Pop Mart's Labubu can't lift China's economy alone — Beijing readies ‘plentiful' stimulus toolbox
Growth hit 5.2 per cent in the second quarter, official data showed Tuesday, but analysts have warned that more must be done to boost sluggish domestic consumption as exports face the knock-on effects of global trade turmoil.
Retail sales rose far less than expected last month and were much weaker than May, suggesting efforts to kickstart consumption have fallen flat.
'We are still facing a very severe and complex situation. Global changes are unstable and uncertain. Some of our policies will provide some new responses according to the times and circumstances,' Wang Wentao told journalists at a news briefing.
'Our toolbox is plentiful, and we will be fully prepared.'
Asked specifically about China's reliance on exports, Wang suggested the government was preparing policies to 'further stimulate the momentum of our consumption development'.
'China's economy is improving, and the long-term fundamentals have not changed, the consumption market's characteristics of great potential, strong resilience and vitality have not changed,' he said.
Wang also namechecked Beijing-based toymaker Pop Mart, whose Labubu monster dolls have become a must-have item internationally, adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa.
'We are also promoting new forms of consumption... for example Pop Mart, these kinds of new trends, new fashions and styles... the Labubu phenomenon has swept the world,' he said.
US decoupling 'impossible'
Beijing is battling to shift towards a growth model propelled more by domestic demand than the traditional key drivers of infrastructure investment, manufacturing and exports.
That desired transformation has become more urgent since Donald Trump came to office.
The US president has imposed tolls on China and most other major trading partners, upending trade norms and endangering Beijing's exports at a time it needs them more than ever to stimulate economic activity.
The two superpowers have sought to de-escalate their row after reaching a framework for a deal at talks in London last month, but observers warn of lingering uncertainty.
Wang said today that despite 'storms and rain', Washington remained an important trading partner.
Even though China-US trade has declined proportionally for each country, overall bilateral trade has remained stable, Wang said.
The firm economic and popular basis for US-China cooperation 'makes artificial decoupling and severing supply chains impossible', he said.
Yet an inconsistent tune has 'severely impacted and disrupted normal trade cooperation between China and the United States'.
Since Trump's first term, 'the trend of the trade frictions provoked by the United States has had ups and downs', Wang said. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 minutes ago
- The Star
Oil rises as US-EU deal boosts trade optimism
SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose on Monday after the United States clinched a trade deal with the European Union and may extend a tariff pause with China, relieving concerns that higher levies could have hurt economic activity and limited fuel demand. Brent crude futures inched up 20 cents, or 0.29%, to $68.64 a barrel by 0336 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $65.31 a barrel, up 15 cents, or 0.23%. The US-European Union trade deal and a possible extension in the US-China tariff pause are supporting global financial markets and oil prices, IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said. "With the risk of a prolonged trade war and the importance of the August tariff deadlines being steadily defused, markets have responded positively," he added in a note. Sunday's US-EU framework trade pact sets an import tariff of 15% on most EU goods, half the threatened rate. The deal averted a bigger trade war between two allies that account for almost one-third of global trade and could crimp fuel demand. Also set for Monday is a meeting in Stockholm of senior US and Chinese negotiators aiming to extend before an August 12 deadline a truce holding off sharply higher tariffs. Oil prices settled on Friday at their lowest in three weeks weighed down by global trade concerns and expectations of more oil supply from Venezuela. State-run oil company PDVSA is readying to resume work at its joint ventures under terms similar to Biden-era licenses, once U.S. President Donald Trump reinstates authorisations for its partners to operate and export oil under swaps, company sources said. Though prices were up slightly on Monday, gains were limited by the prospect of OPEC+ further easing supply curbs. A market monitoring panel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies is set to meet at 1200 GMT on Monday. It is unlikely to recommend altering existing plans by eight members to raise oil output by 548,000 barrels per day in August, four OPEC+ delegates said last week, though another source said it was too early to say. ING expects OPEC+ will at least complete the full return of 2.2 million barrels per day of the additional voluntary supply cuts by the end of September. That would work out to a supply hike in September of at least 280,000 barrels per day. However, there is clearly room for a more aggressive hike. The producer group is keen to recover market share while summer demand is helping to absorb the extra barrels. JP Morgan analysts said global oil demand rose by 600,000 bpd in July on year, while global oil stocks rose 1.6 million bpd. In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would target ships of companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality, in what they called a fourth phase of military operations against Israel over the Gaza conflict. - Reuters
The Star
4 minutes ago
- The Star
US-China set to meet with extension of tariff pause on the cards
STOCKHOLM/WASHINGTON: Top economic officials from the United States and China are set to renew negotiations Monday (July 28) -- with an extension of lower tariff levels on the cards -- as President Donald Trump's trade policy enters a critical week. Talks between the world's top two economies are slated to happen over two days in the Swedish capital Stockholm, and they come as other countries are also rushing to finalise deals with Washington. For dozens of trading partners, failing to strike an agreement in the coming days means they could face significant tariff hikes on exports to the United States come Friday, Aug 1. The steeper rates, threatened against partners like Brazil and India, would raise the duties their products face from a "baseline" of 10 per cent now to levels up to 50 per cent. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have already effectively raised duties on US imports to levels not seen since the 1930s, according to data from The Budget Lab research centre at Yale University. For now, all eyes are on discussions between Washington and Beijing as a delegation including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets a Chinese team led by Vice Premier He Lifeng in Sweden. While both countries in April imposed tariffs on each other's products that reached triple-digit levels, US duties this year have temporarily been lowered to 30 per cent and China's countermeasures slashed to 10 per cent. But the 90-day truce, instituted after talks in Geneva in May, is set to expire on Aug 12. Since the Geneva meeting, the two sides have convened in London to iron out disagreements. "There seems to have been a fairly significant shift in (US) administration thinking on China since particularly the London talks," said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures. "The mood now is much more focused on what's possible to achieve, on warming relations where possible and restraining any factors that could increase tensions," she told AFP. Talks with China have not produced a deal but Benson said both countries have made progress, with certain rare earth and semiconductor flows restarting. "Secretary Bessent has also signalled that he thinks a concrete outcome will be to delay the 90-day tariff pause," she said. "That's also promising, because it indicates that something potentially more substantive is on the horizon." The South China Morning Post, citing sources on both sides, reported Sunday that Washington and Beijing are expected to extend their tariff pause by another 90 days. Trump has announced pacts so far with the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, although details have been sparse. An extension of the US-China deal to keep tariffs at reduced levels "would show that both sides see value in continuing talks", said Thibault Denamiel, a fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. US-China Business Council President Sean Stein said the market is not anticipating a detailed readout from Stockholm: "What's more important is the atmosphere coming out." "The business community is optimistic that the two presidents will meet later this year, hopefully in Beijing," he told AFP. "It's clear that on both sides, the final decision-maker is going to be the president." Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said both countries' willingness to meet was a "positive development". For others, the prospect of higher US tariffs and few details from fresh trade deals mark "a far cry from the ideal scenario", said Denamiel. But they show some progress, particularly with partners Washington has signalled are on its priority list like the EU, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. The EU unveiled a pact with Washington on Sunday while Seoul is rushing to strike an agreement, after Japan and the Philippines already reached the outlines of deals. Breakthroughs have been patchy since Washington promised a flurry of agreements after unveiling, and then swiftly postponing, tariff hikes targeting dozens of economies in April. Denamiel warned of overlooking countries that fall outside Washington's priority list. Solid partnerships are needed, he said, if Washington wants to diversify supply chains, enforce advanced technology controls, and tackle excess Chinese capacity. - Reuters
Malay Mail
4 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
‘Turun Anwar' protestors left 20-tonne rubbish in KL? Nga defends claim, says numbers come from SWCorp
KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming stood by his statement that 20 tonnes of rubbish were left scattered following Saturday's 'Turun Anwar' rally, organised by the opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional. He said the data was provided by the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), which carried out the clean-up after the rally ended. 'The claim that 20 tonnes of rubbish were left behind did not come from me, it was a report by SWCorp, which I received from the ground. 'Hundreds of our workers were deployed to clean up the waste after the black shirt rally. I do not deny that a group from the Unit Amal helped clean up, and I thank them for that. But it also cannot be denied that 20 tonnes of rubbish were strewn across Sogo, Dataran Merdeka, and Jalan Petaling,' he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today. Nga was responding to a supplementary question from Pendang MP Datuk Awang Hashim, who questioned the 20-tonne figure and accused him of lying. Nga criticised the unhygienic behaviour of rally-goers, stressing that such gatherings must be conducted peacefully and in an orderly manner, including maintaining cleanliness. Yesterday, Nga blasted the rally organisers for their lack of environmental responsibility, after nearly 20 metric tonnes of rubbish were left scattered. He described the situation as 'deeply regrettable' and 'truly shameful', condemning the 'filthy attitude' shown at the event.
