Beijing has applied to join an Asia-Pacific trade pact once pushed by the US as a way to isolate China and solidify American dominance in the region. China submitted the formal application letter to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to New Zealand, according to a statement late on Thursday (Spet 16) in Beijing. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had a follow-up call with his counterpart Damien O’Connor, as New Zealand is the dep

Companies have reason to be sceptical about investing in Asia in general, and in China in particular, but Asian investment could still be a good bet. Issues such as intellectual property protection and the US-China trade wars could dissuade some companies from investing in Asia in general, and China in particular, but there is still plenty of interest in the region. In China, Beijing is tightening its grip on its thriving tech industry, forcing companies such as Alipay to hol

TDM Insight: China Trade Statistics Show Supply Chain Disruption. By John W. Miller, Chief Economic Analyst - Trade Data Monitor The global economy is getting back to normal, but supply chains are not exactly returning to where they were before the Covid-19 pandemic. Consider this: In August, Chinese shipments of textiles fell 14.8% year-on-year, off a low base in 2020, to $12.5 billion, and exports of mobile phones declined 24.4% to $7.4 billion. However, sales of motor vehi

Latest Infographic from Hinrich Foundation: Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been transformational for the global economy, in particular for the Asia Pacific region. For evidence of FDI's impact, we look no further than China in our latest infographic. In many countries, FDI outperforms aid, remittances, and portfolio investments as the largest source of external financing. The investments create jobs, boosts incomes and productivity, improves management expertise, and spu

By John W. Miller, Chief Economic Analyst - Trade Data Monitor: China’s industrial sector is headed for a slowdown in the second half of 2021, according to an analysis by Trade Data Monitor, the world’s premier source of trade statistics. In July, overall exports increased 19.4%, to $282.7 billion, compared to the same month a year earlier, below analysts’ expectations. In June, they had increased 32.2% year-on-year. Imports in July rose 28.1% year-on-year, to $226.1 billion,

For all the talk of deepening tensions between the United States and China, there is one area where relations appear to be 'business-as-usual': trade. Official Chinese data show that bilateral trade between the two countries surged in 2021, with China's exports to and imports from the United States reaching $46.9 billion and $14.3 billion in June respectively. “Trade wars between the U.S. and China have not really diverted trade towards other countries,” Keyu Jin, professor o

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China on Monday celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their dialogue relations. Since the relations began in July 1991, bilateral trade volume had soared from less than 8 billion U.S. dollars to more than 680 billion dollars last year. With such a strong foundation, the two sides have pledged to enhance cooperation in all sectors to open a new chapter in ASEAN-China common development and prospe

China has made a rapid economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which seems to have moved European investors from favouring offshoring to rediscovering their appetite for the country. European companies are seeking to increase their exposure in China and move their supply chains onshore in the country, according to a report from the EU Chamber of Commerce in China published in June 2021. The European Business in China Business Confidence Survey 2021 finds that 59% of Eur

Official China Trade Data Analysis by John W. Miller, Chief Economic Analyst, Trade Data Monitor - May 2021 China Preliminary Data by Major Products & by Country/Region Asia is really humming. Chinese exports of goods to top Asian trading partners boomed in May, suggesting that the continent is blowing past Europe and the U.S. in 2021 in the speed and scale of its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese exports to the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Nations, o

The challenges of a big economy going green, as analyzed via trade statistics and illustrated via the case of China. Report by our partners Trade Data Monitor authored by Chief Economist, John Miller As the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, China, the U.S., and other top economies are renewing their commitments to green energy. The world's nenewable energy capcaty increased by 45% in 2020, the largest increased in over 20 years, according to a recent report by the Int

The RCEP agreement creates a free trade arrangement between ASEAN and Asia-Pacific nations, providing new trading opportunities through tariff reduction, new rules of origin, and trade-facilitation measures. Article by Dezan Shira as part of May China Briefing In November 2020, after eight years of negotiation, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement was finally inked by 15 Asia-Pacific nations, by far becoming the largest plurilateral free trade agre

Levies now cover about $250 billion a year in goods—down from $370 billion—as U.S. companies shift purchases elsewhere U.S. tariffs have led to a sharp decline in Chinese imports and significant changes in the types of goods Americans buy from China, new data show, with purchases of telecommunications gear, furniture, apparel and other goods shifting to other countries. Nearly two-thirds of all imports from China—or roughly $370 billion in annual goods—were covered by tariffs

China preliminary data for April (release by Major Products & by Country/Region) and below TDM insight by John W. Miller, Chief Economic Analyst - Trade Data Monitor For years, economists marveled at China’s history-shaping growth in manufacturing exports. But as this April’s trade data from Beijing illustrates, it’s time to start paying more attention to the ballooning of shipments to China. Chinese imports in April increased 43.1% year-on-year to $221.1 billion, the biggest

China is perhaps one of the most unprecedented stories of economic development in recent history. In the last 25 years, the country’s economy rapidly expanded, lifting more people out of poverty than anywhere else in the world. But all this wouldn’t have been possible without another outstanding story: the emergence of China from the periphery of world trade to becoming a global trade titan. Genesis of a trade transformation While the rise of China as an export powerhouse be

10,263 new foreign-invested companies were established in China during the first three months of the year Data from the Ministry of Commerce comes as China continues to court foreign businesses while the United States is looking to help American companies exit the Chinese market Foreign direct investment in China grew at the fastest pace in more than a decade during the first quarter of 2021, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday. The news came am

Official China Trade Data from our partners at Trade Data Monitor based on official HS Customs data on all commodities. It was March 2020 that marked the depths of the Covid-19 economic crisis. Factories closed. Shops shuttered. Consumer locked their doors and wallets. Last month’s Chinese exports signals that the global economy has found its way back. Spring is here. Wallets are open. In March, Chinese exports increased 30.7% year-on-year to $241.1 billion. That’s significan

Pleased to share the PWC Asia Customs & Trade February / March 2021 issue of Trade Intelligence which includes the following highlights: · Lead Article - Celebrate or Commiserate? Taking stock in the world of customs and international trade · ASEAN signs MRA impacting automotive products · Korea-Central America FTA enters into full force · China releases draft administrative measures on approved exporters · India’s digitisation initiatives · Revocation of excise duty exemptio

Japan and the U.S. will draw up guidelines on supporting the development of high-quality infrastructure, including 5G wireless and hydrogen power, in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere as a counterweight to China's Belt and Road initiative. The two allies aim to reach an agreement to expand cooperation on foreign infrastructure construction when Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden meet at the White House on April 16. The leaders will discuss promot

The World Bank’s projections suggest that the region will bear the scars of COVID-19 for many years to come. The Asia-Pacific region will experience a lopsided recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said in its latest economic outlook for the region, due to uneven containment of the disease and widely varying vaccine distribution timelines. The World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, released on March 26, predicts that the r

Only 12 per cent of the 345 US firms surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in China said the investment environment was deteriorating This represented the lowest proportion since the question was first introduced in the 2012 survey As China-US relations face some uncertainties, a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) said that most US companies expect a rosy year for their business growth in the world's second-largest economy, citing China'