China business and economy

China’s economy grew by 6.1% in 2019, the lowest annual growth rate for 29 years, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. The gross domestic product (GDP) figure came in a year in which the Chinese economy was hammered by US tariffs as a result of the trade war. The new data comes a day after China and the United States signed an initial trade deal on Wednesday, marking something of a ceasefire in the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. However, despite falling to a new low since 1990, when political turmoil drove economic growth down to 3.9%, the 6.1% rate met the target range of between 6.0% and 6.5% set by the central government at the beginning of last year

A sudden new development in the sex trade in the Philippines has left the country’s law enforcers scratching their heads: the rise of Chinese prostitutes catering exclusively to Chinese customers. Nearly 300 Chinese sex workers and their clients were rounded up in raids by the Philippine authorities on 12 brothels in six cities in the second half of last year, the Philippine media company ABS-CBN reported this week. Agents believe all the raided premises were being run by mainland Chinese, for Chinese clients. A source at the National Bureau of Investigation who took part in one of the raids told the South China Morning Post the brothels are a “new development.” The brothels’ customers, pros

The video came with a warning, for good reason. Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, shared footage of him awkwardly dancing on stage at a Shanghai event for his electric car company.  In his own telling, the video of his flailing limps was “NSFW!!” – not safe for work – internet lingo usually applied to porn and other stuff you don’t want to be caught watching in the office. At Tesla Giga Shanghai NSFW!! pic.twitter.com/1yrPyzJQGZ — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2020 Scripted or not, Musk’s unabashed display of joy is testimony to the good fortune he’s had in China as he sought to expand Tesla’s sales and production.  The Shanghai event was held on Tuesday to mark the delivery to cust

China’s economic growth is expected to have slowed to just over 6%, and it is unlikely to accelerate any time soon.  In fact, analysts generally agree that China’s economic performance last year – its worst in nearly 30 years – could be its best for at least the next decade. What observers cannot seem to agree on is how worried China should be, or what policymakers can do to improve growth prospects. Optimists point out that, given the size of China’s economy today, even a 6% growth in gross domestic product translates into larger gains than double-digit growth 25 years ago. That may be true, pessimists note, but slowing GDP growth hampers per capita income growth – bad news for a country a

As China battles a trade war-fuelled economic slowdown, one of its main growth engines – the “new economy” – is stalling. The “new economy” has never been officially defined, but it is a concept loosely applied to a wide range of industries, from artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing to fintech and web-based tourism. Beijing had hoped these industries would propel China from a traditional economy powered by unsustainable infrastructure investment and low-end manufacturing to a modern services-based economy. New research suggests this is not happening. Compared to 2014, the share of Chinese companies concentrated in the new economy has fallen.  Those companies that are in the ne

In 2019, Inkstone published some 250 issues and about 1,500 stories about China. By our rough estimate, that’s more than 1 million words, or about the length of the whole Harry Potter series.  That’s a lot of news, owing in part to an eventful year. But as unrest in Hong Kong and tensions between the United States and China dominated the headlines for months on end, there were stories that we liked that you might have missed. At the year’s end, we have put together a list of interesting, but lesser-read articles 📝 and videos 📺 that deserve a second chance. 1. ‘Let’s find somewhere private’: Single, retired and looking for love in Beijing 📝 China's widowers and single elderly people are lo

It is an image that is easy to find across China. A martial artist, wearing a yellow jumpsuit, is holding up his arms ready to attack or defend. You could be forgiven if you drove by and thought it was a picture of the kung fu star Bruce Lee. But technically, it is not. It is the logo of a famous Chinese fast-food chain called Real Kungfu.  The company has been using the logo for 15 years, but now it is facing a lawsuit from Bruce Lee’s family.  The lawsuit is the latest example in a series of trademark disputes between Chinese companies and international celebrities.  Bruce Lee Enterprises, run by Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, is suing the restaurant chain for 210 million yuan ($30 million).

For business people looking to get rich in modern China, they may be wise to look beyond the big cities.  China’s small city youths have become a strong driver of the country’s consumption growth, even as most other people are spending less. The spending power of Chinese consumers has made fortunes for business globally, but some analysts have warned that slowing economic growth, and uncertainties caused by the US-China trade war, have made many people reluctant to spend.  According to a report published by the consultancy group McKinsey & Co this week, many consumers in metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have tightened their belts because of a slowdown in income growth.  Than

Looking out over her small restaurant in Huizhou city on the north of the Pearl River Delta, known to be the beating heart of China’s manufacturing industry, Li Bing can still picture the hustle and bustle of a throng of customers from a nearby factory. But now, as Li looks up from her broom, she is gr eeted by empty tables, a sight that has been familiar for the last two months, and one that is replicated around the local industrial complex, located in the southern Chinese province of Guandong.  The reason behind the downturn is simple: the closure of Samsung’s complex in Huizhou, which until October was the South Korean company’s last smartphone factory in China. Li’s restaurant had bene

As temperatures plunge in China’s north this week, enterprising people have gone online to monetize blankets of snow covering their neighborhoods. For a price, you can ask someone to write a message in the snow and send you a photo or video of it.  On the e-commerce platform Taobao – owned by Alibaba, which also owns Inkstone – customers can order messages for about 5 yuan (71 cents) for six words. A heart or an image costs extra. Demand for this unusual service has the south to thank.  A Taobao shop owner in the northern province of Heilongjiang said most of the 100 orders she received in the last few days came from people from southern China who had never seen snow.  To beat the competiti