Category: China

China’s Q4 GDP Growth Slows to 3-Year Low, Full-Year Pace Meets Official Target

China's economic growth slowed to a three-year low in the fourth quarter as domestic demand softened, and while the full-year pace hit Beijing's target, trade tensions and structural imbalances pose significant risks to the outlook. The world's second-largest economy showed remarkable resilience in ...

China’s Factory Activity Edges up, Snapping 8-Month Slide

China's factory activity ticked up slightly in December, official data showed Wednesday, an unexpected silver lining to cap an otherwise lacklustre end to the year for the world's second-largest economy. A key measure of industrial health, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index ...

China’s Rare Earths El Dorado Gives Strategic Edge

By Peter Catterall Buried in the reddish soil of southern China lies latent power: one of the largest clusters of critical rare earths is mined around the clock by a secretive, heavily guarded industry. The ...

China Aims to Balance Development of Imports and Exports

China must strive for the "balanced development" of imports and exports, its commerce minister, Wang Wentao, said Friday, a day after meetings on the country's future policy priorities concluded in Beijing. The four days of closed-door discussions began on Monday and ...

China’s Economic Growth Slows Amid Sputtering Domestic Demand

By Peter Catterall and Isabel Kua China's economic growth slipped below five percent in the third quarter of 2025, official data showed Monday, the slowest pace in a year in the face of trade headwinds and a continued domestic consumer slump. ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Confusing Developments in “Development”

This week I’m in Brussels, where I took part in a workshop on how the EU should shape its development strategy in response to China’s global influence.
I have joked in the past that it feels like I’ve attended this same ‘EU, Africa, and External Development Partners’ conference for ten years straight. 

Get a daily email packed with the latest news and analysis from Africa, Asia, and across ...

Chinese Leaders to Hash out Strategic Blueprint at Key Meeting

By Peter Catterall China's ruling Communist Party will on Monday kick off four days of key closed-door discussions, formulating core economic strategy for coming years as growth flags and trade headwinds mount. The gathering of ...

China “Unstoppable,” Says Xi With Kim, Putin at His Side

By James Edgar North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin flanked Chinese President Xi Jinping at a massive parade in Beijing on Wednesday, capping a week of diplomatic grandstanding by the Chinese president and his allies against ...

Southeast Asia Attends SCO Summit as Xi Proposes New Bank

Five Southeast Asian leaders attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on Monday. China used the event to push for a bigger economic role for the bloc, proposing new tools such as a development bank and more lending for members.

Are We Becoming Like the Taliban? Chinese Feminists Grapple with Women’s Rights, Afghanistan, and the Moral Policing

This week, a wave of outrage swept across China’s internet, not just over a university scandal, but over something deeper: growing anxiety that China’s society could be slipping toward Taliban-style moral authoritarianism. At the center of the storm was a disciplinary ...

China Factory Output Slumps but Consumption Offers Bright Spot

By Isabelle Kua China's factory output grew slower than expected last month as trade war pressures bit, official data showed Monday, while a bump in a key gauge of domestic consumption offered a rare bright spot for the economy. ...

China Factory Activity Hits Lowest Since 2022, Survey Shows

Chinese factory activity hit a more than two-year low in May, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, as a detente in Beijing's trade war with Washington was offset by ongoing domestic problems in the world's number two economy. China and the ...

Chinese Communist Party Celebrates Closure of Voice America, Washington’s “Factory of Lies”

The Chinese Communist Party (CPC) seemingly rejoiced on Monday over the surprise announcement that the United States would shutter all of its state-funded international media operations, most notably Voice of America and Radio Free Asia which were both staunchly critical of the CPC and the Chinese government. ...
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