The Sunday Mail
Manyika Kangai
China Releases Key Reports
China has released two reports on its budgets and national economic and social development plans for 2022 that were approved at the fifth session of the 13th National People’s Congress. The Report on the Implementation of the 2021 Plan for National Economic and Social Development and on the 2022 Draft Plan for National Economic and Social Development covers the implementation of the 2021 plan for national economic and social development; the overall requirements, main objectives and policy orientations for economic and social development in 2022; and the major tasks for economic and social development in 2022.
The Report on the Execution of the Central and Local Budgets for 2021 and on the Draft Central and Local Budgets for 2022 covers the execution of the 2021 central and local budgets; the draft central and local budgets for 2022; and fiscal reform and development in 2022.
China Confident of Hitting Annual Growth Target
China is confident that it has the necessary conditions to deliver this year’s economic targets through hard work despite the protracted pandemic and mounting challenges, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday. In the latest government work report, China set its economic growth target for 2022 at around 5,5 percent. The country’s major economic indices improved in the January-February period, with the major production and demand indicators reporting sound year-on-year growth. From January to February, China’s value-added industrial output and retail sales of consumer goods increased 7,5 and 6,7 percent year-on-year, 3,2 and 5 percentage points higher, respectively, than in December last year. China’s fixed-asset investment went up 12,2 percent year-on-year, while investment in property development rose 3,7 percent. The Spring Festival holiday and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics fuelled the rebound of the service sector, including catering, rail and air transportation, and cultural and entertainment activities.
China’s Central Bank Injects Liquidity
China’s central bank pumped cash into the financial system through open market operations on Tuesday to maintain liquidity in the market. A total of 200 billion yuan (about US$31,4 billion) was injected into the market via a Medium-Term Lending Facility (MLF), according to the People’s Bank of China, the central bank. The MLF tool was introduced in 2014 to help commercial and policy banks maintain liquidity by allowing them to borrow from the central bank using securities as collateral. The funds will mature in one year at an interest rate of 2,85 percent. Meanwhile, the central bank injected 10 billion yuan (about US$1,6 billion) into the market through seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2,1 percent. A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future. The move was intended to maintain reasonable and ample liquidity in the banking system.
China’s Home Prices Slightly Up
China continued to see a generally stable housing market in February, with home prices in 70 major cities showing slight month-on-month increases, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. New home prices in four first-tier cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou – rose 0,5 percent month-on-month in February, compared with a 0,6 percent increase registered in January. Prices of second-hand homes in the four cities gained 0,5 percent, up 0,4 percentage points from the growth in January. New home prices in 31 second-tier cities remained flat compared with that in January, while those in 35 third-tier cities witnessed a month-on-month decrease of 0,3 percent last month. On a year-on-year basis, new home prices in first-tier cities rose 4,4 percent in February, flat with the expansion seen in January. New home prices in second-tier cities went up 2,1 percent while those in third-tier cities decreased 0,1 percent compared with the same period last year.
China’s First Sea-Crossing High-Speed Railway Begins Track-Laying
A pair of 500-metre steel rails were successfully laid on a concrete bed at Putian Railway Station in east China’s Fujian Province on Thursday, marking the beginning of track-laying work on the country’s first sea-crossing high-speed railway. The 277km railway links the provincial capital of Fuzhou with the port city of Xiamen. With a designed speed of 350km per hour, it is expected to slash the travel time between the two cities to within one hour. Using an advanced machine, workers can lay the left and right tracks at the same time and nearly double their efficiency. At the current pace of about 6km of track laid per day, the entire track-laying work is expected to finish by the end of this year. The railway construction project is slated for completion in 2023.
Manyika Kangai helps African businesses realise the full potential of the vast opportunities China presents. He has over 15 years of experience facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals. Feedback: +27743487997/www.muvambi-sa.co.za
