SwedCham China Insights for the Week of October 09 - October 13 , 2023

Top news of the week:

Beijing Stock Exchange revamps transfer guidelines

October 9, 2023

The Beijing Stock Exchange has unfolded a significant revision in its transfer guidelines for listed companies, a calculated move to ensure an efficient, smooth, and orderly transfer process. The guidelines guide the listed companies to meticulously assess their eligibility for transfer and to engage reputable underwriters, underscore the importance of intermediaries, and elucidate the transfer procedures.

China’s State Council approves documents on social security, patent enforcement

October 10, 2023

On October 10, China’s cabinet adopted a guideline on promoting dynamic monitoring of the low-income population and multi-tiered and categorized social assistance, as well as action plans on meal assistance for the elderly and on patent enforcement in the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to visit China

October 11, 2023

At the invitation of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission, will pay a visit to China, and the two sides will hold the 12th round of China-EU High-level Strategic Dialogue from October 12 to 14, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Xi inspects Jingdezhen, Shangrao in east China’s Jiangxi Province

October 12, 2023

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspected Jingdezhen City and Shangrao City in east China’s Jiangxi Province on October 11. He stopped at the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation. Other stops on his inspection visit included a historic pottery protection district, a wetland park and village.

MOFCOM: China to further ease foreign ownership restrictions

October 13, 2023

China will mull the feasibility of further removing or relaxing foreign ownership restrictions to draw more global investors, the Ministry of Commerce said. While continuing to shorten its negative list for foreign investment, the country will strive to improve its business environment and better serve foreign companies, said ministry spokesperson He Yadong at a press conference.

Insight of the week:

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China on October 7 leading a bipartisan congressional delegation and starting a series of meetings in the world’s second-largest economy amid rising tension between Washington and Beijing. The delegation, which included three Democrats and three Republicans, was the first visit by U.S. lawmakers since 2019. During his visit to China, he met with President Xi Jinping and other top officials in China including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, Chen Jining, Shanghai’s Communist Party Secretary, and China’s top legislator Zhao Leji.

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his eagerness to improve Sino-U.S. ties in his talks with the U.S. congressional delegation as he called for bilateral cooperation to address global challenges. Xi also expressed that China welcomes more members of the U.S. Congress to visit to better understand China. Schumer said the United States does not seek conflict with China nor to decouple from it, and it is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication and responsibly manage bilateral relations. Schumer also expressed that the United States wanted stability and fairness in bilateral trade. The United States and China are at odds over issues from Taiwan to trade, fentanyl and human rights. Besides, Schumer called on President Xi Jinping to support Israel after deadly attacks by Hamas, adding he was “disappointed” that Beijing showed “no sympathy” for the country from the statement. As a response, in the updated statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China condemned “all violence and attacks on civilians” and said “the most urgent task now is to reach a ceasefire and restore peace.”

In addition to Schumer’s visit to China, China central bank governor Pan Gongsheng met with U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Morocco on October 12. The two exchanged views on the global economy, finance, and cooperation between the central banks of the two countries at the annual meeting of International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The analyst believes that China and the U.S. are proactively seeking more communications for mutual benefits. Strengthening communication between the two parties might alleviate global concerns regarding tensions between the world’s top two largest economies.