Latest news with #NationalDevelopmentandReformCommission
Time of India
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Some Chinese cities pause car-buying subsidies as funds run out
At least six cities and municipalities across China have suspended trade-in subsidies for car buyers in June, according to Reuters' review of government announcements, which could slow new car sales in the world's second-biggest economy. Notices from governments in Zhengzhou and Luoyang blamed the subsidy pause on the first round of funding allocated by Beijing for the programme running out, while Shenyang and Chongqing said the suspension was due to adjustments to improve capital efficiency. The northwestern region of Xinjiang issued a similar suspension. China's government has leaned on subsidies for big-ticket items, including cars, home appliances and some electronics to get people spending as consumer sentiment in the country remains sluggish amid a prolonged property slump and concerns over wage growth and unemployment. The programmes have been embraced with some enthusiasm. As of May 31, there were more than 4 million applications submitted this year for car-specific trade-in subsidies, according to the country's Ministry of Commerce. Chinese retail sales data for May released earlier this week surprised on the upside with subsidies cited as one reason for the higher-than-expected 6.4% growth. While there has been no official announcement about when more funds from the central government will be released for programmes, China's National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance have said the subsidies would continue throughout 2025, leading analysts to expect new funds for the third quarter to be made available from July. The subsidy programme has also met with controversy, however, particularly in the auto sector. China's auto industry, the world's largest, has attracted criticism from regulators over a deepening price war that has sapped the sector's profitability. Official media in China's Henan province, where Zhengzhou is the capital, last week reported, citing unnamed sources, that China's central government had taken note of some loopholes in the subsidy schemes and would look to make adjustments. One of the major issues identified by Chinese media and regulators is so-called " zero-mileage used cars ", which refers to the practice of selling brand new cars as heavily discounted second-hand vehicles to get rid of inventory. The report in Henan government-owned newspaper Dahe Daily added that sales of "zero-mileage used cars" were one of the key factors leading to subsidies being used up ahead of expectations, necessitating the suspensions. Some businesses were disguising new or nearly new cars as used cars that they could trade in to obtain the subsidies, the newspaper said. The People's Daily, a national newspaper that often signals the positions of China's top leaders on a variety of issues, also called for a crackdown on the zero-mileage used cars, weeks after Great Wall Motor's Chairman Wei Jianjun publicly condemned the practice. China's industry ministry in early June summoned automakers to a meeting where it called for the sector to halt its price wars, Reuters reported last week.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
China solar industry to address overcapacity challenge but turnaround far off, experts say
Shanghai: Solar manufacturing company heads in China, grappling with losses and tariffs on exports to the U.S., called for an end to a price war and a solution to overcapacity in the sector, but industry participants predict a slow turnaround. China's solar manufacturers have reported losses this year as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war put further pressure on demand within the industry. Losses in the photovoltaic manufacturing value chain reached $40 billion last year, while for the industry as a whole - including firms' other business lines - totalled $60 billion, Trina Solar Chairman Gao Jifan said. The Chinese government and industry were working to address the overcapacity and breakneck competition that have pushed most major producers into the red, Gao told the SNEC PV+ Photovoltaic Power Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai this week. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's state planner, held an online meeting in February calling for a ban on new production, Gao said, but new capacity has nevertheless been built in recent months. NDRC did not immediately respond to a faxed question on the matter. Zhu Gongshan, chairman of polysilicon and module producer GCL, called for a "clear out" of the sector through mergers and a paring back of production capacity. China was also moving away from reliance on a single market, Zhu said, referring to growth in new markets outside China in response to tariffs and other trade barriers. Chinese manufacturers have been rapidly expanding in the Middle East, and a module-producing firm said demand is set to grow in eastern Europe and South Asia. Solar manufacturing makes up less than two-thirds of Trina's business now and will fall to 50% or less in the next two to three years, Gao said, with a greater focus on product solutions and energy storage. Several experts told Reuters during this week's industry event that there is no hope for recovery in solar component prices this year. One procurement manager at a module producer in eastern China said two or three large factories would have to stop production for supply and demand to rebalance and support prices, unlikely in the near future.
Qatar Tribune
12-06-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
China courts private tech firms to help drive next 5-year plan
Agencies China has signalled growing support for the private sector, as the head of the government department that oversees economic reform sat down with representatives of the tech industry to gather input ahead of Beijing's next five-year development blueprint, analysts said. Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), met leaders from five private enterprises to 'gather opinions and suggestions for the scientific formulation of the '15th Five-Year Plan', with a focus on technological innovation', according to a statement published by the NDRC on Tuesday. Zheng said private enterprises could play a crucial role in helping Beijing formulate its next plan, which will cover the years 2026 to 2030. The private sector 'possesses strong innovation momentum, great potential and abundant vitality', he added, making private companies 'a key force in developing new quality productive forces'. 01:29 The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard Since the start of the year, the Chinese government has struck an increasingly private-sector-friendly tone. In February, President Xi Jinping held a rare high-level meeting with business heads – the first since 2018. In May, a new private sector law came into effect, promising fairer market competition, equal market access and stronger legal protections. Peng Peng, head of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank affiliated with the provincial government, said the 15th Five-Year Plan would 'focus on technology and innovation as engines [for development], which means it needs to promote new and future-oriented industries.' 'Private companies have a lot more advantages in this regard. They are the key driving force in innovation.' The five companies invited to attend the meeting were Moore Threads from Beijing, Zhejiang's Ant Group, BGI Genomics from Guangdong, Henan's Yinjinda New Materials and Sevnce Robotics from Chongqing. The firms were carefully selected to each represent a strategic emerging industry, encompassing semiconductors, the internet, biopharmaceuticals, new materials and artificial intelligence (AI), Peng said. 'From a geographic standpoint, they are from all four corners of China,' he added, with Beijing in the north, Zhejiang in the east, Guangdong in the south, Henan in the centre and Chongqing in the west. During the meeting, the business leaders asked the government to increase support in 'capital, talents, energy, data and other factors in the field of science and technological innovation'. In response, Zheng vowed the government would 'carefully study and incorporate suggestions from private companies' and provide more 'targeted policy initiatives' to support the private sector, according to the NDRC statement. 'This (increasing focus on private companies) is necessary. I'm in touch with some state-owned companies now, and they are all saying that their private counterparts are weathering the situation better,' Peng said. The draft of the 15th Five-Year Plan draft is expected to be presented for review and approval during the annual session of the National People's Congress in March 2026.
Kuwait Times
10-06-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Kuwait renews push for Northern Economic Zone
Kuwait renews push for Northern Economic Zone Prime Minister meets officials, experts to discuss private sector participation, zone's legal foundation KUWAIT: In a renewed drive to advance one of Kuwait's most ambitious development projects, His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, chaired a strategic meeting at Bayan Palace focused on the Northern Economic Zone— of which Silk City is a prominent part. The meeting brought together senior officials and experts from the Northern Economic Zone project team to review initial features of the zone's strategic plan. Discussions emphasized enhancing private sector participation through a flexible legislative framework and competitive incentive structures targeting industrial, commercial, and tourism sectors. The legal foundation for establishing the zone was also addressed, with officials stressing the need to preserve full Kuwaiti sovereignty while creating an investor-friendly environment. Reviving Silk City Silk City, or Madinat Al-Hareer, has been decades in the making. Originally proposed in the 1980s as a residential project in Subiya, the initiative evolved into a sweeping urban and economic development plan that includes Subiya, Boubyan Island, and nearby northern areas—covering over 250 square kilometers. Though envisioned as a hub for trade, innovation, and regional connectivity, the project has faced repeated delays due to geopolitical instability and shifting political priorities. Chinese involvement A key driver in the latest iteration of the Silk City project is Kuwait's growing partnership with China, particularly under the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As early as 2018, high-level Kuwaiti delegations—including representatives from the Silk City Development Authority—visited Beijing and met with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the China Development Bank, and top Chinese construction and tech firms such as Huawei, Alibaba, CGGC, and CCCC. These meetings led to several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) around infrastructure investment, e-commerce, and digital development, positioning Silk City as a potential cornerstone of China's regional logistics and digital trade ambitions. The project's inclusion in Kuwait Vision 2035—a national strategy to diversify the economy beyond oil—further deepened its alignment with China's strategic interests in the Gulf. However, the road has not been smooth. Political opposition within Kuwait and debates over the role of foreign stakeholders as opposed to Kuwait's private sector have contributed to delays. The project has largely been on hold since 2019. A turning point Despite these challenges, the government appears determined to move the project forward. The first phase of Silk City, listed on the New Kuwait 2035 website, includes the activation of the China-Kuwait agreement on master planning and the development of special legislation for a competitive economic zone governed by independent institutions. Officials at Tuesday's meeting, including Abdulaziz Dakhil Al-Dakhil, Head of the Prime Minister's Diwan, and Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Abdulatif Hamed Al-Mashary, reaffirmed Kuwait's commitment to transforming the northern region into a hub for trade, innovation, and international investment. — Agencies
Borneo Post
06-06-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
China's economy on steady upward trajectory amid external challenges: official
This photo taken on June 21, 2023 shows the Drum Tower as seen from the Jingshan Park in Beijing, capital of China. — Xinhua photo BEIJING (June 6): Building on a positive start in the first quarter of 2025, China's economy is continuing to make steady progress, said Ding Lin, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission. Speaking on the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, Ding noted that despite a complex external environment, China's economy has remained resilient. Notably, key indicators like industrial production, the service sector, domestic demand and exports have shown robust growth. Ding emphasized China's innovative dynamism, citing 10-percent growth in the high-tech manufacturing sector in April, nearly 4 percentage points higher than the country's overall industrial growth rate. Ding also highlighted the accelerated development of industries such as drones, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence and humanoid robots. 'In general, as pro-growth measures are swiftly implemented, their effects will continue to emerge, further promoting the country's high-quality economic development,' Ding added. China's GDP grew by 5.4 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2025. – Xinhua China Ding Lin World Economic Forum
