This Month
China asks bloggers to stop badmouthing the economy
The request came as economic data showed China’s recovery after the pandemic remained slow, with weak consumer confidence and a lingering real estate crisis.
- Zen Soo and Elaine Kurtenbach
China’s leaders send mixed signals on how to fix economy
A key meeting of Xi Jinping and his top policy advisers has left investors confused about how far Beijing is prepared to go to bolster economic growth.
- Michael Smith
China Politburo raises expectations for ambitious 2024 GDP goal
Economic targets for 2024 will be set at the Communist Party’s annual economic work conference, expected to be held later this month.
- Bloomberg News
Why China can’t give up its addiction to coal
The Asian giant in pumping massive amounts of money into renewables, but that hasn’t halted a huge – and seemingly contradictory – fossil fuel investment plan.
- Michael Smith and Hans van Leeuwen
November
- Analysis
- Iron ore
China tightens grip on rare earths as its economy wanes
China’s economic growth is slowing, but it is trying to strengthen its stranglehold on critical minerals such as graphite, amid a US strategy to derisk from China.
- Michael Smith
Goldman halts ‘growth at all costs’ China strategy
The bank is wary of uncertainty created by US-China tensions, chief David Solomon says.
- Joshua Franklin and Owen Walker
China’s troubled shadow bank Zhongzhi warns of insolvency
Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, with debts totalling more than twice its assets, told investors that efforts at a “self-rescue” failed to live up to expectations.
- Bloomberg News
China struggles to spend its way out of economic crisis
Falling tax revenue and high local debt cast doubt on how much budgetary firepower Beijing really has.
- Joe Leahy
Hidden dragon: Inside the mind of Xi Jinping
In Xi’s worldview, the West has sought to subvert the Chinese Communist Party’s power at home and contain the country’s influence abroad.
- Chris Buckley
Chinese Australians say both sides can cash in on improved relations
The Albanese government’s restoration of the China relationship is welcomed, but opinions are mixed on the state of the superpower’s economy.
- Gus McCubbing
‘Smurfing’: How China’s rich are smuggling cash from the country
Since China’s borders reopened post-pandemic, the wealthy have increasingly been moving money out of the country in elaborate, secret ways.
- Lulu Yilun Chen
‘Chaos and policy error’: Why Xi Jinping needs a new economic plan
China’s top policymakers are sending out the right signals, but they are not necessarily translating into hard policies needed to give the economy a kick-start.
- Michael Smith
China slips back into deflation as recovery stumbles
Prices are falling again after a two-month reprieve, with households and businesses wary of spending despite government stimulus efforts.
- Tom Hancock
China’s import surprise offers hope as recovery risks linger
China’s imports expanded year-on-year for the first time since February, a rare sign of growth against a backdrop of weaker overall trade activity in 2023.
- Linda Lew
Chinese premier calls PM ‘handsome’ as talks to resume
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has announced that annual leadership talks between Australia and China will resume; death toll surpasses 10,000 in Israel-Palestine conflict. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Gus McCubbing and Timothy Moore
Big business toasts China reset, calls for Xi to visit Australia
Big business is hopeful the PM’s China visit will give them the predictability needed to invest in the world’s second-largest economy.
- Michael Smith, Phillip Coorey and Gus McCubbing
China’s premier vows to widen foreign market access
China’s No.2 official made the pledge at a major trade fair, as Beijing seeks to lure more foreign investors to aid the ailing economy’s recovery.
- Brenda Goh
Albanese becomes first PM to visit China in seven years
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was given a red carpet welcome and said he was aiming for “open, respectful dialogue” from his trip.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey
‘This is a key moment’: PM to confront new reality in China
Australia is out of the deep freeze but, despite the hopes of business, a return to a time when trade came free from political strings is unlikely.
- Michael Smith
- Analysis
- Perspective
Albanese finds his ‘way through’ with China
Tensions with China are nothing new. In 1989, 1996 and 2009, Australian governments had to find ways of dealing with varying crises in the relationship.
- James Curran
