City Beijing Financial News

HONG KONG—China lifted restrictions on group tours to the U.S., Australia, South Korea and Japan on Thursday, a move that is set to boost global tourism after three years of pandemic restrictions. China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism added almost 80 new destinations to a list of countries approved for group travel on Thursday, with immediate effect. The countries were the third batch of places that group tours led by travel operators can now visit, including some in East Asia that are among the most popular destinations for Chinese holiday makers.

Narendra Modi is scheduled to reply to questions in relation to the no confidence motion brought against his government with regards to the Manipur crisis in the Lok Sabha by Opposition MP from Assam and Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi. Rathore during his speech in the Lok Sabha alleged that during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he was present, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were supposed to meet the athletes. The BJP politician furtjer alleged that the Gandhi duo did not meet them and instead ‘met the Communist Party of China’.

The US government also said it will require US firms to notify the Treasury Department of such investments in Chinese artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology.

Joe Biden to prohibit some tech investments in China, adding it was continuing to assess potential national security risks. Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that authorizes the US Treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict US investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems.

The Russian digital ruble pilot proper will begin next week, says the country’s Central Bank, with 600 citizens set to become the first people in the nation to use the CBDC.

Beijing on Thursday vowed to «safeguard» its interests against a new US policy to restrict investment in Chinese technology, accusing Washington of disrupting global supply chains. US President Joe Biden hours earlier announced an executive order directing the Treasury Department to restrict certain US investments in China in sensitive high-tech sectors including semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

Gold prices hovered near one-month lows on Thursday, as investors braced for the make-or-break U.S. inflation data that would shape the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was steady at $1,916.19 per ounce by 0123 GMT, a few dollars away from its lowest level since July 10 hit on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve's monetary policy path. The announcement of a U.S. ban on investments in sensitive technologies in the world's second-largest economy also weighed on sentiment.

BEIJING — Two years after Evergrande's debt troubles, worries about China's real estate sector are coming to the forefront again.

China’s consumer prices have slipped into deflation for the first time since its peak-pandemic demand lull in early 2021. The consumer price index was down 0.3% in July, according to the latest official data. This comes a day after the country reported a drop in exports as well as imports last month.

By Karen Freifeld and David Shepardson

Average CPI over the year so far has been 0.5%, severely lagging the government’s target average inflation rate of 3%.

Covid-19 pandemic curbs late last year, China is suffering an unusual bout of falling prices for a range of goods, from commodities such as steel and coal to daily essentials and consumer products such as vegetables and home appliances. China’s economic predicament stands in contrast to that of the U.S. and other developed Western economies, where soaring inflation after the lifting of Covid restrictions sent central banks, including the Federal Reserve, on an aggressive path of interest-rate increases aimed at cooling the economy without triggering a recession.

technology companies under an executive order the Biden administration will release Wednesday, escalating Washington’s efforts to prevent Beijing from developing cutting-edge technology for its military. The executive order is expected to cover direct investments in three technology sectors: semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. It would prohibit investments in some forms of those technologies, while requiring Americans doing business in China to inform the U.S.

Global law firm Dentons is splitting from its Chinese operations to comply with impending data regulations in one of the more significant withdrawals by a Western company as Beijing intensifies a campaign to curb leakages of valuable information.

BEIJING (Reuters) — Almost half of Chinese undergraduates returned to their hometowns last year within six months of graduation, state media reported, with the proportion rising to 47% from 43% in 2018 amid a sagging job market.

Investing.com — Most Asian currencies rose slightly on Wednesday, recovering a measure of recent losses as worsening risk appetite favored the dollar, while the Chinese yuan rose in volatile trade after weak inflation data.

Investing.com — Chinese consumer inflation shrank in July, indicating that local liquidity and spending remained weak amid slowing business activity, while a decline in factory gate inflation also continued through the month.

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer. This year the Taiwanese giant has built or expanded factories in India, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam. The Chinese production sites once beloved by Western companies are firmly out of fashion.

White House on Wednesday will detail its plans to prohibit some USA investments in sensitive technology in China, and require that the government be notified of other investments, a senior government source told Reuters. The plans are aimed at preventing USA capital and expertise from helping develop technologies that could support China's military modernization and threaten USA national security. Reuters reported on Friday that President Joe Biden was expected to issue a long-awaited executive order to screen outbound investments in sensitive technologies to China this week. The senior government source said that the order is expected Wednesday. The White House declined to comment on Tuesday. Biden administration officials have stressed for months any restrictions on USA investment in China will be narrowly targeted.

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's consumer prices posted their first annual decline in more than two years in July, while factory gate prices extended their falls, data showed on Wednesday, as lacklustre demand weighed on the economy.