Economy

To revive China’s property market, local governments in some cities have implemented a slew of changes to ease property restrictions, with some even allowing the use of crops as a down payment for a home. However, these policies present many risks to the market. Chinese academic Yi Xianrong believes that a return to a consumption-led market is the only viable way to lower the risk in China’s property market.

China’s tech titans have sparked a talent war in Singapore with their offers of high salaries, flexible work arrangements, and professional development opportunities. Zaobao journalist Liu Liu explains in this third of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN.

The impact of the Shanghai lockdown is far-reaching, not least the way it is weakening Chinese exports and consumption, which have helped China weather the economic storm thus far, says Japanese researcher Toshiya Tsugami. This is having ripple effects on global supply chains and may further debilitate them before they have a chance to normalise. To stave off a severe economic crisis, China must deal with three pressing issues.

With the latest virtual call between Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, observers are anticipating that the US will lift the Trump-era punitive tariffs on China and de-escalate the four-year-long China-US trade war that has hurt both economies. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu looks at how the situation might develop and how Biden might play his cards.

In an age where any global economic agenda is hardly viewed outside the prism of geopolitics, it would take enormous resolve for BRICS to make an impactful comeback on the global stage, says ISAS academic Amitendu Palit.

Three of China’s major airlines have announced plans to purchase about 300 aircrafts from Europe’s Airbus, much to the chagrin of the US’s Boeing. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan discusses the reasons behind the move and what this might portend.

On the one hand, China’s potential in helping Indonesia make the clean energy transition has been spoken about, but on the other, China continues to be a big player in perpetuating non-renewable energy use such as in coal-fired power plants. Looking ahead, can they be a larger contributor in Indonesia’s efforts to derive 23% of Indonesia’s primary energy needs from renewable sources by 2025? Malaysian academics Guanie Lim and Goh Chun Seng tell us more.

Over the past year, the Chinese government has taken strong action against monopolistic practices in the platform economy. However, with the effects of the pandemic, the economy needs a boost and the platform economy seems to be the way to lift it. Chinese academic Yi Xianrong says that to truly harness the strengths of the platform economy, the authorities need to see that it is a totally different entity from the traditional economic sectors and its governance needs some deep thinking.

Calls for de-dollarisation have increased since the financial sanctions of the Ukraine war and the very real threat of the US dollar being weaponised. In this context, academic Pei Sai Fan explains why conditions are ripe for China and Asia to offer innovative alternatives, such as developing regional digital currency cooperation in the payment and settlement of regional trade and investment, and expediting the development of new cross-border digital payment infrastructure in Asia known as multi-CBDC platform projects.