SwedCham China Insights for the week September 14 - September 20

SwedCham China Insights for September 14 – September 20

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Top news of the week:

China proposes new regulation on labeling AI-generated content

14 September 2024

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has released a draft regulation that aims to standardize the labeling of AI-generated synthetic content to protect national security and public interests. Titled "Measures for identifying AI-generated synthetic content," the draft regulation is open for public feedback until October 14.

China's industrial output up 4.5% in August

15 September 2024

China's value-added industrial output went up 4.5 percent year-on-year in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

China, U.S. hold 18th defense policy coordination talks in Beijing

16 September 2024

Officials from the Chinese Defense Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense held the 18th defense policy coordination talks in Beijing on September 14 and 15, exchanging in-depth views on China-U.S. military relations, interactions in the next stage and issues of common concern, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry.

China urges U.S. to push Israel to cease military operations in Gaza

17 September 2024

A senior Chinese diplomat urged the U.S. to use its influence to push Israel to carry out UN resolutions to cease its military operations in Gaza at a UN Security Council meeting on September 16.

China's daily cross-border trips up 18.6% during Mid-Autumn Festival

18 September 2024

China's inbound and outbound passenger trips reached 5.26 million during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with an average of 1.75 million trips daily, an increase of 18.6 percent from the same period last year, official data showed.

Premier Li Qiang chairs State Council executive meeting

19 September 2024

Premier Li Qiang presided over a State Council executive meeting on September 18 to study measures to boost the development of venture capital. According to the meeting, efforts should be made to remove bottlenecks and obstacles in the venture capital cycle, support qualified sci-tech enterprises to go public in the domestic and overseas markets, and promote the virtuous cycle of the venture capital industry.

Premier Li Qiang stresses advancing reform on raising retirement age

20 September 2024

Premier Li Qiang called for the steady and orderly implementation of the reform on gradually raising the statutory retirement age to provide critical support for advancing Chinese modernization. Li made the remarks during a State Council meeting on mobilizing efforts for the reform on September 19.

Insight of the week:

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) held its 11th session from September 10 to 13 in Beijing. Zhao Leji, chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, presided over the first plenary meeting. The meeting deliberated on a draft energy law, which further stresses promoting a green and low-carbon energy transition. At the closing meeting on September 13, lawmakers voted to adopt a decision on gradually raising the statutory retirement age.

China will raise the retirement age for the first time since 1978, as the country confronts an aging population and a dwindling pension budget. On September 13, China’s top legislative body passed the Decision on the Implementation of Gradual Delayed Retirement Age (the “Decision”). According to the Decision, starting from January 1, 2025, China will delay the statutory retirement age for both male and female employees. Over a period of 15 years, the statutory retirement age for male employees will gradually be extended from the current 60 years to 63 years, while for women, it will rise from 50 to 55 for blue-collar workers, and from 55 to 58 for white-collar workers, reflecting the distinction between different categories of employment. The reform goal is not to be achieved in one step but gradually and incrementally. Additionally, this meeting approved the Measures for the Gradual Delayed Retirement Age by the State Council, which stipulates corresponding changes to pension insurance, elderly career support, as well as voluntary retirement schemes. The top legislative body ruled that starting 2030, workers will need to contribute to their pension accounts for a longer period before they’re eligible to receive payout. This requirement will increase gradually from 15 to 20 years.

China's retirement ages are currently amongst the lowest globally. Some analysts view reform as urgent, given the rise in life expectancy from about 44 years in 1960 to 78 years in 2021, and a projected 80 years by 2050, amid a shrinking workforce supporting the elderly.

Additionally, a draft of China’s energy law, which has been nearly two decades in the making, is open for public review for the second time after being revised and reviewed by the country’s lawmakers. 

The updated version, released on September 13, carries new rules that clarify Beijing’s plan to develop and use various forms of renewable energy, from solar to biomass. It also states that China will accelerate the construction of a new type of power system and strengthen the coordinated development of power generation and grid to accommodate, allocate and regulate clean energy. It is also included in the draft that China encourages energy users to prioritize the use of clean and low-carbon energy through establishing green energy consumption promotion mechanism. Public feedback on the revised draft is being collected until October 12.

According to an official, the new law will be the "foundational and governing" legislation of China’s energy sector, crucial for promoting high-quality energy development and ensuring national energy security. The drafting of China’s energy law has taken nearly 20 years. Chinese energy officials and experts started working on the law in 2006, but it wasn’t until April this year that a draft was published for public review. A scholar believed that several factors caused the huge delay. One is that energy is a far-reaching sector critical for the country’s economic development, national security, people’s livelihood and the environment, so the focus of the law kept shifting. Additionally, the emergence of new business models and trends in the energy sector complicated the lawmaking process.