Date: Feb 27, 2023

Because of Chinese New Year, the statistics bureau didn’t announce price, financial and PMI data until February. China switched from zero-COVID lockdown to almost no restrictions in December 2022, and by January 2023, normal life had nearly returned. The economy is generally improving, but caution about its sustainability is required.

Manufacturing PMI, the non-manufacturing business index and the composite PMI production index were 50.1%, 54.4%, and 52.9% in January 2023, up 3.1, 12.8, and 10.3 pps from December. All rose to the improvement zone, showing that the…

Date: Jan 29, 2023

GDP grew 3% in 2022. Specifically, China’s economy rose by 2.9% y/y in Q4 2022, down from the 3.9% growth reported in Q3. Many negative factors affected the economy in 2022, including global macroeconomic tightening, the Ukraine crisis, real estate restructuring, the pandemic management policies and so forth. As some of the above factors abated, particularly abolishment of the zero-COVID policy, we expect that, after a turbulent 2022, the economy will be back on track in 2023.

Industrial output grew 3.6% in 2022, down 6 pps from 2021. Investment rose 5.1%, up 0.2 pps,…

Date: Nov 24, 2022

Growth is weakly recovering, with pressure ahead largely from the Covid prevention and its related lockdowns. Although there was some rumor regarding abandoning the zero-Covid policy, there were also signs that China will commit to this policy in the short term, citing reasons from state media that China’s per capita medical resource is low. We forecast that although there might be some relaxing adjustment, for example that foreign entry has reduced to five-day quarantine from seven days, the zero-Covid policy will not be abandoned soon.

In January-October, industrial…

Growth strengthened, but only slightly. In August, industrial output rose 4.2% y/y, up 0.4 pps, lifting overall January-August growth to 3.6%, up 0.1 pps. Investment rose 5.8% y/y in January-August, up 0.1 pps. The August growth rate was 6.4% y/y, up 2.8 pps. Real estate investment growth rate fell further, to -13.8% y/y, down 1.7 pps from August 2021.

In August 2022, consumption rose 5.5% y/y, up 2.7 pps. This is partly due to the low base number of last year, when consumption rose 2.5%, and was down 6 pps from August 2021.

Exports rose 11.8% y/y, down 12.1 pps from July 2022. This seems…

Industrial output grew 3.5% y/y in January-July, up 0.1 pps from H1. In January-July, investment rose 5.7% y/y, down 0.4 pps from H1. In particular, the investment growth rate in July was down 2.4 pps from June. High infrastructure investment has been flattened by reduced real estate investment.

Retail sales of social consumption goods fell -0.2% y/y in January-July, up 0.5 pps from January-June. Exports were still strong. In July, exports rose 23.9% y/y, up 1.9 pps from June. Due to the stop of global monetary policy easing, the continuing Ukraine crisis, and the ongoing pandemic, other…

GDP only grew 2.5% y/y in H1. As the pandemic shock has been gradually under control and the start of various economic stabilization policies, the recovery growth in June has lifted the Q2 growth to achieve positive growth at 0.4% y/y, contributing to the path “back to normal”.

In H1, industrial output rose 3.4% y/y, down 3.1 pps from Q1. In H1, investment growth rate was 6.1% y/y, down 3.2 pps from Q1, but still 1.2 pps faster than 2021. The continuing real estate cooling does not see any time ending.

Pandemic lockdowns suppressed consumption. Retail sales of social consumption goods fell…

Because of the long Chinese New Year holiday, the statistics bureau only announced price, financial and PMI data in February. Producer prices grew more slowly. PPI rose 9.1% y/y, down another 1.2 pps from December. The ex-factory price index of industrial goods rose 8.85% y/y, while CPI growth also slowed. CPI rose 0.9% y/y in January, down 0.6 pps from December. In particular, food prices fell -3.8% y/y, down 2.6 pps from December, dragging CPI down 0.72 pps. That is the leading factor lowering CPI. The falling price levels offer ample room for further money expansion.

At the end of…

The COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and some other cities since late March have halted the strong economic recovery. In Q1, GDP was up 4.8% y/y, up 0.8 pps from Q4 2021, but 0.2 pps lower than in Q1 2020. Industrial output rose 6.5% in Q1, up

2.6 ppts from Q4, but down 1 pps from January-February. Investment rose 9.3% y/y in Q1, up 4.4 pps from 2021, but 2.9 pps lower than in January-February.

In March, overall PMI, manufacturing PMI, and non-manufacturing business activity PMI were 48.8%, 49.5% and 48.4% respectively, all falling steeply from the previous month, demonstrating that the…

Executive summary

Because of the long Chinese New Year holiday, the statistics bureau only announced price, financial and PMI data in February. Producer prices grew more slowly. PPI rose 9.1% y/y, down another 1.2 pps from December. The ex-factory price index of industrial goods rose 8.85% y/y, while CPI growth also slowed. CPI rose 0.9% y/y in January, down 0.6 pps from December. In particular, food prices fell -3.8% y/y, down 2.6 pps from December, dragging CPI down 0.72 pps. That is the leading factor lowering CPI. The falling price levels offer ample room for further money expansion.

At…

Growth continues to be weak. In November, industrial output grew 3.8% y/y, down 1.1 pps from Q3, much lower than the growth rates of recent years. Investment is also low, and was up 7.9% y/y, and down 1.2 pps from January-June. Its adjusted growth rate is instead negative. The real estate market is still cold: sales were down -14.2% y/y in November.

Consumption rose 3.9% y/y in November, down 1 pps from October, and its adjusted growth rate was 0.5% y/y, hitting its lowest level this year. But trade is still strong. Imports were up 26% y/y, and up 9.8 pps from Q3. Exports were up16.6% y/y.

Growth has weakened, especially in services. In August, industrial output grew 5.3% y/y, and was up 11.2% from August 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 5.4%, down 0.2 ppts from July, and down 1.2 ppts from Q2. The service production index has slowed since Q2, and grew only 4.8% y/y in August, after being further hit by the COVID outbreaks, down 2.9 ppts from Q4 2020, and down 2.1 ppts from 2019.

Investment was up 8.9% y/y January-August, and increased 8% from August 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 4%, down 0.5 ppt from H1. Real estate is cooling dramatically, to the 2008…

The Chinese economy has been stably rising in Q2. GDP was up 7.9% y/y, and up 11.4% from Q2 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 5.5%, up 0.5 pps from Q1. Industrial output was up 8.9% y/y, and up 13.7% from Q2 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 6.6% y/y, slightly lower than in Q1 but higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 level; specifically, growth in June was 6.5%.

Investment was up 12.6% y/y, and increased 9.1% from Q2 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 4.4% y/y, up 1.8 pps from Q1, and down 1 pps from 2019. In Q2, retail sales of social consumption goods were up 9.5% from Q2…

Growth was stable in May. Industrial output rose 8.8% y/y, and increased 13.6% from May 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 6.6%. Investment rose 15.4% y/y, and increased 8.5% from May 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 4.2% y/y -- still in a low growth zone.

Consumption has recovered further. In May, retail sales of social consumption goods rose 9.3% y/y from May 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 4.5%, up 0.2 pps from April. Trade has been strong since the beginning of this year, especially for imports, which are growing robustly. In May, imports rose 39.5% y/y. Exports rose…

Growth is stable. Industrial output was up 9.8% y/y in April, and up 14.1% y/y from April 2019, with annualized growth of 6.8% y/y, the same as in Q1, and higher than the pre-pandemic levels in 2018 and 2019. Investment is still weak, and rose 8% y/y from April 2019, with an annualized growth rate of 3.9% y/y, up 1.3 pps from Q1. We expect economic growth to be strong, though fiscal and monetary policy are not loosening. Our forecast is based on strong trade growth from global economic recovery, commodity price appreciation and demand recovery.

Consumption recovered slowly. In April,…

GDP was up 18.3% y/y in Q1, and up 10.3% from Q1 2019, with an annualized growth rate of around 5%. In this report, we mostly use Q1 2019 as the benchmark period, because the major shock from the pandemic in February 2020 makes Q1 2020 data hardly comparable. The adjusted growth rate was lower than in Q4 2020, and higher than in Q3 2020, and can be viewed as stable.

In Q1 2021, industrial output was up 14% y/y from Q1 2019, with annualized growth of 6.8%, slightly lower than in Q4 2020. In particular, industrial growth in March reached 12.8% y/y, with an annualized growth rate of 6.2% y/y,…

Economic recovery is still going strong. In January-February, industrial output was up 35.1% y/y, and up 16.9% compared to January-February 2019. Annualized growth was 8.1% y/y, higher than all quarterly growth since 2015, and up 1 pps from Q4 2020. Since the Chinese economy was shut down to a large extent last February due to COVID-19, we also look at growth rates for most indicators by comparing their performance with the same period in 2019.

In January-February, investment fell -35% y/y, and was up only 3.5% y/y from the same period in 2019. The investment slowdown is mostly due to the…

Producer prices increased fast between June 2020 and January 2021, and finally turned positive. The ex-factory price index of industrial goods rose 1% m/m, and 0.3% y/y. PPI rose 1.4% m/m, and 0.9% y/y. We expect the ex-factory price index to soon rise higher than 5% y/y, and PPI will rise higher than 8% y/y.

CPI fell -0.3% y/y. However, its seasonally adjusted growth rate was 0.3% m/m. The rise of the CPI level is mainly driven by the strong rebound of meat prices. The rebound is temporary, and linked to the Spring Festival effect. We expect the meat price will continuously drop for the…

Industrial output rose 7% y/y in November, reaching its fastest growth rate since April. Investment rose 2.6% y/y, and was up 0.8 pps from October.

Consumption was the worst-hit macro variable of the pandemic. But retail sales of consumer goods recovered further, rising 5% y/y, up 0.7 pps from October. Its real growth rate was 6.2% y/y, and was even higher than in November 2019.

CPI fell -0.5% y/y in November, turning negative for the first time, hit by a fall in pork prices. The ex-factory price index of industrial output fell -1.5% y/y, and PPI fell -1.6% y/y, up 0.6 and 0.8 pps…

In October, industrial output rose 6.9% y/y, the same rate as in September, and the highest rate this year, up 2.2 pps from October 2019. The national service production index has been rising since the economic opening in February, and achieved positive growth in May. It rose 7.4% y/y in October, up 2 pps from September, and up 0.8 pps from October 2019. Investment rose 1.8% y/y in October, up 1 pps from September.

Retail sales of social consumption goods recovered further, and were up 4.3% y/y, and up 3.4 pps from Q3. Their real growth was 4.6% y/y, up 5 pps from Q3.Even the pandemic’s…

GDP was up 4.9% y/y in Q3, a rise of 1.7 pps from Q2, but still 1.1 pps lower than in Q3 2019. Industrial output was up 5.8% y/y in Q3, up 1.4 pps from Q2, and up 0.8 pps from Q3 2019.

Investment was up 8.8% y/y, up 5 pps from Q2, and up 4.1 pps from Q3 2019, with investment in manufacturing rising fastest, by 9% y/y, up 10 pps from Q2. Retail sales of social consumption goods were up 0.9% y/y, and up 4.8 pps from Q2 -- and their real growth rate was -0.4% y/y.

CPI was up 2.3% y/y in Q3, down 0.4 pps from Q2. In particular, CPI rose only 1.7% y/y in September, an accelerated decrease.…

Industrial output was up 5.6% y/y, up 0.8 pps from July, reaching the average growth rate of 2019. We expect growth might slightly exceed the pre-pandemic level for the rest of the year. Investment fell -0.3% y/y January-August, up 1.3 pps from previous months. The driving force is switching from state to private investment, reconfirming the return to pre-pandemic economic recovery.

Consumption was up 0.5% y/y, the first turn to positive growth this year, and up 1.6 pps from July. Exports were up 11.6% y/y, above 10% y/y for two consecutive months. Despite the U.S.-China conflict, exports to…

Industrial output rose 4.8% y/y in July, the same rate as in June, down 1.1 pps from Q4 2019. Investment grew 8.3% y/y, up 2.7 pps from June, and up 2.9 pps from Q4, and is still mainly driven by state investment, with a growth rate of 12.7% y/y. The best performer among fixed asset investments is real estate, with a growth rate of 11.6% y/y in July, up 3.7 pps from Q2.

Consumption is still weak, and was down -1.1% y/y, and up 0.7 pps from June, showing customers’ caution over COVID-19. In July, exports grew 10.4% y/y, up 6.1 pps from June, and up 6.4 pps from H2 2019, possibly due to the…

GDP rose 3.2% y/y in Q2 -- a remarkable performance amid global pandemic. In June, industrial output was up 4.8% y/y, and up 0.4 pps from May, though has still not reached the pre-pandemic level, and was down 1.1 pps from Q4 2019. Investment, mostly driven by state investment, was up 5.6% y/y, up 1.7 pps from June and down 0.2 pps from Q4 2019.

Retail sales of consumption goods fell -1.8% y/y in June, up 1 pps from May. Exports rose 4.1% y/y in June, achieving positive growth for three consecutive months, averaging 4.5% y/y, higher than the growth rate of H2 2019. Imports were up 6.2% y/y,…

Industrial output rose 4.4% y/y in May, up 0.5 pps from April, comparable to its pre-pandemic level, and was down just 1.5 pps from Q4 2019. Investment was up 3.9% y/y, and up 3.1 pps from April, down 1.5 pps from Q4. Government investment is the main force lifting overall investment growth.

Consumption demand continued to recover in May. Retail sales of social consumption goods fell 2.8% y/y, up 4.7 pps from April. The global pandemic is not showing any sign of abating, and is heavily impacting trade. In May, exports were up 1.4% y/y, down 6.8 pps from April, while imports plunged 12.7%…

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) convened the annual two sessions on May 21st. Although for the first time the government did not set an annual growth target - possibly due to so many COVID-19 uncertainties ahead - we expect the implicit growth target is 1.8% for now, given the projected deficit and inflation numbers.

The economy is quickly recovering, as the pandemic has come under control. In April, industrial output growth turned positive, and was up 3.9% y/y, and up 5 pps from March, down only 2 pps from the pre-pandemic level, in…

The Chinese economy was hit hard by the coronavirus in Q1, and GDP fell -6.8% y/y. Because the virus is almost contained in China, economic activities have since March been gradually picking up, and there were clear signs of recovery. Industrial output was down -1.1% y/y, up 12.4 pps from January-February.

Consumption has been hardest hit, largely due to quarantining. Retail sales of social consumption goods fell -19% y/y in Q1, and -15.8% y/y in March, up 4.7 pps from January-February. Trade has so far been largely unaffected. Exports in March were up 2.8% y/y after adjustment, down only…

The coronavirus outbreak in China has had major short-term negative effects on production activities. However, as of March 18th, within China it is largely contained, with zero new cases. The total number of global infection cases outside China has now surpassed the total number of cases in China, and the number is expanding rapidly. Industrial output in China fell -13.5% y/y in January-February, and investment fell -24.5% y/y. But we believe these two major indicators -- especially investment -- will recover soon.

We believe the Chinese economy and finance may be relatively stable, and…

The coronavirus outbreak that began in late January was one of the most severe exogenous shocks in China’s recent history, especially since it overlapped with the Chinese New Year holiday, which involves the largest population migration in human history. As of February 26th, some 80,428 cases had been confirmed in China.

The Chinese government is using monetary and fiscal policies to boost the economy. On February 2nd, the People’s Bank of China pumped $174 billion into financial markets. As of this writing, the coronavirus has been largely contained, in terms of consistently lower numbers…

The United States and China on January 16th struck a "phase one" trade deal, at least easing uncertainty over the future of U.S.-China trade relations. Exports raised 5% y/y in 2019, down 2.8 pps from 2018, while imports raised 1.2% y/y, down 11.6 pps.
GDP raised 6.1% y/y last year, down 0.5 pps from 2018. Industrial output raised 5.7% y/y, down 0.5 pps, while investment raised 5.4% y/y, down 0.5 pps.
Fiscal revenue was up 3.8% y/y in January-November 2019, down 2.7 pps from the same period in 2018. Fiscal expenditure was up 7.7% y/y, up 0.9 pps. So the fiscal deficit is rapidly expanding,…

The annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) held by top leaders December 10th-12th emphasized “stabilities.” We believe that “around 6%” is the likeliest 2020 growth target. Infrastructure investment was mentioned, suggesting that infrastructure spending will be used to support the economy, if growth slows notably below 6%.

The good news that “phase 1” of a China-U.S. trade agreement, which includes a reduction of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, and an increase of foreign investor access to China, may be signed in early 2020, has cheered the markets. There are more optimistic…

On Sept 21, the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences and the China Development Institute co-organized the three hundred and seventy-third edition of the Shenzhen Scholarly Salon, themed on Opportunities of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation under the Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Scholars…

On April 19, Prof Fan Gang, President of China Development Institute, and Prof Bert Hofman, Director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, provided their insights on China’s economy in the hybrid talk held by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

On November 29, Ms. Lisa K. Heller met with Dr. Guo Wanda, Executive Vice President of CDI in Shenzhen, China. During the meeting, Dr. Guo briefly summarized China’s overall economic performance in 2021 which was largely driven by the “dual circulation” development model. Given that the U.S. and…

On May 19, H.E. Clare Fearnley, the New Zealand Ambassador to China, led delegation to China Development Institute and was greeted by Executive Vice President Dr. Guo Wanda. The two parties exchanged views on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA)’s role in the “dual circulation”…

On March 11, the Consul-General of Singapore in Guangzhou, Mr. Loh Tuck Keat and the Vice President of the China Development Institute, Dr. Qu Jian exchanged ideas on the priorities and directions contained in China and Shenzhen’s 14th Five Year Plan. In addition, they discussed how outward…

On March 9, 2021, The Banker magazine, part of the Financial Times Group, interviewed Dr. Yu Lingqu on issues surrounding shadow banking in China. As Dr. Yu pointed out, with closer supervision and tighter regulation, the scale of shadow banking in China has rapidly decreased, from 100 trillion…

On March 2, the Consulate General of India delegation, led by Mr. Sujit Ghosh, Consul General of India, Guangzhou, visited the CDI. Executive Vice President Dr. Guo Wanda briefly reviewed Guangdong and Shenzhen’s 2020 economic growth data, and provided insights on the further development of the…

Date: June 23, 2022

Author: Guo Wanda, Executive Vice President, China Development Institute

“The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay (GBA) saw progress in three major aspects,” said Guo Wanda, Executive Vice President of China Development Institute (CDI). In addition to the improvement in transportation network & institutional connectivity and the industrial clusters & innovation ability, Guo highlighted the various platforms built to boost Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation.

“We established major cooperation platforms like Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha and Hetao as well as special platforms in cities such as Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.…

Author: Liu Guohong, Assistant President, Director of Department of Financial Development and State-owned Assets and State-owned Enterprise Research.

As the Omicron outbreaks slowed down production across the globe, funding options have become limited but also urgently needed for private companies. Over the last two years, financial relief policies had been delivered rapidly to those pandemic-hit cities in China. In this regard, the accumulated experiences in policy implementation could serve as the role to stabilise and stimulate the market to greater effect.

What are the Problems facing China's post-Covid financial relief policies?

Policies that are packed with low-interest rate loans in…

Author: Guo Wanda, Executive Vice President of CDI

Editor’s note: Shenzhen Guangming Science City, which initially covered just 10 square kilometres, now covers close to 100 sq km and has become a key centre for China’s comprehensive national science programme due to its important role in Shenzhen’s high-quality development. Dr. Guo Wanda, Executive Vice President of China Development Institute, provided some insights into Shenzhen’s high-quality development, using Guangming Science City as an example.

High-quality development implies the adoption of higher standards and tougher requirements than standard processes, which in turn warrant a transition from investment-driven to…

Author: Xiao Geng, Chairman of the Hong Kong Institution for International Finance, and Professor of Peking University HSBC Business School

Editor’s note: During the launch of Global Financial Centres Index 29 on March 17, 2021, Professor Xiao Geng spoke about the global financial scene and the financial connections within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

On the greatest opportunities and challenges facing the global economy and finance in 2021

2020 was an extremely tough year for both China and the United States. China withstood the test of the pandemic and the US-Sino trade conflict, while the United States also went through the pandemic as well as election chaos and…

Author: Man Nga Ching, Vice Director, Department of Hong Kong, Macao and Regional Development

Editor’s note: February 18, 2021 marks the two-year anniversary of the announcement of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities have been exploring inter-city comprehensive regulatory and systematic integration within the framework of the existing legal system. While fruitful progress has been made, at the same time there is room for optimization.

Top-level design: build an innovative policy system under the “one country two systems” principle

Key projects such as Qianhai (of Shenzhen city), Nansha…

Author: Cao Yuanzheng, Member of the Board at CDI and Chairman of BOCI Research Limited

Creating new demand is a pressing task for China

Labor productivity has been declining since the turn of the century around the world, especially in developed countries. As major technological breakthroughs are hard to achieve, the global economy has entered a new phase that requires the creation of new demand from the new round of technological revolution.

In China, considering demand-supply management from the perspective of the dual-circulation development paradigm, the focus should be on promoting the growth of people's income, especially the income of the low and lower-middle income groups. In the…

Date and time: Thursday December 15, 2022 21:00-22:40 Beijing Time

Host: China Development Institute

The world today is facing multiple challenges. As the world's two largest economies, China and…

Date and time: Thursday November 3, 2022 14:30-17:00 (Beijing Time)

Host: China Development Institute and Hong Kong Financial Research Institute of Bank of China

Over the past 30 years, APEC…