SwedCham China Insights for the Week of June 5 - June 9 , 2023

Top news of the week:

Chinese Premier urges improvements in business environment to bolster economic recovery

June 5, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for improvements in the business environment and the development of a high-quality new energy vehicle industry to bolster the economic recovery at a State Council executive meeting. A draft law on preschool education was also approved for deliberation by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee at the meeting.

Top political advisor meets with Taiwan’s New Party chairman

June 6, 2023

Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), on June 5 met with Wu Cheng-tien, chairman of Taiwan’s New Party, in Beijing.

Wu expressed that the New Party takes a clear-cut stance supporting peaceful reunification and opposing “Taiwan independence” and foreign interference in cross-Straits affairs.

China to expand 5G application scenarios, boost R&D on 6G

June 7, 2023

China will speed up the construction of virtual private networks in the 5G industry and enrich the country’s 5G application scenarios, Industry and Information Technology Minister Jin Zhuanglong said. Jin also said China is eyeing next-generation internet and other frontier fields and comprehensively advancing the research and development of sixth-generation (6G) communications technology.

China’s foreign trade shows resilience amid sustained growth

June 8, 2023

China’s total imports and exports expanded 4.7 percent year on year to 16.77 trillion yuan in the first five months of 2023, showing continued resilience amid sluggish external demand. In May alone, foreign trade increased 0.5 percent year on year, marking the fourth consecutive month of foreign trade growth, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China’s CPI up 0.2% in May

June 9, 2023

China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.2 percent year on year in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on June 9.

Insight of the week:

China will step up efforts to build its unified national market with measures to expand market access and attract foreign investment, Chinese officials said at a press conference. Such measures include cutting down the number of items restricted for foreign investment on the negative list, as part of concerted efforts to further relax limitations on foreign investment. The country will focus on building up platforms and streamlining channels that will showcase the potential and opportunities of the Chinese market, thereby promoting foreign investment. Besides, China will continue to provide quality services to foreign companies and foster a world-class environment for foreign investment. China’s fresh efforts to encourage foreign investors and businesses came as the country is firmly accelerating the push for building a unified national market that is efficient, rules-based, open and encourages fair competition, which means China will further integrate itself into the global economy and steadily deepen reforms and opening-up, analysts said. In turn, such a unified market would help foreign companies establish a unified system for their business in China and reduce the costs resulting from differences in rules between regions.

Since China issued the guideline on building a unified national market at a faster pace in 2022, the relevant works have achieved preliminary results, said Li Chunlin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner. The accelerated building of a unified national market has played a positive role in stabilizing development expectations, unleashing market vitality, reducing transaction costs, and promoting smooth circulation, according to Li.