City Beijing Financial News

BEIJING — China's latest move to boost consumption isn't meant to jolt all kinds of spending.

Indian equities have become one of the worst performers as the world resets its trading rules. For the first time since 2009, Sensex's P/E is trading below that of the Dow. Despite once-rich valuations among emerging markets (EM), foreign investors keep selling even after a sharp correction from last year's peak.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The founder of Chinese artificial-intelligence star DeepSeek has rejected proposals to make quick money from his programs, telling prospective investors that he wants to keep the science-project ethos that brought him global renown. Overwhelmed by millions of users, DeepSeek’s chatbot has frequent service hiccups, and authorities around the world are restricting its use over data-security concerns.

Donald Trump has asked U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and combat veteran, to serve as his National Security Adviser. The position, which does not require Senate confirmation, places Waltz at the center of handling several pressing global security challenges, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, tensions with China, and the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Waltz’s Role and Policy Stance Waltz, a three-term Republican congressman from Florida, is known for his hawkish stance on China and Iran. He has been a sharp critic of the Biden administration’s national security strategy, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and handling of Chinese espionage. Waltz has pushed for a tougher U.S. approach to counter China’s influence, calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights violations and concerns around COVID-19 origins.

Beijing last week vowed greater efforts to boost consumption in the face of an escalating trade war with the U.S., but analysts expect deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy to drag on. The government set the 2025 economic growth target at around 5%, unchanged from last year, while lowering the annual inflation target to around 2% from around 3% last year.

US agricultural goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump's latest hike on Chinese imports came into force Monday, as trade tensions mount between the world's two leading economies. Since retaking office in January, Trump has unleashed a barrage of tariffs on major US trading partners, including China, Canada and Mexico, citing their failure to stop illegal immigration and flows of deadly fentanyl. After imposing a blanket 10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods in early February, Trump hiked the rate to 20 percent last week.

Annapurna Devi will lead India's delegation at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The session, which begins on Monday, will focus on global progress in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. According to a statement by the Women and Child Development Ministry, the minister will deliver India's national statement at the Commission which will highlight the government's initiatives for the holistic development of women and girls under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. She will also participate in discussions on resourcing and accelerating the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it said.

China's leaders say they are open to talks, but they also made preparations for the higher US tariffs, which have risen 20 per cent since Trump took office seven weeks ago. Intent on not being caught off guard as they were during Trump's first term, the Chinese were ready with retaliatory measures — imposing their own taxes this past week on key US farm imports and more.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. China’s consumer prices nosedived in February, in a sign of stubborn disinflationary pressures, ending a year’s run of tepid price growth and underscoring the challenges policymakers face in stimulating domestic demand as trade tensions intensify.

Donald Trump. Consumer spending in China has been mired in a slump since the end of the pandemic, fuelling fears of a deflationary spiral. Adding to the pressure is a second term as President Trump, who has since taking office in January slapped sweeping tariffs on Chinese products.

Wang Yi stated, «China has always believed that being mutually supportive partners and achieving the 'Dragon and Elephant Dance' is the only correct choice for both sides.» Over the past year, relations between the two countries have seen positive developments. A key moment was the October 2024 meeting in Kazan, Russia, where Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks that provided strategic direction for improving ties. «China-India relations have made positive strides over the past year,» Wang said. Both sides have since actively followed through on their commitments, strengthening diplomatic engagement and practical cooperation at multiple levels.

An equal-weighted basket of China’s seven tech heavyweights including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. — dubbed the “7 titans” by Societe Generale SA — has gained more than 40% this year. That compares with an about 10% drop in an index of the Magnificent Seven stocks, whose slump has also pushed the Nasdaq 100 Index to the brink of a correction.

retaliatory tariffs against US farm produce from corn to chicken are designed to hurt Donald Trump's voter base, but remain restrained enough to allow room for the adversaries to hash out a trade deal, analysts say. Since taking office in January, Trump has unleashed a storm of tariffs against friends and foes alike, this week hiking blanket duties on Chinese products, adding to a plethora of existing levies. Beijing swiftly responded with countermeasures targeting imports of American farm products — many of which are produced in the rural heartlands that voted resoundingly for Trump in the November election.

BEIJING — China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi struck a more conciliatory tone on U.S. relations during a high-profile press conference on Friday, in contrast to the ministry's more aggressive language earlier in the week.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Imagine a literary festival not as encounters with favourite authors or listening to fascinating debates but instead as embarrassing onstage debacles, serialised episodes of misadventures that metamorphose in the mind into a very public pillorying. With this season’s calendar of lit fests, in locations as diverse as Jaipur and Thimphu, coming to an end, my bizarre experiences at Sri Lanka’s Galle Literary Festival last month reminded me of my accident-prone run on stage.

Combination of trade and strategic dominance makes China an unlikely counterweight to a protectionist US. Trade and geopolitical risks have escalated since Trump assumed office, and the second-order outcome of reciprocal US tariffs is Chinese overproduction. US tariffs on Chinese goods will rise further and China's exports will be diverted to Europe and Asia.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. China’s finance minister said Thursday that the government has ample policy tools and flexibility to address both internal and external uncertainties, amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S. The remarks come after Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S.

A 21-member Bangladeshi delegation, including politicians, student leaders, and scholars, recently toured China (Feb 25–Mar 6) at Beijing’s invitation, Global Times reported. The group was reportedly wowed by China’s tech and infrastructure, and many now see the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as key to Bangladesh’s economic future. They visited top Chinese firms like BYD and LONGi, soaking in China’s modernization drive. It should be noted that China agreed in principle to extend Bangladesh’s loan repayment period and is reviewing a request to lower interest rates, Dhaka Tribune reported. Bangladesh urged China to reduce interest rates from 2-3% to 1%, waive off the commitment fee, and extend loan repayment terms from 20 to 30 years for Preferential Buyer’s Credit (PBC) and Government Concessional Loans (GCL).

BEIJING — China has more room to act on fiscal policy amid domestic and external uncertainties, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an told reporters on Thursday.

The train offers larger cabins, noise reduction, and adjustable storage for bicycles and wheelchairs. China, with the world's largest high-speed rail network (47,000 km), plans to use the CR450 to shorten travel times, like the Beijing-Shanghai route from 4.5 hours to just over three. A commercial launch could happen as early as next year.

BEIJING — The undercurrent of China's annual parliamentary meetings this week is U.S. trade tensions — and how Chinese technology is offsetting that pressure.