Day: July 10, 2020

(Peoples Daily Online)09:08, July 01, 2020

Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corporation held the “cloud opening ceremony” for the first flagship store of its MG model in Paris recently, as part of Chinese auto companies efforts to improve the competitiveness of their brands, and stabilize and expand overseas markets.

200 electric vehicles manufactured by Henan Suda Electric Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. are ready to be exported to Dusseldorf, Germany. （Photo/Peoples Daily)

The store has met with more than 270 French media and consumers via online video. In just half a day after the cloud opening ceremony, the social media account MG Motor Paris has attracted nearly 10,000 fans.

In recent years, the Belt and Road initiative has provided Chinese auto brands with new opportunities to expand their markets abroad. Among them, SAIC Motor Corporation, the leading automobile export enterprise, has made its presence in more than 60 countries and regions around the world, forming the whole automobile industry chain covering research and development, manufacturing, marketing, logistics and finance.

A representative of SAIC Motor Corporation said that SAIC has set up three overseas innovative RD centers in the UK and other countries, three auto manufacturing bases in Thailand, Indonesia and India, and 95 parts manufacturing bases overseas.

Meanwhile, it has set up 12 regional marketing service centers in Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, and more than 600 overseas marketing service outlets around the world. The first overseas financial service company was established in Indonesia.

For every three Chinese cars sold overseas, one is made by SAIC, according to the representative of SAIC, adding that SAIC exported 350,000 automobiles in 2019, an increase of 26.5 percent over the same period last year.

SAIC only serves as a typical example. With the continuous promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative and the further recovery of the international market, Chinas automobile exports to countries along the Belt and Road will continue to expand.

Chongqing, an important automobile production base in Southwest China, exported 23,000 vehicles to countries along the Belt and Road from January to May, valued at 1.7 billion yuan (about 240 million U.S. dollars), up 48.6 percent and 84.6 percent respectively over the same period last year, according to a news release from Chongqing Commerce Commission on June 23.

As the pandemic in some foreign countries has gradually waned, commercial activities have gradually been resumed, and orders in overseas markets are recovering, said a relevant person from Chongqing Commerce Commission, adding that most auto companies are confident that they can stabilize overseas markets by investing in new products, innovating marketing models, and strengthening sales promotion.

(Xinhua)09:11, July 01, 2020

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Xinhua) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised down its forecast for the Asian economy amid the mounting COVID-19 fallout, projecting a 1.6-percent contraction in 2020, and warning of clouds on the horizon.

The latest projection is a downgrade to the forecast of zero growth in the April World Economic Outlook (WEO), indicating stronger global headwinds as the pandemics impacts continue to ripple throughout the world.

Projections for 2020 have been revised down for most of the countries in the (Asian) region due to weaker global conditions and more protracted containment measures in several emerging economies, Chang Yong Rhee, director of the IMFs Asia and Pacific Department, wrote in a blog post.

Rhee noted that Asias economic growth in the first quarter of 2020 was better than previously projected, partly owing to early stabilization of the virus in some countries.

In the absence of a second wave of infections and with an unprecedented policy stimulus to support the recovery, growth in Asia is projected to rebound strongly to 6.6 percent in 2021, according to Rhee.

But even with this fast pickup in economic activity, output losses due to COVID-19 are likely to persist, he wrote.

According to an update to April WEO released last week, the IMF revised down its forecast for the global economy, projecting a 4.9-percent contraction in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April forecast, followed by a growth of 5.4 percent in 2021.

The downgrade from April reflects worse than anticipated outcomes in the first half of this year, an expectation of more persistent social distancing into the second half of this year, and damage to supply potential, IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said in a virtual news conference.

Advanced economies are projected to contract 8 percent this year, and emerging markets and developing economies are projected to shrink by 3 percent this year, according to the updated report.

China is expected to grow by 1 percent, the only major economy that could see growth this year, followed by an 8.2-percent growth in 2021.

The IMF projects Asias economic output in 2022 to be about 5 percent lower compared with the level predicted before the crisis, and this gap will be much larger if China is excluded, where economic activities have already started to rebound, Rhee said.

The IMF official also noted that projections for 2021 and beyond assume a strong rebound in private demand, though there are clouds on the horizon, which could undermine Asias recovery.

Such clouds include slower growth in trade, longer than expected lockdowns, rising inequality, weak balance sheets and geopolitical tensions.

Asia is heavily dependent on global supply chains and cannot grow while the whole world is suffering, Rhee said. Asias trade is expected to contract significantly due to weaker external demand.

He added that reorienting Asias growth model toward domestic demand and away from a heavy reliance on exports has begun but will take more time to be completed.

Noting that not all recent developments have been negative, Rhee said many Asian countries have been able to provide significant monetary and fiscal policy support — often in the form of guarantees and loans to households and firms.

Additionally, lower oil prices and improved market sentiment and financial conditions are helping the recovery, he said, adding that these factors may not last.

Asian countries are experimenting re-opening, and policies must be geared toward supporting the nascent recovery without exacerbating vulnerabilities, the IMF official said. They must use fiscal stimulus wisely and complement it with economic reforms.

The priorities, he argued, include close coordination between monetary and fiscal policies, ensuring resources are reallocated appropriately, as well as addressing inequalities.

Inequality had already been rising in Asia, Rhee said, noting that IMFs recent research shows how past pandemics led to higher income inequality and hurt employment prospects of those with limited education.

These effects are likely to be exacerbated in Asia due to the large proportion of informal workers, making the recovery more protracted, he said.

The IMF officials urged Asian policymakers to broaden access to health and basic services, finance, and the digital economy, and expand social safety nets to extend unemployment insurance coverage to informal workers.

Addressing pervasive informality will also require comprehensive labor and product market reforms to improve the business environment and removing onerous legal and regulatory obstacles (especially for startups), and policies to rationale the tax system, he added.

(Xinhua)09:46, July 01, 2020

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese firms are making great strides in brand value on the global playing field, a market report showed Tuesday.

A record high of 17 Chinese companies have made it into the 2020 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands Ranking, compared with 15 last year, according to BrandZ, a global brand equity platform.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba led Chinese firms in the ranking, rising to the sixth place this year, up one spot from last year with a value of 152.53 billion U.S. dollars.

Tech giant Tencent ranked second among Chinese companies, with its brand value surging 15 percent to 150.98 billion U.S. dollars.

Chinas leading liquor maker Kweichow Moutai was the fastest growing brand in 2020 with a staggering growth of 58 percent, while internet giant Meituan and e-commerce giant JD.com also registered robust performance in brand value expansion.

Bolstered by innovation and creativity, Chinese popular video-sharing app TikTok, known as Douyin in China, entered the list for the first time and was placed at 79th, the highest-rank among other newcomers.

The ranking is commissioned by global communication services provider WPP and conducted by brand equity research consultancy Kantar. It examines market data from Bloomberg with consumer insights from over 3.8 million consumers, covering more than 17,500 brands across 51 markets.

(Xinhua)09:49, July 01, 2020

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) — Domestic sales of quality export products still have great growth potential and will facilitate Chinas consumption upgrading, the countrys commerce ministry said Tuesday.

Sales of quality export products at home can further enrich the countrys market supply and take full advantage of its super-large market size and demand potential, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said at an online press conference.

The MOC said that the rapidly increasing demand among Chinese consumers, the construction of new infrastructure, new urbanization and major projects, as well as the development of new consumption models will contribute to growth in sales of export products in the domestic market.

To support exporters in expanding domestic sales channels, the commerce ministry will work to pool resources from both domestic and foreign trade sectors, and make use of various online shopping festivals and platforms such as fairs and expos.