China's electrified economy
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Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
CGTN: President Xi Jinping calls on China, EU to provide more stability, certainty for world
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with European Union leaders during their visit to Beijing for the 25th China-EU Summit on Thursday. CGTN published an article exploring China-EU relations in two-way trade and investment, emphasizing the need for both sides to embrace multilateralism, openness and cooperation to bring greater stability and certainty to the world. BEIJING, July 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fifty years ago, China-Europe trade was a trickle. Now, as the two sides mark half a century of ties, a single day's trade equals what they exchanged in the entire year when relations were first established.
Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
CGTN: President Xi Jinping calls on China, EU to provide more stability, certainty for world
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with European Union leaders during their visit to Beijing for the 25th China-EU Summit on Thursday. CGTN published an article exploring China-EU relations in two-way trade and investment, emphasizing the need for both sides to embrace multilateralism, openness and cooperation to bring greater stability and certainty to the world. BEIJING, July 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fifty years ago, China-Europe trade was a trickle. Now, as the two sides mark half a century of ties, a single day's trade equals what they exchanged in the entire year when relations were first established. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China-EU relations have come to another critical juncture in history. There are no fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions between China and the EU, Xi told European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. "The current challenges facing the EU do not come from China," he said, adding that the fundamentals and prevailing trend of China-EU relations featuring cooperation over competition and consensus over differences have remained constant. Xi put forward three proposals for the future of China-EU relations: both sides should uphold mutual respect and consolidate the positioning of their relations as partnership, embrace openness and cooperation while properly managing differences and frictions, and practice multilateralism and uphold international rules and order. Trade and investment At Thursday's meeting, the Chinese president said the China-EU economic and trade relationship is by nature complementary and mutually beneficial and can indeed achieve dynamic equilibrium through development. China's high-quality development and opening up will provide new opportunities and potentials for China-EU cooperation, Xi noted, calling on both sides to strengthen green and digital partnership and boost mutual investment and cooperation. In 2024, trade between China and the EU soared to $785.8 billion, an increase of over 300 times compared to when diplomatic relations began in 1975, according to China's customs authorities. Two-way investment flows have also shown sustained growth in recent years, indicating a positive trend. Chinese battery manufacturer CALB, for instance, is building a $2.2-billion plant in Sines, Portugal, expected to create 1,800 jobs. Xi expressed hope that the EU can remain open in the trade and investment market, refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools, and foster a sound business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the EU. At the 25th China-EU summit on Thursday, both sides agreed to forge an "upgraded version" of the China-EU export control dialogue mechanism, have timely communication on each other's concerns and jointly keep the industrial and supply chains between China and Europe stable and unimpeded. Multilateralism Xi said China has always viewed and developed China-EU relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, regarded the EU as an important pole in a multipolar world and consistently supported European integration and the strategic autonomy of the EU. China-EU relations are not targeted at, subjugated to, or controlled by any third party, he said, calling on both sides to deepen strategic communication, enhance understanding and mutual trust, and foster a correct perception of each other. Pascal Lamy, the former European commissioner for trade, told CGTN that despite differences, China and the EU share crucial common ground in defending multilateralism and cooperating on global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss and ocean protection. Among the outcomes of Thursday's summit, leaders of China and the EU issued a joint statement on climate change, highlighting their shared commitment to addressing climate change and pursuing green development. Xi underscored the importance of China and the EU as constructive forces for multilateralism, openness and cooperation, and called on both sides to provide more stability and certainty to the world. Email: cgtn@ This article contains syndicated content. We have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed the content, and may receive compensation for placement of the content on this site. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
US-China trade talks: Can China reduce its export dependence?
BEIJING (AP) — China's high dependence on exports will likely be a key focus of a new round of U.S.-China trade talks this coming week in Stockholm, but a trade deal would not necessarily help Beijing to rebalance its economy. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he hopes the negotiations can take up this issue, along with China's purchases of oil from Russia and Iran, which undercut American sanctions on those two countries. Hopes rose for a breakthrough in talks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced deals with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines this week. The U.S. wants China to do two things: Reduce what both the U.S. and the European Union see as excess production capacity in many industries, including steel and electric vehicles. And secondly, to take steps to increase spending by Chinese consumers so the economy relies more on domestic demand and less on exports. 'We could also discuss the elephant in the room, which is this great rebalancing that the Chinese need to do,' Bessent told financial news network CNBC. He said China's share of global manufacturing exports at nearly 30%, 'can't get any bigger, and it should probably shrink.' China is tackling the same issues — for domestic reasons The issues are not new, and China has been working to address them for years, more for domestic reasons than to reduce its trade surpluses with the U.S. and other countries. Bessent's predecessor as treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, made industrial policy a focus of a trip to China last year. She blamed government subsidies for flooding the global market with 'artificially cheap Chinese products.' The European Union, whose top leaders met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Thursday, has cited subsidies to justify EU tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. In the 1980s, the U.S. pressured Japan to boost consumer spending when American manufacturing was overwhelmed by exports from the likes of Toyota and Sony. Economists have long argued that China likewise needs to transform into a more consumer-driven economy. Consumer spending accounts for less than 40% of China's economy, versus close to 70% in the United States and about 54% in Japan. Chinese leaders have spoken about both factory overcapacity and weak consumer spending as long-term problems and have sought over the past 20 years to find ways to rebalance the economy away from export manufacturing and massive investments in dams, roads, railways and other infrastructure. Fierce price wars have prompted critical reports in official media saying that companies are 'racing to the bottom,' skimping on quality and even safety to reduce costs. With strong government support, they've also expanded overseas, where they can charge higher prices but still undercut local competitors, creating a political backlash. Economists say China needs a consumer-driven economy All that competition and price cutting has left China battling deflation, or falling prices. When companies receive less for their products, they tend to invest less. That can lead to job cuts and lower wages, sapping business activity and spending power — contrary to the long-term goal of increasing the share of consumer spending in driving overall growth. To counter that, the government is spending billions on rebates and subsidies for people who trade in their cars or appliances for new ones. But acknowledging a problem and solving it are two different things. Economists say more fundamental changes are needed to boost consumption and rein in overcapacity. Such changes can only come incrementally over time. Private Chinese companies and foreign-invested companies create the most jobs, but they've suffered from swings in policy and pressures from the trade war, especially since the pandemic. Demographic changes are another challenge as China's population shrinks and ages. Many experts advocate expanding China's social safety net, health insurance, pensions and other support systems, so that people would feel freer to spend rather than save for a medical emergency or retirement. Yan Se, an economist at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, warned at a recent forum that deflation will become a long-term issue if China doesn't step up its welfare benefits. 'Chinese people deserve a better life," he said. Facing external threats, China wants to be more self-reliant One possibility, put forward at the same forum by Liu Qiao, the dean of the business school, would be to change incentives for local government officials, rewarding them for raising consumption or household incomes instead of meeting an economic growth target. He doesn't see that happening nationwide but said it could be tested in a province. 'That would send out a message that China needs a different approach,' he said. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made transforming the country into a technology superpower a top priority. It's a goal that has gained urgency as the U.S. has tightened restrictions on China's access to high-end semiconductors and other advanced knowhow. Output in high-tech manufacturing is growing quickly, adding to potential overcapacity, just as what happened with the government's encouragement of 'green' technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines. Various industries, including EV makers, have pledged to address the issue, but some local governments are striving to keep money-losing enterprises afloat, reluctant to lose tax revenues and jobs, or to fail to meet economic growth targets. Going forward, the government is calling for more coordination of economic development polices in fields such as artificial intelligence so that not every province champions the same industry. But government moves to counter the impact of higher tariffs tend to support sectors already in overcapacity, and the share of consumption in the economy has fallen in recent years. 'A sustained improvement in household consumption will require greater reform ambition,' the World Bank said in its most recent update on China's economy."
