Latest news with #commerceMinistry
South China Morning Post
08-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China steps up economic monitoring, looking to head off worst-case scenarios
Amid erratic US tariff threats and with the world economy in flux, China's top economic planner says that more economic monitoring and early-warning capabilities are needed. Advertisement The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is soliciting studies to assess the impacts of US tariffs and to refine China's existing monitoring indicators 'in the context of global economic and trade order restructuring'. It also plans to evaluate how non-tariff barriers of various countries might impact China's economy, according to a notice published on its website in late June. From the central bank to the commerce ministry, China already employs a vast system to monitor its economic health. However, the NDRC's fresh push signals the desire for a more nuanced and forward-looking approach as it helps draft the country's 2026-2030 development blueprint. 'This might need to be of higher frequency and more capable of reflecting the real economy,' said Shao Yu, director of the Shanghai Institution for Finance and Development. Advertisement Shao expects that changes to the economic-monitoring system will help China better navigate the volatility and competition that he expects to intensify in the future. 'While existing systems might focus on indicators such as trade balances and financial market volatility, future systems will likely dive deeper into supply-chain security, technology, and monetary stability,' he said.
CNA
07-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Thai headline inflation negative for 3rd straight month in June
BANGKOK :Thailand's annual inflation rate was negative for a third straight month in June, driven by lower energy and food prices, but the commerce ministry said on Monday there was no sign of deflation yet. The consumer price index dropped 0.25 per cent in June from a year earlier, bigger than the 0.1 per cent decline forecast in a Reuters poll, and following a 0.57 per cent drop in the previous month. It was the fourth month in a row that the inflation rate has been below the central bank's target range of 1.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent. Headline inflation in the third quarter is expected to remain negative before turning positive in the final quarter of the year, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the commerce ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference. There were no signs of deflation because the price drop was driven by lower energy prices, he said. The core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food and energy prices, rose 1.06 per cent in June from a year earlier, compared with a forecast increase of 1.10 per cent. In the first six months, annual headline inflation averaged 0.37 per cent, with core inflation at 0.97 per cent, the ministry said. The ministry maintained its headline inflation forecast for 2025 at 0.0 per cent to 1.0 per cent. Last month, the central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent, seeking to save some policy ammunition if needed to support the economy amid trade uncertainty and renewed domestic political turbulence. The next rate meeting is on August 13.
Asharq Al-Awsat
06-07-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
China Retaliates to EU Ban with Import Restrictions on Medical Devices
China's finance ministry said on Sunday it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed 45 million yuan ($6.3 million) in value, in retaliation to Brussels' own curbs last month. Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have been rising, with the European Union imposing tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Beijing slapping duties on imported brandy from the bloc. The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth 60 billion euros ($70 billion) or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China. The measure announced by the European Commission was the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which entered into force in 2022 and is designed to ensure reciprocal market access. China's countermeasures were expected after its commerce ministry flagged "necessary steps" against the EU move late last month. "Regrettably, despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU has insisted on going its own way, taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers," Reuters quoted the commerce ministry as saying in a separate statement on Sunday. "Therefore, China has no choice but to adopt reciprocal restrictive measures." The EU delegation office in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50% of the contract value, the finance ministry said. The measures come into force on Sunday. The commerce ministry said products from European companies in China were not affected. The world's second- and third-largest economies are due to hold a leaders' summit in China later in July.
Japan Times
06-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
China retaliates to EU ban with import restrictions on medical devices
China's finance ministry said on Sunday it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed 45 million Chinese yuan ($6.3 million) in value, in retaliation to Brussels' own curbs last month. Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have been rising, with the European Union imposing tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Beijing slapping duties on imported brandy from the bloc. The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth €60 billion ($70 billion) or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China. The measure announced by the European Commission was the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which entered into force in 2022 and is designed to ensure reciprocal market access. China's countermeasures were expected after its commerce ministry flagged "necessary steps" against the EU move late last month. "Regrettably, despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU has insisted on going its own way, taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers," the commerce ministry said in a separate statement on Sunday. "Therefore, China has no choice but to adopt reciprocal restrictive measures." The EU delegation office in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50% of the contract value, the finance ministry said. The measures come into force on Sunday. The commerce ministry said products from European companies in China were not affected. The world's second— and third-largest economies are due to hold a leaders' summit in China later in July. On Friday, China also announced duties of up to 34.9% for five years on brandy originating in the European Union, most of it cognac from France, after concluding an investigation largely believed to be a response to Europe's EV tariffs. Major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau were spared from the levies, however, provided they sell at a minimum price, which China has not disclosed.
CNA
06-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
China retaliates to EU ban with import restrictions on medical devices
HONG KONG: China's finance ministry said on Sunday (Jul 6) it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed 45 million yuan (US$6.3 million) in value, in retaliation to Brussels' own curbs last month. Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have been rising, with the European Union imposing tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Beijing slapping duties on imported brandy from the bloc. The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth €60 billion (US$70 billion) or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China. The measure announced by the European Commission was the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which entered into force in 2022 and is designed to ensure reciprocal market access. China's countermeasures were expected after its commerce ministry flagged "necessary steps" against the EU move late last month. "Regrettably, despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU has insisted on going its own way, taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers," the commerce ministry said in a separate statement on Sunday. "Therefore, China has no choice but to adopt reciprocal restrictive measures." The EU delegation office in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50 per cent of the contract value, the finance ministry said. The measures come into force on Sunday. The commerce ministry said products from European companies in China were not affected. The world's second- and third-largest economies are due to hold a leaders' summit in China later in July. On Friday, China also announced duties of up to 34.9 per cent for five years on brandy originating in the European Union, most of it cognac from France, after concluding an investigation largely believed to be a response to Europe's EV tariffs. Major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau were spared from the levies, however, provided they sell at a minimum price, which China has not disclosed.
