EU and China on the brink of sealing historic trade pact December 29, 2020 The European Union and China are close to signing a trade and investment pact, according to multiple reports. The deal would be the first fissure in trade policy to develop post-Brexit between the UK and the continental trading bloc. The pact is said to open up China’s manufacturing and construction sectors to EU companies. Whilst [...]
Excusez-moi: UK set to surge past French economy in decade to come December 27, 2020 The UK’s economy is set to remain the fifth largest in the world, according to a respected annual report, and to surge ahead of cross-channel rivals despite Brexit. The Centre for Economics and Business Research’s annual tally of the world’s leading economies sees the UK retake fifth place from India. Read more: Brexit deal lays [...]
China bans flights from UK as global fears of mutant strain mount December 24, 2020 UK flights into China have been suspended by Beijing as worldwide fears of Covid-19 mutations found in Britain grow. The move comes with China having largely suppressed the virus on its mainland, despite its origin there. Read more: Brexit deal looks imminent and sterling rises alongside hopes China’s decision to block flights from the UK [...]
China to further expand outbound investor schemes: Xinhua November 29, 2020 China plans to roll out an outbound investment scheme to new regions as it looks to meet onshore investors’ asset allocation needs, official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. China will expand the Qualified Domestic Limited Partner(QDLP) trials already underway in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed official at the foreign exchange [...]
China congratulates Joe Biden on presidency after week-long silence November 13, 2020 China’s foreign ministry has broken its week-long silence to congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris on their White House victory. “We respect the choice of the American people. We extend congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular daily briefing. In a faint [...]
The clock is ticking for Oracle to make sense of the TikTok deal September 29, 2020 What does the world’s largest enterprise software firm see in a Chinese video-sharing social networking app? Putting the intense political pressure by the US government to make this deal work to one side, the two businesses seem like chalk and cheese to hard-nosed City investors. One company is a behemoth known for serving the corporate [...]
Tiktok files for injunction to overturn US app store ban September 24, 2020 Tiktok has submitted a request to block President Donald Trump’s plans to ban downloads of the video platform from US app stores on Sunday. The request, filed in a Washington district court yesterday, marks the latest attempt by the Chinese social media company to protect its service in the US in the face of a [...]
Could the bounce-back be quashed by a second wave? August 4, 2020 | City Talk With some countries fearing a second wave of Covid-19 cases, Schroders’ chief economist Keith Wade considers whether a bounce back in the economy could be quashed. While there are hopes that the easing of lockdowns and reopening of businesses are beginning to give life to the global economy, fears of second waves of infections are [...]
Chinese industrial production picks up but consumers remain cautious June 15, 2020 Chinese industrial production rose for a second straight month in May as factories began to recover from the coronavirus hit, but the weaker-than-expected gain suggested that the country’s recovery remained fragile. Data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics also showed sustained contraction in retail sales and investment, showing the continued pressure Covid-19 is placing [...]
First-hand account: my observations on China’s return to work May 1, 2020 | City Talk Emerging markets analyst Shuyu Gao provides a personal account of virus containment measures on her return to China, and reviews the recovery in activity. Amid the global spread of Covid-19, with lockdowns necessitating working from home more broadly, I decided to return to China and work from my family home in Nanjing. At the time, [...]