Skip to content

All posts by NNL - 19. page

China Pilots “Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration” Programs

China is promoting “vehicle-road-cloud” integration. The idea is to advance commercialization of smart vehicles by integrating intelligent driving technology with roadside perception and cloud control. On January 17, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a “Notice on Carrying out Pilot Projects for ‘Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration’.” The ministry’s pilot program will run from 2024 to 2026.

“As of the end of 2023, China has set up 17 national-level test and demonstration zones, 7 vehicle networking pilot zones, and 16 pilot cities for development of connectivity between intelligent vehicles and smart cities. … There are now more than 22,000 kilometers of test and demonstration road; more than 88 million kilometers of road testing have been completed.”

One example involves autonomous driving technology company WeRide’s work in the Beijing High-Tech Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone: WeRide has conducted “in-depth cooperation with the government” to integrate “roadside perception of traffic signals and dynamic blind spots, driving path optimization, unprotected left turns, two-vehicle collaborative control, status sharing, and more.” The article states that “as of now, 12 companies including Baidu, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX, NavInfo, and Audi have conducted development and testing of ‘vehicle-road-cloud integration'” in the Beijing Demonstration Zone.

Source: Stock Times, February 3, 2024
https://www.stcn.com/article/detail/1114322.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology

People’s Daily: Measures to Address Agricultural Labor Shortage

People’s Daily republished an article from Economic Daily discussing how China might resolve its agricultural labor shortage problems. The article said that “the matter of ‘who will farm the land’ is an urgent issue” related to “national food security and rural revitalization.” With a large number of rural laborers migrating to cities, there is a prominent “structural shortage of labor” in rural areas of China. Below are some key ideas from the article.

“The rapid development of mechanization provides impetus for solving this problem. China’s agricultural industry has already realized a basic level of ‘machines replacing human labor.’ … The comprehensive mechanization rate of cultivation and harvesting of crops has reached 73.1 percent nationwide. … China’s agricultural industry is gradually shifting from small-scale household farming to large-scale and intensive development.”

One concept for the development of large-scale agriculture is a large-scale land management (i.e. land consolidation). “Various regions have started exploring [the technique of] ‘consolidating small fields (from different owners) into larger ones.'” Another concept is “large-scale service management, which involves providing fully-managed or semi-managed services to small farmers … who retain control of their land.” The article said that the latter concept “is more realistic for China’s agriculture industry.”

Source: People’s Daily, February 15, 2024
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0215/c1004-40177697.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Japanese Government: China’s Distressed Debt Securitization Increased by 46%

According to Nikkei Chinese Edition, the Cabinet Office of Japan has published its semi-annual “World Economic Trends” report. The report pointed out signs of stagnation in China’s economy and warned that they may last – “not only will the economy stagnate in the short term, but there are also concerns about halted growth in the medium-to-long term.”

Based on data from private Chinese databases, the Cabinet Office of Japan annually reports on the amount of securities issuance converted from non-performing loans. In China, loans with delinquent payments over 90 days are considered non-performing. For 2023, such securities issuance amounted to 46.6 Billion Yuan (US$ 6.5 Billion), a 46 percent increase from 2022 (32 Billion Yuan). This increase was significantly higher than in 2021 and 2022; those years saw year-over-year increases of less than 10 percent.

In 2023, half of the security issuance converted from non-performing loans originated from housing loans, amounting to 23.6 Billion Yuan. This figure was 2.5 times higher than the previous year’s metric for converted housing loans.

The Cabinet Office of Japan stated “It is necessary to continue monitoring whether there will arise an excessive transfer of (bad loan) risk onto the financial markets.”

Source: Nikkei, February 29, 2024
https://zh.cn.nikkei.com/china/ceconomy/54956-2024-02-29-09-41-11.html?start=1

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Xinhua: Foreign Politicians, Scholars, and Media Talking Trash About China’s Economy

China’s Xinhua news agency has published an article countering the numerous reports and predictions by foreign media regarding China’s economic downslide. The article blames Western politicians, scholars, and media for wearing “colored glasses” (having a biased perspective), “doomsaying” China’s economy. The article states that such “doomsaying” has existed for several decades and has always been incorrect. The article does not provide concrete evidence in defense of China’s current economic situation.

Some of the sentiments expressed in the article include:

  • “Gordon Chang, a ‘China collapse theory expert,’ has become a laughing stock.”
  • “During the 2008 international financial crisis, some U.S. politicians and scholars blamed the U.S. real estate bubble and global economic imbalances on ‘the high savings rates of China and other emerging market countries.'”
  • “In 2015, Western media revived the ‘Chinese economic collapse theory'”
  • “The West has substituted China as a scapegoat, blaming it for economic crises and socioeconomic problems.”
  • The West has “a stubborn Cold War mentality and ideological bias, aiming to undermine the outside world’s confidence in China’s economy.”

Source: Xinhua, February 22, 2024
http://www.news.cn/mrdx/2024-02/22/c_1310764956.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

People’s Armed Forces Departments Expanding Within Chinese State Owned Enterprises

Several Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have established People’s Armed Forces departments (人民武装部) within their organizations. Examples include the Shanghai Municipal Investment Group (Shanghai’s government financing company), the Mengniu Group in Inner Mongolia, as well as 10 SOEs in Wuhan City, Hubei Province and several SOEs in Huizhou City, Zhejinang Province.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defense, stated at a press conference on October 26, 2023 that “Our national defense is the defense of the whole people. The People’s Armed Forces departments of state-owned enterprises are part of the national defense system and are the armed work departments of the Party within state-owned enterprises.”

Political observers suggest a few possible explanations for why Beijing is establishing these new People’s Armed Forces departments within state-owned enterprises. Integration between SOEs and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could help to quell potential domestic unrest resulting from China’s economic downturn. It could also help to save resources for the PLA and could potentially enhance the military’s ability to mobilize in preparation for an invasion of Taiwan.

Source: Deutsche Welle, February 23, 2024
https://www.dw.com/zh/中企纷纷设立人民武装部为哪般/a-68353845

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Government/Politics

China’s Household Bank Deposits Increased by 58 Billion Yuan Over Last Four Years

According to the latest data released by the People’s Bank of China, household bank deposits increased by a total of 58.24 Trillion Yuan (US$ 8 Trillion) during the period from early 2020 to January 2024. Of the increase, 82% was attributable to time deposits. The total increase in deposits over these four years is equivalent to the increase seen during the period from 2009 to 2019.

Commentators have attributed the influx in bank deposits to “the international and domestic situation.” Many affluent families decided to halt investments during the pandemic. Meanwhile, ordinary families, facing reduced income, chose to conserve their resources and earn interest by saving money in banks.

With the increase in deposits, Chinese banks have been under pressure to issue loans and generate returns. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has seen reduced demand for bank loans due to the decrease in China’s overseas orders and the rapid shrinkage of the country’s investment in infrastructure / housing construction. Property values have been falling, the Chinese stock market is declining, and private capital investment have seen significant contraction. Apart from export-oriented companies with existing orders, other businesses learned the lesson that they should not make investments, putting banks in a difficult position.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 26, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/gt1-02262024233157.html

 

 

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Daily Editorial Advocates French “Strategic Autonomy,” Collaboration with China

China Daily published an English-language editorial on French-Chinese relations titled “France’s insistence on strategic autonomy means it’s immune to bloc confrontation.” The editorial advocates for France and other European countries to collaborate with China and not go along with U.S. attempts at isolating China. Guangming Daily also published a Chinese-language commentary on the editorial.

Here are some excerpts from the China Daily piece:

“This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic relations between China and France.”

“Thanks to France’s strategic independence, as well as the two countries’ common commitment to multilateralism, Sino-French relations have demonstrated stability and sustainability amid the global volatility. Despite the attempts of the United States to drive a wedge between them, they continue to seek to explore the potentialities of new areas of cooperation.”

“In the 25th China-France Strategic Dialogue … in Paris on Tuesday, “the willingness and openness the French side expressed to continue to deepen the already broad and productive pragmatic cooperation with China was a clear dismissal of the ‘security concerns’ the US has been hyping up with regard to cooperation with China. The green economy, clean technology, nuclear energy, artificial intelligence and aerospace are all ‘sensitive fields’ that the US seeks to exclude China from.

“That, along with the stable bilateral cooperation between China and other major EU members, including Germany and Spain … should serve to prove to the decision-makers of the European Union the necessity of upholding the bloc’s strategic autonomy in handling relations with China, as well as the rationality of providing a fair, transparent and sound business environment for Chinese enterprises. Doing so can help avoid the EU footing the bill for the US’ geopolitical gambling.”

Sources:
1. China Daily, February 21, 2024
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202402/21/WS65d5eb9fa31082fc043b85dd.html
2. Guangming Daily, February 22, 2024
https://world.gmw.cn/2024-02/22/content_37160410.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Beijing Demands Banks Lend Financial Support to Real Estate Projects

To help the Chinese real estate sector, which is facing a daunting crisis as companies run out of capital to complete construction projects, Beijing recently ordered its banks to provide financial support to a massive list of real estate projects. This is another case of the Chinese Communist Party attempting to control markets via state power.

On January 5th, 2024, China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and its National Administration of Financial Regulation jointly issued a “Notice on Establishment of Coordination Mechanisms for Urban Real Estate Financing.” According to the notice, cities at the prefecture level and above are required to establish “coordination mechanisms” for urban real estate financing “with the team leader being the responsible comrade of the city government who is in charge of housing and urban-rural development.” These coordination mechanisms will present financial institutions with lists of real estate projects eligible for financing support within each given administrative region. Financial institutions are to assess the lists and will fast-track credit/financing approval for projects that are in good shape. For projects facing “temporary difficulties” but whose long-term financial outlooks are balanced, financial institutions are instructed to “provide support through extension of existing loans, adjustment of repayment arrangements, and issuing new loans” rather than “blindly withdrawing, suspending, or pressuring existing loans.”

The Xinhua state news agency published an article on February 18 stating that the National Administration of Financial Regulation “held two special meetings to deploy and implement work related to the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism” following initial release of the notice. “By now, most cities have established the coordination mechanism. They have proposed ‘white lists’ of real estate projects and forwarded them to banks.”

According to Xinhua, preliminary data collected by Financial Times (China) showed that 15 commercial banks, including the six major state-owned banks and several joint-stock commercial banks, have engaged financial support for nearly 13,000 projects. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has worked on over 2,000 projects, Agricultural Bank of China on over 2,700 projects, and China Construction Bank on over 2,000 projects.

Source:
1. China’s Government Website (Gov.cn), January 5, 2024
https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202401/content_6925683.htm
2. Xinhua, February 18, 2024
http://www.xinhuanet.com/money/20240218/0688b047bcf246c18b117a962c4a217c/c.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics