Economy/Resources - 6. page

China has unveiled a sweeping set of implementing regulations for its Mineral Resources Law, signed by Premier Li Qiang and set to take effect on June 15. The regulations span eight chapters and 79 articles, covering five major areas: strengthening the mining rights system, refining exploration and extraction rules, enhancing ecological restoration requirements, improving mineral reserves and emergency response mechanisms, and upgrading oversight and enforcement.

At the heart of the new framework is tighter full-chain management of strategic minerals deemed critical to national security — covering exploration, extraction, supply, storage, and sales. For minerals designated by the State Council, authorities may impose planning controls, output caps, and restrictions on who is permitted to mine them. Strategic minerals held in reserve may not be extracted without approval from the State Council’s natural resources authority, and illegal extraction involving these resources will be subject to harsher-than-standard penalties.

Foreign investors seeking to explore or extract mineral resources in China will also face national security reviews if their activities are found to affect — or potentially affect — national security.

Sun Xiaolei, a professor at Beihang University’s School of Economics and Management, said the regulations mark China’s institutional protection of mineral resource security entering a new phase. She noted that resources such as rare earths and lithium hold significant strategic value for national defense, energy transition, and overall resource security, and that the core thrust of the regulations is to prioritize resource security, tighten control over strategic minerals, and advance rule-of-law governance of the sector.

The regulations also require Chinese entities engaged in overseas mineral development to uphold national and public interests, comply with both Chinese law and the laws of the host country, and remain subject to oversight by relevant Chinese authorities and diplomatic missions abroad. Sun said such overseas activity would help China build a diversified mineral supply network and reduce its vulnerability to Western restrictions on critical mineral exports and technology cooperation.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 21, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202605210141.aspx

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, as non-performing loans continue to accumulate in China’s banking system, more and more loans are being delayed when processed. Analysts estimate that the true non-performing loan ratio of Chinese banks is far higher than the officially announced 1.5 percent, possibly reaching 10 percent, which means that approximately US$3 trillion of debt that should have been classified as non-performing loans has not been included in the statistics. If calculated at 10 percent, it is equivalent to approximately 17 percent of China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

A plastics business owner surnamed Hu defaulted on a US$730,000 bank loan, but the bank did not demand immediate repayment, instead allowing him to postpone payment. This allowed him to continue operating while preventing the bank from adding another overdue loan to its books. Similar situations are unfolding across China.

Under current Chinese banking regulations, loans overdue for more than 90 days and unable to be repaid in full should be classified as non-performing loans. However, economists estimate that approximately 40 percent of loans in China have entered into or meet some form of grace period, meaning banks are instructed not to pursue collection or recognize losses. The main reason for the surge in bad debts is that a large amount of loans have flowed to companies whose revenue is insufficient to pay interest.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, May 13, 2026
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/china/story20260513-9040886

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that, Domestic car demand in China remains weak. According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), domestic car sales in China fell by 21.6 percent year-over-year in April, dropping to 1.4 million vehicles, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline.

Sales of gasoline-powered vehicles fell short of expectations due to high oil prices, and demand for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles was also weak. Data shows that electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles account for 60.6 percent of total domestic vehicle sales in mainland China, but sales fell by 6.8 percent year-over-year, and the downward trend has continued for the fourth consecutive month.

In contrast, China’s automobile exports have performed strongly. The Iran war has driven up global fuel prices and boosted demand for electric vehicles in overseas markets. This is particularly evident in BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. Despite continued strong overseas shipments, BYD’s global sales decline in April marked the eighth consecutive month.

Source: UDN, May 11, 2026
https://money.udn.com/money/story/5603/9495112

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs reported that 1.697 million couples registered marriages in the first quarter of 2026, a decline of 113,000 couples, or 6.24 percent, compared to the same period last year. Divorces totaled 622,000 registrations over the same period.

The drop comes after a brief rebound in 2025, when 6.763 million couples wed — up 10.76 percent from 2024’s record low of 6.106 million. China’s marriage numbers have broadly trended downward since peaking at 13.469 million couples in 2013, falling for 12 consecutive years before last year’s uptick.

Beijing has been actively promoting marriage and childbearing through a range of policy measures. A revised Marriage Registration Regulation took effect on May 10, 2025, eliminating regional restrictions and removing the household registration booklet requirement, allowing couples to register anywhere in the country. Following implementation, cross-provincial marriage registrations rose notably, with particularly strong growth in cities with large migrant populations.

Despite the first-quarter decline, demand for registrations on May 20 — pronounced “520” in Mandarin, a homophone for “I love you” — remains robust. Slots in major cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wuxi, and Chengdu have already been fully booked for that date. Civil affairs bureaus in Shanghai, Wuxi, and other cities have announced that couples who are unable to secure advance appointments can still register on the day itself, provided they arrive during business hours.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 10, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202605100093.aspx