Economy/Resources - 4. page

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that China continues to face declining foreign investment. According to official data just released, the actual amount of foreign investment utilized in 2025 is RMB 747.69 billion (around US$107.61 billion), a decrease of 9.5 percent year-over-year, continuing the downward trend.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, in 2025, 70,392 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, an increase of 19.1 percent year-over-year. However, the actual use of foreign capital decrease 9.5 percent. In 2024, China’s actual use of foreign capital was RMB 826.25 billion yuan (around US$118.91 billion), which was already a decrease of 27.1% compared to the previous year.

By sector, the manufacturing sector actually utilized RMB 185.51 billion (around US$26.70 billion) in foreign investment, while the service sector utilized RMB 545.12 billion (around US$78.45 billion). High-tech industries actually utilized RMB 241.77 billion (around US$34.80 billion) in foreign investment.

In terms of growth by origin, actual investment in China from Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom grew by 66.8 percent, 27.3 percent, and 15.9 percent, respectively.

Source: CNA, January 27, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202601270033.aspx

Recently, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued a notice expanding the integrated RMB and foreign-currency cash pooling scheme for multinational corporations from select pilot regions to nationwide implementation.

Previously, RMB and foreign-currency cash pools were regulated under separate systems, creating currency barriers and redundant accounts. Multinational companies often had to file complex applications and wait days—or even longer—to convert funds between RMB and foreign currencies.

Under the new policy, Chinese subsidiaries can independently manage cross-border funds within quotas approved by the People’s Bank of China, significantly easing domestic fund allocation constraints. This reform allows China operations to play a more active role in regional and cross-border treasury management, risk control, and strategic capital allocation, shifting them from a traditional “cost center” to an emerging decision-making hub.

Source: People’s Daily, January 29, 2026
https://world.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0129/c1002-40654876.html

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released an Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Industrial Internet Platforms (2026–2028), outlining 13 measures to “strengthen industrial internet platforms as critical infrastructure for advancing new industrialization and modern productive forces. China currently has more than 340 influential industrial internet platforms and over 100 million connected industrial devices.” Below are some key excerpts from a People’s Daily article on the topic.

The plan centers on four strategic priorities. First, it calls for cultivating and strengthening platforms through differentiated development, establishing a tiered ecosystem of foundational, growth-oriented, leading, and ecosystem platforms. Second, it emphasizes deeper data integration and intelligent applications by improving data collection, aggregation, and utilization, while reinforcing intellectual property protection. Third, it seeks to scale platform applications by expanding use in high-value industrial scenarios and encouraging new business models and service formats. Fourth, it aims to build a stronger support ecosystem through open-source collaboration, expanded international engagement, and closer cooperation between platform providers and manufacturing enterprises.

The ministry also stresses the need for stronger policy coordination, localized implementation, and enhanced support mechanisms. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring fair participation by private companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, with the goal of accelerating the real-economy impact of industrial internet technologies.

Source: People’s Daily, January 14, 2026
https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/pc/content/202601/14/content_30132247.html

Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), said that domestic demand for new-energy lithium batteries is likely to fall sharply at the beginning of 2026 compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. In response, battery manufacturers are expected to cut output and take extended production breaks to adjust to the seasonal and policy-driven downturn.

He cited several key factors behind the expected decline:

1. Policy impact on passenger vehicles: Adjustments to the vehicle purchase tax for new-energy passenger cars are expected to reduce sales by at least 30 percent quarter-on-quarter from the fourth quarter of 2025.
2. Post-subsidy slump in commercial vehicles: New-energy commercial vehicles are likely to see a steep quarter-on-quarter drop after year-end rushes to secure subsidies and tax exemptions.
3. Limited export spillover: While exports of new-energy passenger vehicles may remain relatively strong in early 2026, they are unlikely to significantly boost battery demand for independent battery suppliers.
4. Weak U.S. energy storage pull: Demand from the U.S. energy storage market offers little support for China’s battery exports. Battery shipments to the U.S. fell sharply in 2025, and AI-driven storage demand in the U.S. provides minimal upside for Chinese producers.
5. Pressure from low domestic storage prices: Domestic energy storage tender prices have dropped well below 300 yuan per kilowatt-hour, dampening incentives for price increases. At the same time, vehicle batteries cannot offset losses incurred in the energy storage sector.

Together, these factors point to a challenging start to 2026 for China’s new-energy battery industry.

Source: Stock Times, December 28, 2026
https://stcn.com/article/detail/3561185.html China Faces Sharp Early-2026 Slump in New Energy Battery Demand