Economic recovery

Despite the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the office vacancy rate in China’s capital Beijing has not recovered, and is set to increase. From considerations such as rental cost and traffic, internet companies are opting to move out of prime central locations. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Meng Dandan tells us more.

Japanese academic Toshiya Tsugami notes that while China's economy is likely to fall into medium- to long-term stagnation, its outward investments and financing through the Belt and Road Initiative may not be immediately affected. However, other factors may have a ripple effect on China's ability to maintain the momentum of the BRI.

Hong Kong’s stock market has taken a beating recently, with the number of IPOs and trade volumes in a slump. Amid the different factors causing the poor performance, including the economic situation in mainland China, analysts believe that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s long-running focus on the West and oversight of Southeast Asia needs to be addressed. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Liu Sha finds out more.

With the rise of e-commerce, traditional department stores are having a hard time attracting customers, especially following three years of the pandemic. While some stores have managed to re-style themselves to tap into the younger generation, others have struggled to move past the fashion of 20 or 30 years ago and are closing their doors as a result.

The Chinese authorities have been working to restore confidence in the economy, especially among foreign businesses and investors. The latest policy move is a raft of 24 measures aimed at attracting foreign capital. However, it seems that there has been a lack of attention on these measures, and it is still unclear how far they will go in drawing investments back.

Over the past four decades, China’s economic growth has been mainly driven externally by exports and internally by investments. But China can no longer count on exports to drive economic growth. Thus, the country is seeking to boost domestic demand. Academic Gu Qingyang shares that China needs a multi-prong approach, which would require a significant transformation of the economy.

Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu notes that the public space for discussion of China’s economic situation has tightened, even for experts and analysts. Should China control the narrative surrounding its struggling economy, which its people can clearly see and feel the impact of?

Chinese academic Han Heyuan notes that following the pandemic, disposable income in China is not at a level that allows for more domestic consumer spending, leading to economic growth being hampered. Also, the Chinese mentality is one of saving rather than spending, which makes it more of a challenge to encourage domestic demand.

The Chinese government is pulling out all the stops to boost domestic consumption, including a list of 20 measures from the National Development and Reform Commission. However, given that these measures do not include direct funding policies, how effective will they be in getting people to spend?