoming a large cryptocurrency market while setting a regulatory framework. Due to China's unfavourable attitude towards cryptocurrency, activity may flow over to Hong Kong as it acts as the conduit for Chinese participants, but might this be a potential winner’s curse?
People walk on a street during morning rush hour in Wuchang district, after the government gradually loosened the restrictions on Covid-19 control, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, 9 December 2022. (Martin Pollard/Reuters)

China’s economy to recover next year

Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan looks at China’s declining economy and the factors leading up to it, including the strict Covid controls over the past three years. However, following the recent annual Central Economic Work Conference, there may be signs that the authorities are looking to adjust their approach and help the economy to recover.