Economy/Resources - 133. page

VOA published an article which stated that, based on the financial data that China disclosed, the growth rate of its 2016 GDP will remain between 6.5 and 7 percent and its finance deficit will grow from 1.62 trillion (US$0.25 trillion) in 2015 to 2.18 trillion (US$0.33 trillion) in 2016; its local treasury bonds are expected to be 400 billion yuan (US$61 billion). The article said that the Chinese government admits that its economy will face a bottleneck which it must break through to succeed. It also said that, according to the statistics, the Chinese government plans to allocate 16 billion yuan (US$2.45 billion) to urban medical assistance funds, an increase of 10 percent from 2015. It also claimed that it will increase the low income supplement fund by 5 percent for urban and 8 percent for the rural region.

Source: VOA, March 6, 2016
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-economy-20160306/3221705.html

Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, stated in a press conference on February 29, that China will cut 1.3 million jobs in the coal industry and a half million jobs in the steel industry, to solve the over capacity problem in these two industries.

According to Radio Free Asia, the State Council proposed, in January, to reduce crude steel production by 100 to 150 million tons, on top of the already planned elimination of 90 million tons of steel produced from old technology, over the next few years.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recommended that 4,300 coal mines be closed and 700 million tons of coal production be cut over the next three years.

"Experts anticipate that, over the next two to three years, if such industries as steel, coal mining, cement, ship building, aluminum, and plate glass, which are severely over-capacity, cut their production by 30 percent, China will lose at least 3 million jobs."

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 1, 2016
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql2-03012016105153.html

The Hexun website published an article that discussed a recent job market report that the China Institute for Employment Research had published. Based on the report, the following four groups of people will face challenges in 2016: 

According to a report carried by Guangming Daily, an estimated 5.7 million to 6 million Chinese tourists will be traveling overseas during the recent Chinese New Year holiday break. Estimates suggest that the total spending for these tourists will reach 90 billion yuan (US$13.8 billion); most of the money will be spent on shopping. The article said that 157,000 Chinese tourists went to Korea this year, up 18.7 percent over the prior year. Most of the money they spent was for Korean made brand name cosmetic products and food. France and Thailand are also among the countries that the Chinese tourists highly favor.

Source: Guangming Daily, February 22, 2016
http://economy.gmw.cn/2016-02/22/content_18976013.htm

The Paper published a commentary on the worries that China’s middle class faces:

Career: China’s economic turmoil and the restructuring of its industries mean that many mid to high level managers face the risk of losing their jobs. The Internet technology has also impacted almost all industries.

Family assets: The main assets for a middle class family are their home, investments in the stock market, and cash. The housing market and stock market are volatile.

Education for their children: Many in the middle class studied very hard to achieve their status. The family experiences desperation when their children do not receive good grades.

There are also worries over medical insurance, retirement funds, and other matters.

Source: The Paper Online, February 12, 2016
http://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1430325

The Paper published an analysis report on the purchase of brides in China’s villages. Chinese, especially peasants, prefer sons to daughters. Because of China’s "one-child" policy over the past few decades, this view has contributed to a higher proportion of males than females in China.

"The development of a nationwide marriage market has resulted in an outflow of females from Western and Central China [because they are able to marry in Eastern China which is more developed economically]. The imbalance between males to females means that, for the groom, the cost of getting married has continued to rise."

"Nowadays, a girl’s preference for a husband is someone who is the only child in the family, has money, and has relatively young parents. In that case, her in-laws can continue to work and pass their earnings on to their only son [and, of course, the girl as well]. They can also provide free babysitting services for the young couple’s baby."

Source: The Paper Online, February 12, 2016
http://www.thepaper.cn/baidu.jsp?contid=1431178