SwedCham China Insights for the Week of May 5- May 10, 2024

Top news of the week:

China sees International Workers Day tourism surge, paving way for sector’s full-spectrum recovery

May 6, 2024

China recorded high tourism figures during the International Workers Day holiday, beating pre-pandemic levels and contributing major growth to consumption.

China's foreign exchange reserves fall to 3.2 trillion USD in April

May 7, 2024

China's foreign exchange reserves fell to 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of April, down 1.38 percent from the end of March, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Tuesday.

China's passenger vehicle sales up 9 pct in Jan-April

May 8, 2024

China's retail sales of passenger cars reached nearly 6.42 million units in the first four months of this year, marking an increase of 9 percent year on year, according to data from an industry association.

China's SMEs development index continues to pick up

May 9, 2024

China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported improved business performance in April, an industry index showed Thursday.

Beijing bourse facilitates treasury bond issuance of 1.46 trillion yuan in Jan-April

May 10, 2024

Over 1.46 trillion yuan (about 205.67 billion U.S. dollars) of treasury bonds were issued on the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) in the first four months of the year, according to the BSE.

Insight of the week:

Chinese President Xi Jinping conducted a series of state visits to France, Serbia, and Hungary starting from May 5, 2024. Marking his first round of state visits in 2024.

In France, Presidents Xi and his counterpart President Macron held talks and issued joint statements regarding the situation in the Middle East. Both presidents stressed in importance of peace, both in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, and the urgency for the international community to act on the issues of peace, especially in light of the upcoming Olympic games. Xi also stated the importance of pursuing win-win cooperation and jointly oppose decoupling, cutting off supply chains or erecting walls and barriers. The presidents held deeper talks about mutual cooperation and trade, as well as cultural exchange between the countries.

Xi and Macron then travelled to Tarbes, in France’s Hautes-Pyrenees department, where leaders chatted in a relaxing atmosphere along with enjoying a meal and traditional folk dance performance together. This is reminiscent of the talks between the two presidents in Guangzhou in April of last year. Macron on Tuesday recalled his visit to China last year, especially the meeting at the Pine Garden in Guangzhou which left him with a deep and positive impression.

In Serbia, President Xi enjoyed a warm welcome from President Vučić. The presidents issued a joint statement on the building of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era, an upgrade of relations from the comprehensive strategic partnership established in 2016. The presidents reiterated the depth of friendship between the countries and renewed the promise of continued deep cooperation.

In Hungary, President Orbán also greeted Xi with generous diplomatic proprieties. The presidents upgraded the relationship between the two countries to ‘All-Weather Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the New Era’ as the two presidents held talks on promoting deeper trade and cooperation between the countries. Serbia and Hungary are important partners to China in Europe for its Belt-and-Road initiative.