Economy
China’s local governments, denied lifeline, face catch-22 scenario as businesses lose confidence
Local-level governments, struggling under the weight of Beijing’s heavy-handed enforcement of zero-Covid control measures, are now being ordered to prop up economic growth and boost employment on their own.
Evergrande discussing staggered payments, debt-to-equity swaps for US$19 billion offshore bonds, sources say
Evergrande is reeling under more than US$300 billion in liabilities and has become the poster child of the country’s property sector crisis as it lurched from one missed payment deadline to another last year.
Can China find zero-Covid wriggle room to beat GDP slowdown?
Months of lockdowns and frequent mass testing are depleting local coffers but there are no signs of a shift from pandemic controls.
China’s industrial profits slump in April as coronavirus curbs provide ‘big shock to production’
Profits at China’s industrial firms fell by 8.5 per cent in April from a year earlier, swinging from a 12.2 per cent gain in March, data released on Friday showed.
Shanghai lockdown: Pudong orders Covid-19 tests for 5.7 million residents in countdown towards end of citywide lockdown on June 1
Local authorities are not letting up their vigilance, with the district government of Pudong ordering all 5.7 million residents within their jurisdiction to be tested for Covid-19 on Friday.
From ventilators to masks, North Korea’s medical imports from China surged before admitting it had coronavirus
North Korea only admitted its first coronavirus case on May 12 after more than two years of being cut off from the rest of the world, with the total reaching 3.06 million since late April.
China GDP: Premier Li signals ‘clear urgency’ on reviving economy, but no change to zero-Covid
Premier Li Keqiang’s address to Chinese officials shows Beijing is ramping up efforts to prevent a recession, analysts say, but there will be no immediate change to the zero-Covid policy that has hammered business.