Chinese Economics Thread

supercat

Major
Demography is not destiny - today's case in point:

China’s Factories Accelerate Robotics Push as Workforce Shrinks​

Industrial automation climbs as country tries to extend manufacturing dominance despite labor challenges​

China installed almost as many robots in its factories last year as the rest of the world, accelerating a rush to automate and consolidate its manufacturing dominance even as its working-age population shrinks.

Shipments of industrial robots to China in 2021 rose 45% compared with the previous year to more than 243,000, according to new data viewed by The Wall Street Journal from the International Federation of Robotics, a robotics industry trade group.

China accounted for just under half of all installations of heavy-duty industrial robots last year, reinforcing the nation’s status as the No. 1 market for robot manufacturers worldwide. The IFR data shows China installed nearly twice as many new robots as did factories throughout the Americas and Europe.
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China needs to reduce its holdings of the U.S. Treasuries further and buy more precious and industrial metals.

World's leading exporters, 1986-2019:
 

mossen

Junior Member
Registered Member
China installed almost as many robots in its factories last year as the rest of the world

They got close already in 2020 so this wasn't much of a surprise. The big shift really came in the 2015-17 period.
I suspect China will extend their lead in the coming years. As you move up the value-chain, human labour becomes less and less necessary at the factory floor. This is true everywhere.

ef91cdcc3cd61eea8bd8b41829d3416f4420de1d.png
 

Strangelove

Colonel
Registered Member
This expo bitch slaps the US...


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China-Eurasia Expo kicks off in Xinjiang, rebukes US-led crackdown

NW China region seeks to bank China-Central Asian countries cooperation

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, Xing Xiaojing and Fan Anqi Published: Sep 19, 2022 11:29 PM


Workers are busy at the Xinjiang car plant of GAC Motor in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 24, 2020. Urumqi has made efforts to propel the transformation and upgrading of its equipment manufacturing sector. A modern industrial system with a focus on intelligent, green and customized manufacturing is gradually taking shape in the city. At present, Xinjiang is home to more than 40 enterprises of scale in developing intelligent manufacturing. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Workers are busy at the Xinjiang car plant of GAC Motor in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 24, 2020. Urumqi has made efforts to propel the transformation and upgrading of its equipment manufacturing sector. A modern industrial system with a focus on intelligent, green and customized manufacturing is gradually taking shape in the city. At present, Xinjiang is home to more than 40 enterprises of scale in developing intelligent manufacturing. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

The photo taken on August 15, 2020 shows Urumqi Olympic Sports Center in Urumqi, capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Photo: CFP

Urumqi Olympic Sports Center in Urumqi, capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Photo: CFP


Over 3,600 companies from 32 countries and regions attended the 7th China-Eurasia Expo, which was launched on Monday in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as the region strives to build itself into a bridgehead of Belt and Road cooperation despite the US' economic suffocation of this strategically important region.

Underscoring China's commitment to make Xinjiang a core hub for the building of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the opening of the expo, expressing hope that all parties can take this opportunity to tap the potential of cooperation and drive toward shared prosperity.

Xi said that China is willing to work with other countries to promote the Silk Road spirit that incorporates peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning as well as shared benefits, with the China-Eurasia Expo being a platform.

In July, during an inspection trip to the autonomous region, Xi pointed out that as countries jointly push forward the BRI, Xinjiang is no longer a remote inland area but forefront of the opening-up.

The expo, which will last from Monday through Thursday, was held even though the US and some Western countries, together with anti-China forces, have smeared China's governance in Xinjiang and made groundless accusations of "genocide" or "forced labor."

On June 21, the US' so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) took effect, which bans products made in China's Xinjiang, smearing the Chinese government over "oppression" of the Uygurs and other minority populations in its Xinjiang region.

The expo, held both online and offline due to a local epidemic flare-up, has attracted 3,600 enterprises to attend its online events, where nearly 17,000 exhibits of these enterprises from 32 countries and regions are to be shown.

It is expected that over 300 deals worth several hundred billion yuan will be inked during the expo, according to Urumqi Evening News on Sunday.

It comes on the heels of the recently concluded SCO summit, where countries agreed to foster energy sector cooperation, regional connectivity, financial cooperation featuring cross border settlement in local currencies and supply chain elasticity.

Analysts and exhibitors at the expo said the opening of the event and the efforts by Xinjiang to seek deeper cooperation with neighboring markets serve as a strong rebuke to the US' economic suffocation of the region.

Rebuke to the US
Zhang Hongping, chairwoman of the Xinjiang-based Ya'ou International Materials Exchange Center Co, said the strong economic complementarity between China's Xinjiang and Central Asian countries is set to be further facilitated with the enhanced economic cooperation pledged by leaders of countries at the SCO summit, and the business community is particularly happy with the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway.

Zhang said there is strong demand in Central Asian countries for China's daily necessities, ceramics, furniture, construction materials and machineries.

"Peoples in the region share similar cultures and customs, and deepened economic ties will further boost people-to-people exchanges," Zhang told the Global Times on Monday. "The relationship among peoples in the region, from economy and trade to culture and tourism, will serve as a strong rebuke to and cushion against the insolent bullying by the US, a faraway country."

"Xinjiang's development has been subject to a crackdown by the US and some Western countries in the past few years, while the reasons for their suppression do not actually exist. Rebuking the bullying, Xinjiang has made great achievements in maintaining regional stability. The West is only targeting China in their crackdown on Xinjiang, a plot that is doomed to fail," Li Yongquan, director of the Eurasian Social Development Research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, told the Global Times on Monday.

Observers said that the pragmatic cooperation with neighboring countries within the framework of the SCO will largely alleviate the difficulties imposed by the US and the West on Xinjiang, which has the strong backing of the whole nation of 1.4 billion people.

Vast opportunities
In the first eight months of this year, Xinjiang's trade with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan surged 54.7 percent year-on-year to 111.16 billion yuan, Xinjiang Daily reported on Sunday, citing data from the local customs authority. Exports soared 66 percent year-on-year to 94.87 billion yuan.

Xinjiang's trade with five central Asian countries accounted for 76.4 percent of Xinjiang's total trade during the period. Xinjiang contributed to over one-third of China's total foreign trade with these countries.

Chen Guoliang, an official with the Urumqi customs authorities, was quoted as saying the strong complementarity between China and Central Asia countries meant bilateral trade has huge growth potential.

In particular, trade with Kyrgyzstan jumped 205.1 percent to 51.09 billion yuan during the January-August period.

A manager surnamed Han with Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co, a global leader in wind turbines used in wind farms, said the company views the Central Asian market, as well as the Middle East market, as a vital growth driver. "Despite many of these countries being energy-rich, the pursuit of low-carbon power generation is a global trend."

Zhang Yi, chairwoman with Zhongzi Dayue (Zhejiang) Products Co, told the Global Times on Monday that the expo will showcase a lively, energetic Xinjiang while also allowing her company to gauge the policy of neighboring BRI markets.

The cooperation between China and other countries in the SCO offers huge potential.

SCO member countries accounted for nearly one-quarter of global GDP in 2021, according to an article by the Economic Daily on Monday. And trade among member countries reached $776 billion, growing 25 percent from the 2020 level.

Together with observer states, SCO member countries possess about 25 percent of global crude reserves and output, 30 percent of global refining capacity, 44 percent of global natural gas reserves and some 60 percent of global uranium production.

"After some Middle East countries joined the SCO, energy cooperation has attracted much attention as both the economic scale and population size of these energy producing and consuming countries are quite notable," Li noted.

Energy cooperation, regardless of what kind it is, will greatly boost Xinjiang's economy, as it is the node connecting China with those regions, the expert added.

Empowered by the Western Europe-Western China Highway, which stretches from Lianyungang in East China's Jiangsu Province to the Baltic Sea at St. Petersburg, and the CKU railway, Xinjiang's role as the core of the Silk Road Economic Belt will become even more crucial, further promoting the region's overall development, Li said.
 
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SanWenYu

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Registered Member
The People's Bank of China signed agreements with its peers of Kazakhstan and Laos on setting up RMB currency clearing houses in the two countries, respectively.

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微信公众号“中国人民银行”消息,近日,中国人民银行与哈萨克斯坦国家银行签署了在哈萨克斯坦建立人民币清算安排的合作备忘录。哈萨克斯坦人民币清算安排的建立,将有利于中哈两国企业和金融机构使用人民币进行跨境交易,进一步促进双边贸易、投资便利化。

微信公众号“中国人民银行”9月20日消息,近日,中国人民银行与老挝银行签署了在老挝建立人民币清算安排的合作备忘录。老挝人民币清算安排的建立,将有利于中老两国企业和金融机构使用人民币进行跨境交易,进一步促进双边贸易、投资便利化。
 

Sinnavuuty

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China will be nearly self-sufficient in staple grains like rice and wheat by 2025, according to the China Agricultural Sector Development Report (2021), prepared by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and International Food Policy Research. The forecast is a total grain production in the country of almost 700 million tons in 2025 - as in 2020 it was 669 million tons. Although China is the world's largest producer of wheat and rice, the story is different, however, when it comes to soybeans and corn. In the case of soy, with production of 19 million tons, China has to import around 103 million tons; in the case of corn, with a harvest of 268 million tons, it still requires around 26 million tons of imports. In other words, chronic dependence is only on soy. And China has been taking measures to reduce its consumption (in animal feed), increase domestic production and increase its ascendancy over its global chains. That's the game.
 

Strangelove

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European companies lean toward Chinese market as demand for sustainable shipments grow amid global turbulences

Huge market, stable supply appeal amid global turmoil

By GT staff reporters Published: Sep 20, 2022 09:35 PM

Visitors view a new energy vehicle during the 2022 Chongqing International Auto Exhibition in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, June 25, 2022.

Visitors view a new energy vehicle during the 2022 Chongqing International Auto Exhibition in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, June 25, 2022.

Photo: GT

Photo: GT

Companies doing cross-continental businesses are shifting the focus of their supply chains from Europe to China due to cost rise and energy shortage in Europe.

Due to geopolitical factors, many European companies are now transferring orders from local factories to Chinese suppliers, or simply building their own factories in China, which has been resilient despite global turbulences, industry insiders said.

Some Chinese business people said the orders from European clients jumped by 20 percent this month.

The trend is particularly evident in energy-intensive and high-tech sectors such as organic chemicals, electronic and mechanical equipment and auto parts, according to media reports, which industry insiders said may boost China's role as the world's manufacturing hub.

Tommy Tan, president of Shanghai EPU Supply Chain Management Co, an agent for China-EU freight train service, confirmed the new trend to the Global Times on Tuesday.Tan has been participating closely in supply chain management for new-energy vehicles (NEV) for the European market, providing products for European clients such as BMW and Volvo via China-Europe freight trains.

"Demand from Europe is indeed increasing. There are no official data yet, but I estimate demand grew more than 20 percent in September year-on-year - mainly NEVs and lithium batteries," Tan said.

Foreign direct investment from EU members has been increasing this year, despite the Western media keeping badmouthing the Chinese economy and market.

A recent study by Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft found that German investment in China amounted to 10 billion euros ($10.09 billion) in the first half of 2022, far exceeding the previous half-year peak since the turn of the millennium of 6.2 billion euros, Reuters reported.

Earlier this month, German chemical group BASF launched a giant chemicals project in South China's Zhanjiang, and Merck announced in early September that China's first OLED material production base was completed and put into operation in Shanghai - examples of the rising focus of major European companies shifting toward the Chinese market and supply chain, experts said.

German carmakers such as BMW have borne the brunt of the energy crunch, raw material shortage and supply chain disruptions, largely due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict, which makes Chinese market more attractive to them, Sun Xiaohong, secretary-general of the automobile branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), told the Global Times on Tuesday.

It's not just a shift in where orders come, it's also about investment and new project construction, a trend that reflects confidence in China, Sun said.

CCCME showed that China accounts for 76 percent of the global production of automotive power batteries, while Europe accounts for only 7 percent.

"With a complete and stable industrial chain, it is more secure to develop new auto models in China," Sun said.

There has been some discord in the German ruling coalition, often reminding German companies that they should not "rely too much" on China and pursue a diversified supply chain, German companies have given Berlin the answer, Sun said.

Chinese Ministry of Commerce data shows that German investments in China increased by 23.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months this year.

Moreover, five industries - auto-making, food processing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and consumer goods - now account for nearly 70 percent of all European direct investment in China, up from 65 percent in previous years.

"There is speculation that Europe will enter an era of elevated energy cost, and some companies with high energy consumption will need to move their operation overseas, and China's energy supply is definitely more stable than Europe's, and for those companies, production in China is also closer to their target market," Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Experts said that European companies will increasingly embrace the Chinese production hub and the huge market, which cannot be found elsewhere.

In the past four years, the top 10 European business giants that have invested the most in China such as Volkswagen and BMW accounted for nearly 80 percent of all European direct investment in China.
 

antiterror13

Brigadier
In 2021, China saved 14 million tons of soybeans used in cattle feed. This much soybeans would have used 100 million mu of farming land.

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近年来,农业农村部大力实施豆粕减量替代行动,聚焦“提效减量、开源替代”,在需求端压减豆粕用量,在供给端增加替代资源供应,取得了良好效果。2021年,全国养殖业消耗的饲料中豆粕占比降到15.3%,比2017年下降2.5个百分点,节约豆粕1100万吨,折合大豆1400万吨,相当于1亿亩以上耕地产出,为保障国家粮食安全大局作出了积极贡献。

Great news to save and substitute 14M tons of soybean ?, thats a huge ... not good news for the US and Brazil
 
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