The EU is reportedly set to launch a probe into Chinese medical device procurement. Experts and industry insiders anticipate that this move, which comes after recent EU actions targeting China's wind turbines and electric vehicles, will escalate bilateral economic tensions, affecting the normal business development of Chinese companies within the bloc.
A large number of foreign buyers were attracted by an intelligent forklift automated guided vehicle (AGV), stopping to watch and take photos and videos, upon entering the exhibition hall of intelligent automation and intelligent manufacturing at the ongoing 135th session of the Canton Fair.
"I was informed of several ways to change money by staffers at the airport. They also taught me how to make mobile payments through Alipay. I can't wait to experience digital payments," Sophie, a first-time Canton Fair purchaser from Germany, told the Global Times on Sunday at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in South China's Guangdong Province.
China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has concluded its three-month spring recruitment campaign, distributing more than 6.6 billion yuan ($930 million) in subsidies, showing the government's latest efforts for supporting employment.
In November 2018, China and Micronesia signed a Memorandum of Understanding under the Belt and Road cooperation framework, embarking on a new chapter of deepening cooperation. In recent years, the two countries have reaped a number of fruitful achievements under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in sectors including agriculture, economy and trade as well as climate cooperation.
Since the beginning of 2024, a number of Western governments and media outlets have been hyping the so-called “overcapacity” of Chinese new-energy production, claiming it as a matter of great concern for them. By spinning the “overcapacity” narrative, the West has moved to apply trade restrictive measures on Chinese-made EVs, lithium batteries, solar products, in an attempt to protect its own uncompetitive industries, Chinese industry insiders said, noting that such overt schemes are detriment to global climate control efforts.
South Korean tourist arrivals in China rose more than nine times year-on-year in January, data released by the South Korean authorities showed, indicating a clear recovery in inbound tourism in the post-pandemic era, according to media reports.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is well known in China for her high-profile posting within the US government, including as a former head of the US Federal Reserve. But in her last two visits to China, her choices of different types of Chinese food - and her proficiency in chopsticks made headlines both in China and abroad.
On Sunday morning, the Global Times visited a Xiaomi store at a Beijing shopping mall. Despite it being the first working day after the Qingming Festival, there was a steady flow of vehement customers inquiring and trying out Xiaomi's first electric vehicle (EV) model SU7.
Global leading financial institutions,including Neuberger Berman and Fidelity International, have announced moves to increase their registered capital or set up branches in China recently, highlighting their confidence in the future of the Chinese economy as well as vast opportunities the market creates for foreign financial players.
Despite the complex and volatile international environment, foreign financial institutions continued to increase their investment in China since the beginning of 2024, representing a vote of confidence in the prospects of the Chinese economy and eyeing more opportunities brought about by the country's high-level opening-up.
During his closely watched trip to China, Apple CEO Tim Cook notably did not mince words when talking about the critical role China plays for the US tech giant.
The Chinese government work report submitted on March 5 to the national legislature set an "around 5 percent" GDP growth target for 2024, and China's pursuit of new quality productive forces has become a major focus at the two sessions in early March. Global Times reporters Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi spoke to veteran economist Tatsuhito Tokuchi, executive board member and research fellow at Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance of Tsinghua University and former chairman of CITIC Securities International Co Ltd, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing China's economy.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressure on the real estate market and fluctuations in the stock market have caused asset-side shocks, resulting in adjustments to the balance sheets of various sectors of China's real economy. This has, to some extent, restrained the expansion of total demand and hindered the economic recovery.
Currently, some observers assert that China's economic growth has peaked, drawing parallels to Japan's situation in the 1990s. This implies that China may face a 30-year stagnation, potentially missing the opportunity to surpass the size of the US economy. However, this perspective is a misconception, as it interprets China's cyclical adjustments as indicative of a long-term economic downturn.
In his State of the Union Address delivered on March 7, US President Joe Biden touted that "I've revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific," as he appears to be taking a victory lap for his China policy.
The northbound travel program took effect on January 1, 2023 for Macao. This program is one of the important measures taken by the central government to support the development of Hong Kong and Macao and promote the construction of the GBA.
China's Government Work Report has set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent for 2024. Considering the international and domestic economic conditions, with a potential annual growth rate of 8 percent, it is entirely possible for China to achieve an economic growth rate of above 5 percent.
Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) pose for a group photo after the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 7, 2024. Photo: cnsphoto
Food security is one of the core issues being discussed during the annual two sessions in China, with political advisors in the agriculture sector emphasizing the need for technology innovation and seed revitalization to ensure stable food supplies.
Developing new quality productive forces has become a major theme in China's policymaking since it was first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2023. It is also listed as a priority for this year's economic tasks outlined in the Government Work Report delivered to the ongoing two sessions in Beijing.
China's commercial aerospace enterprises were inspired as the Government Work Report vowed to step up the development of commercial spaceflight to foster new growth engines.
The economy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is recovering and growing, and it's expected to continue expanding this year, as the region further taps its role as a "super connector" between the Chinese mainland and the world, and as the integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) further gears up, Kingsley Wong Kwok, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
More than half of the world's manned deep diving missions have been completed by China's three deep-sea manned submersibles, Jiaolong, Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) and Fendouzhe (Striver) during the past three years, Ye Cong, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chief designer of Fendouzhe, said on Monday.
The "price war" among automakers in China that started in early 2023 has shown no signs of abating. Particularly in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector, both traditional and emerging players keep cutting prices or launching limited-time promotions, tactics that analysts anticipate will persist throughout the year.
A China-Europe freight train, loaded with new-energy vehicles manufactured in China, sounded its horn as it slowly departed from Xi'an International Port Station in Shaanxi Province, Northwest China, bound for Europe.
Autoflight, a domestic pioneer in electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVOTL), has conducted what it says the world's first inter-city electric air-taxi demonstration flight in South China's Guangdong Province.
The US government, together with its allies, has released a joint statement on endorsing 6G principles under the name of national security, a move that Chinese experts said reflects the White House's latest attempts to compete with China in the telecommunication sector.
Editor's Note: The bursting of the Japanese economic bubble in the 1990s remains a hot topic of discussion in the field of economics. Among economists who study related issues, Richard Koo, the chief economist of the Nomura Research Institute in Japan and author of Pursued Economy: Understanding and Overcoming the Challenging New Realities for Advanced Economies, has attracted considerable attention for his theory of "balance sheet recession" and concept of "pursued economy."
On the first working day after the Spring Festival, China Securities Regulatory Commission held more than 10 back-to-back meetings with a wide range of market participants to solicit suggestions on equity market regulation, risk prevention and high-quality development. Tian Xuan, vice president of the Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, attended the discussions. He said participants interacted enthusiastically at the panels.
China and the US have maintained communication through bilateral and multilateral channels on debt issues, and China is willing to work with all sides to continue making efforts to ease the debt of developing countries, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said on Friday.
China will play an important role in the key sectors such as logistics in helping Brazil to increase its agricultural productivity and competitiveness, Henry Osvald, president of the Brazilian Association for Industry, Commerce and Innovation in China (BraCham), told the Global Times, extending his expectations for deepening cooperation between the world's two agricultural powers.
Wearing new clothes is a traditional Chinese custom for celebrating the Lunar New Year. During the just-ended Spring Festival holidays, the traditional skirt mamianqun, literally meaning "horse-face skirt," has become a favorite chic of the younger generation as the "New Year gala attire."
Not long ago, a blogger living in the US spent $600 to purchase a Chinese-made electric tricycle as a Christmas gift for her father-in-law. After they took it out on the road with delicate decorations, this particular vehicle, commonly seen in China's rural areas, attracted the attention of many locals.
At the Zhengzhou Putian Railway Station, Central China's Henan Province, containers full with goods ranging from industrial spare parts to daily commodities, are waiting to be loaded to trains. Many of them will be shipped to European countries thousands of kilometers away.
A decade after the proposal for coordinated development across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the national strategy has made significant progress in various sectors, particularly in the construction of new infrastructure.
From East China's Jiangxi Province to Southwest China's Sichuan Province, foreign trade companies are intensifying efforts to secure new orders, by participating in business trips or exhibitions abroad, a repeat of similar measures taken in early 2023 after it proved successful in helping private businesses to expand overseas market and stabilize trade flows.
The Chinese government vowed to further improve its business environment at a State Council meeting on Friday as the country started the new year with a slew of supportive policies aimed at stabilizing market confidence and expectations.
Many Chinese travelers still prefer Southeast Asian countries as their top overseas destinations for the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, with Maldives, Singapore and Thailand topping the top 10 list, according to a Global Times online poll. Notably, Japan's ranking dropped and some traditional popular destinations such as Australia and South Korea didn't make the top 10.
While temperatures drop to around -25 C, the cold weather does not deter the enthusiasm of tourists from home and abroad visiting Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
As China prepares to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year - Year of the Dragon according to Chinese zodiac - in February 2024, global luxury brands in various industries including handbags, clothing, chocolate and watches have raced to introduce a wide range of limited-edition dragon-themed items to woo Chinese consumers during the Spring Festival, one of the most important holidays in the country.
Among all the good wishes for stronger cooperation between China and Uzbekistan, the early construction and launch of the railway project linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan would be a significant achievement for Liu Yu. As the executive chairman of the Uzbek Chamber of Commerce for Chinese Entrepreneurs and an early business pioneer in the Central Asian country, Liu's expectations for closer connectivity between neighboring countries in the region are indescribable.
As the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported last week the Chinese economy expanded by 5.2 percent in 2023 from the previous year, several Western media outlets immediately cast doubt over the reading, casting it in a negative light and seized the opportunity to wage a smear campaign on China's economic growth.
US lawmakers on Wednesday called for the passage of bipartisan legislation that would restrict American investment in Chinese high-tech industries, a move that experts said shows the "unwavering" US intention to decouple from China and restrict China's technology advances. The move would only deprive US investors of access to one of the most thriving markets and is doomed to fail as China ramps up efforts for self-reliance, experts said.
The disputes between China and the US resulted in certain negative impacts on the operation of enterprises from China, South Korea and Japan in 2023, according to a survey conducted among 275 senior executives from the three countries regarding their economic expectations for 2024.
China exported 5.22 million cars in 2023, becoming a major car exporter in the world. Of all vehicle exports, about one-third were new-energy vehicles (NEVs), totaling 1.773 million units, up 67.1 percent year-on-year, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs on Friday.
The world's largest road-rail dual-use steel truss arch bridge with a main span of 388 meters is successfully closed on January 12, 2024, in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: VCG
In a move that indicates Washington's paranoia over China's technology rise, a US Congressional committee has asked the Commerce Department to look into whether a United Arab Emirates (UAE) technology company should be put under trade restrictions due to its reported ties to China.
A farmer harvests mushrooms at a cultivation base in Cixian county, Handan, North China's Hebei Province on January 4, 2024. As the Chinese New Year approaches, local mushroom harvesting has entered its peak season. After harvesting, the mushrooms will be packaged and shipped to supply the market for the upcoming Spring Festival holidays in February. Photo: VCG
Walking through the bustling Huaqiangbei commercial area in Shenzhen city, South China's Guangdong Province, the largest electronics retail market in China, one is immediately impressed by its international atmosphere. Foreign faces busily pass by, and English logos adorn almost every big tower, showcasing various products from LED to mobile phones, all made in China for the world.
The first domestically built large cruise ship, Adora Magic City, welcomes its first group of passengers – more than 3,000 people – at the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal in East China's Shanghai on January 1, 2024. On the same day, the cruise ship embarked on its maiden commercial voyage, taking passengers to popular destinations in Northeast Asia, such as Japan and South Korea. Photo: VCG
The city of Sanya in South China's Hainan Province achieved an annual yield of 2,000 kilograms per mu (0.066 hectare) for hybrid rice in 2023, the first time the city reached this target. It also marked a new record for the cultivation of hybrid rice in the nation's tropical region, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
China's import and export tariff adjustments on some goods took effect on Monday, including implementing provisional import tariff rates lower than the most favored nation rates on 1,010 goods, implementing tariff rates on some commodities under agreements and applying preferential tariff rates to 43 least-developed countries (LDCs).
Editor's Note: In recent years, the US has displayed an increasing willingness to implement tariffs and chip restrictions. These moves have raised concerns about the potential impact on the global economy and cooperation between China and the US. In an interview with Global Times reporter Wang Yi (GT), US Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Sargent (Sargent) expressed his optimism regarding China's economic and technological advancements over the medium and long term, despite the imposition of US tariffs and chip restrictions.
As if the world isn't grappling with enough crises, from geopolitical conflicts to a global economic slowdown, 2023 has emerged as another year characterized by relentless US unilateralism and protectionism, with a dizzying number of crackdown measures designed to further disrupt global supply chains.
The world's largest and China's first large trailing suction hopper dredger with a dual-fuel power system, the “Xinhaixun,” is launched in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province on December 24, 2023. The vessel, invested in by China Communications Construction Co Shanghai Waterway Bureau and constructed by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co, has a capacity of 15,000 cubic meters. Photo: VCG
Over the past 45 years of reform and opening-up, China has embarked on a distinctive path toward economic development, achieving remarkable success. Despite the ever-changing international economic landscape and environment, China has achieved significant economic development and contributed to stable and positive forces for global economic growth.
Over the past 45 years of reform and opening-up, China has embarked on a distinctive path toward economic development, achieving remarkable success. Despite the ever-changing international economic landscape and environment, China has achieved significant economic development and contributed to stable and positive forces for global economic growth.
A number of leading Chinese internet platforms, including Didi, Tencent and Alibaba, have reported app crashes or system malfunctions recently, which has triggered public concerns about the reliability of technology as well as cyberspace and data security issues associated with digital platforms that manage huge amounts of user information and other sensitive data.
On the shore of a port in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province, rows of containers are neatly stacked, ready to be transported from this important starting point and birthplace of the ancient Maritime Silk Road to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and elsewhere.
Walt Disney Company, the US entertainment conglomerate, is expediting its business exploration in the Chinese market, fully tapping the market's huge potential in particular in the wake of the pandemic when the world's second largest economy is seeing its consumption and tourism vitality surge back to previous levels.
Foreign financial institutions, including those from the US, remain optimistic about the long-term development prospect of Chinese economy and aim to explore more investment opportunities in the country, as the country's high-level opening up in the financial sector offers wider access to the huge market.
As China's economy faces the last quarter of the year, how the world's second largest economy will wrap up its first year post the pandemic has been closely watched by the market.
At a container terminal south of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, there is a surprising sight: a vast area spanning over 2,400 meters in length and 650 meters in width, with hardly any human presence. Instead, an automated rail mounted gantry (RMG) crane skillfully handles the containers, placing them onto self-driving port trucks. The trucks then transport the containers to the automated ship-to-shore cranes for loading onto ships.
After having eagerly awaited the resolution of the trade disputes, Australian businesses, including wine exporters, are now actively strategizing their reconnection with the Chinese market, hoping to swiftly emerge from a pretty long period of sluggish performance.
At about 10 am on Monday morning, traffic was gridlocked outside a massive building in ¬-Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Many people were already lining up to enter the building. Inside, people of all nationalities and ethnicities carrying luggage moved around in hurry. At first glance, this looks more like a busy international airport. But then, a closer look reveals what's really taking place: at stands of various sizes, vendors with calculators and catalogues of products were talking with visitors; visitors occasionally took out their phones to take photos of the products, and some were pushing shopping carts full of samples.
The Hungarian project is the epitome of China's substantial contribution to the green energy transformation in Europe. Europe accounted for more than 50 percent of China's total photovoltaic (PV) exports in 2022, making it China's largest overseas PV market. Other new energy products such as wind turbines and new electric vehicles have also gained strong foothold in the EU markets, making great contribution to the region's clean energy transformation while facilitating its energy supplies.
On a recent summer afternoon in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, there were very few people on the streets, and traffic was relatively light. Such a sight hardly showed any sign of a rapidly shifting global geo-economic landscape. Yet, a closer look revealed a very interesting dynamic: While a vast majority of the cars on the streets are older sedans carrying the golden cross logo of US carmaker Chevrolet, newer, futuristic ones are often new-energy vehicles (NEVs) produced by Chinese carmaker BYD. The slogan - Build Your Dreams - was a distinctive feature on the back of each BYD cars.
During the past 33 years, from Beijing in 1990 to Guangzhou in 2010, and now to Hangzhou in 2023, the three host cities for the Asian Games in Chinese mainland serve as both geographical and historical landmarks. The cities not only record the stories of China's engagement with the Asian Games but also stand as a testament to China's great economic achievements.
Over the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), following the guiding principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, has grown into a global platform where countries along the routes work together to promote people's well-being and give a further boost to global development. As the BRI celebrates its 10th anniversary, Global Times reporters Shan Jie, Guo Yuandan, Shen Weiduo and Leng Shumei interviewed leaders and diplomats to learn about achievements of the cooperation in New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) over the past decade and their expectations for high-quality BRI construction in the next decade.
As President Alberto Fernández is scheduled to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held in Beijing this October, Global Times reporters interviewed Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja on the latest development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and its implications for the world amid geopolitical challenges.
Multiple cooperation projects between Chinese enterprises and those from other BRICS countries have been boosted following the recently concluded 15th BRICS summit, which experts said underscores the efficiency of the bloc and that there is great cooperation potential between China and other BRICS countries.
Shantou, a special economic zone (SEZ) located in coastal Guangdong Province, is home to a burgeoning private economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) spanning toys to electronic equipment and machinery manufacturing have served as a strong foundation for the city's economic growth and employment resilience.
A team of South Korean researchers recently claimed to have discovered a superconducting material that works at ambient temperature and pressure, mainly a modified perovskite crystal structure (referred to as LK-99), a type of lead phosphate with copper doping, which allows electrical currents to flow without resistance or energy loss at ambient temperature and pressure.
In the early morning on June 16, 2023, a Tanzania Airways flight TC403 touched down at Julius Nyerere International Airport after an over 11-hour journey. Passengers onboard might be unaware that in the underbelly of the plane stood a consignment of special "guests" – 16,500 chicks from Beijing.
The exports of cooling products have increased with many Chinese exporters and producers reporting a rise in sales as the world braces one of the hottest summers in history.
Since mid-June, many places in China have experienced high-temperature weather, with some areas having broken the records of the highest temperatures in the same period in history. As the surface temperatures in some areas exceeded 70 C recently, cooling demands drove up power consumption in China.
Economic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia is reaping more fruits, as the two nations extend their cooperation beyond oil as the closer bilateral relations are set to unleash more trade potential, with a focus on new-energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing.
Chinese e-commerce platforms are gaining increasing popularity among South Korean consumers thanks to affordable and high-quality products that are delivered rapidly. Experts said the phenomenon reflects close economic and trade ties between the two nations, adding that the South Korean government's siding with the US to contain China is set to incur heavy losses in South Korean economy.
Like riding a roller coaster, China's XR (extended reality) sector has met with ups and downs during the past two years. Players in the circle are adamant on the emerging trend, waiting for a product that could help boost morale. Now it has just arrived.
Walking in the "fashion shoe town," a planned 3.7-square-kilometer area in Lucheng district of Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, one would find shoes and related items almost everywhere.
There is a popular saying that "one out of the two people in the world wear glasses with lenses from Danyang", East China's Jiangsu Province, known as China's "capital of glasses."
The overseas Chinese community in Honduras has longed for the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Honduras for a long time, Xie Zuoqi, a representative from Association of Fujian in Honduras, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will pay a state visit to China from March 26 to 31 upon invitation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced last Friday, which will be Lula's fifth visit to China, marking an upward trend of bilateral relations.
After six or seven complex procedures, a piece of complex and exquisite wedding dress is completed, which will be exported and dress up millions of brides around the world. This is a daily scene in factories of more than 600 wedding dress enterprises in Dingji town, East China's Anhui Province.
This is the second of three installments by the Global Times to examine the expected tremendous economic impacts of the Japanese government's reckless decision, including huge damages to its nuclear industry, its agricultural exports, as well as the fishery industry in Pacific countries.
Japan's restarting of its nuclear plants despite safety concerns could tarnish its reputation as a nuclear power operator, Chinese experts said, as Japan commenced the operation of equipment needed for its nuclear-contaminated wastewater dumping plan for the first time on Friday at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and a prelude to the wastewater's final discharge into the open ocean.
On March 19, 2023, the Belgrade-Budapest Railway (Belgrade-Novi Sad section), a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will soon welcome its first anniversary. With its outstanding product and service quality, the Belgrade-Novi Sad railway has offered a speedy, convenient, and comfort travel experience to the Serbian people. The railway is significant not only for the development of Serbia but also for the connectivity improvement between the region and other parts of Europe and Asia, contributing to improved connectivity among Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has, on multiple occasions, commended the progress made by the railway.
The tiger, one of the Chinese zodiacs, whose mighty power and spirit are broadly adored in the country, has the implied meanings of power, courage, wisdom and physical health - used for "dispelling evil" in traditional Chinese culture.
While the US just struck a deal with the Netherlands to control chip exports to China, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India on semiconductor cooperation in an obvious move to enlist India to join its small, exclusionary circle against China in the global semiconductor industrial and supply chain.
East China's Jiangxi Province, a major rare-earths production base, has issued a plan to crack down on illegal mining of strategic minerals such as lithium and rare earths, in a bid to promote the high-quality development of the mining sector.
A reported plan between the US and the EU to reach a trade agreement on critical minerals that aims to “reduce their dependence on China” is another push by the US to target China's leading industries through moves that are against market rules, a Chinese expert said on Thursday.
China plays a vital role in international infrastructure buildup, especially under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Foreign envoys have hailed China's overseas infrastructure projects, saying they have brought tangible socioeconomic benefits to local communities by promoting connectivity and creating jobs.
In late 2022, Bright Future, a Chinese television series that recounts the stories of grassroots officials tirelessly leading locals in the fictional Guangming County to prosperity, went viral in China. The series was so popular that it sparked widespread interests and a search for the "real place" in China that inspired the story.
China recorded new highs in output value and the export of photovoltaic (PV) products in 2022, with Europe remaining the most important export market, accounting for more than 50 percent of total exports, data from domestic industry group showed. It means that China has made important contributions to maintaining global energy security and stability, especially alleviating energy crises in the EU region.
With China reopening its borders and the gradual recovery of cross-border travel, those in the cruise industry market say they are taking a hopeful look into the earliest possible reopening of China's cruise market, which was the world's second-largest before the COVID pandemic struck.
As the competition between China and the US in the global industrial chain reaches white hot levels, people often talked about the regionalization or localization of supply chains, a topic often raised together with supply chain diversification. These are the reactions of supply chains to geopolitical tensions, but also to some of the recent global shocks like the pandemic and the outbreak of conflict in parts of the world.
The once-a-year Spring Festival, China's most important traditional holiday, had just ended with a stunning rebound in consumer spending. Shopping malls, restaurants were thronging with shoppers, and overseas travelling companies across the world from Thailand, Singapore to Indonesia were also eagerly welcoming the return of Chinese travelers with their biggest smiles.
Hengzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a renowned production base for jasmine flowers, has turned the small flower into a prosperous industry, supplying about 60 percent of the world's jasmine flowers and jasmine tea.
In recent interviews with the Global Times, a number of economists expressed their confidence in a rapid recovery across the Chinese economy in the first months of 2023, pinning their hope on the world's second-largest economy to lead a global economic recovery out of the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic.