Economy

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.
This photo taken on 10 December 2022 shows passengers arriving at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (AFP)

Chinese economy in 2023: Worse before it gets better

As Chinese officials review the year’s economic work and set the tone for macroeconomic policies in the coming year, Han Yong Hong assesses that the new team formed after the 20th Party Congress will have its work cut out reviving the Chinese economy amid tough challenges.
Pedestrians and motorcyclists along a road near the Bund in Shanghai, China, on 30 November 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Will China get its economy back on track in 2023?

While China’s prospects for better economic performance in 2023 are bright, says NUS academic Xu Le, the road to economic recovery is expected to be bumpy.
An employee transfers items for delivery ahead of the Singles’ Day shopping festival which falls on 11 November , at a logistics center in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on 10 November 2022. (Photo by AFP)

China's e-commerce sector emerging from dark times

One major effect of the lockdowns in China has been disruptions to delivery and logistics services, resulting in many e-commerce businesses being unable to dispatch goods and fulfill online orders. Guangdong, an important light industrial area in southern China, with a comprehensive wholesale market system in its capital Guangzhou, has been particularly badly hit. Zaobao journalists Zeng Shi and Hedy Yang speak to e-commerce business owners and other players to find out more.
A deserted road in the central business district in Beijing, China, on 29 November 2022. (Bloomberg)

China is facing a harsh economic winter

Commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that even after the 20th Party Congress and talks between Chinese and US Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden during the G20 summit, the Chinese economy is not facing an easy time, not least because of Covid-19 controls, the US's trade restrictions and China's stringent policy on private enterprises.
Office towers in the Lujiazui financial district of Shanghai, China, 17 October 2022. (Reuters/Aly Song)

[Sponsored] Why this could be the right time to invest in China and the UOBAM Ping An ChiNext ETF

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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.
A woman walks across the street during morning rush hour, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Central Business District (CBD) in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China, 21 November 2022. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Why the 20th Party Congress was not a 'decisive victory' for Xi

Japanese researcher Toshiya Tsugami observes that the exuberant tone of China's previous Party Congress reports has been carried over in this year’s 20th Party Congress. However, the external environment has changed much for China and its targets could be a stretch in this context.
Pedestrians cross a road in front of the Bank of Korea headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on 12 October 2022. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP)

Is South Korea’s economy in trouble?

Often referred to as the world’s economic “canary in the coal mine”, South Korea has seen its economy tumble over the past year, impacted by external factors such as US interest rate hikes and signs of recession in key trade partners. The accumulation of domestic factors — currency crisis, tumbling stock market and rising inflation — is also hitting the South Korean economy hard. However, this industrial powerhouse has the domestic means to climb out of the doldrums.