The contraction in China’s manufacturing worsened last month as the global downturn battered trade, data showed yesterday, and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) said problems due to the crisis were growing as he left for a London economic summit.
The monthly purchasing managers index by brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets showed manufacturing shrank for an eighth month last month. Based on a survey of some 400 companies, the index fell to 44.8, down from February’s 45.1, on a scale where numbers below 50 show activity is shrinking.
“Business conditions at Chinese manufacturers continued to deteriorate at a marked rate in March,” Hong Kong-based CLSA said in a statement. It said companies cut more jobs as orders declined.
The data suggested China is still mired in a slump despite a huge government stimulus and optimistic statements by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) and other officials. The central bank said last week the decline appeared to be slowing and data point to a recovery.
Manufacturing, which accounts for about 40 percent of China’s economy, has been battered by a collapse in exports and weaker Chinese consumer sales. The government said 20 million migrant laborers have been thrown out of work and leaders worry that further job losses could fuel unrest.
“China’s economic difficulties are clearly increasing,” Hu told Xinhua news agency during an interview before leaving for Thursday’s meeting in London of leaders from the G20 major economies to discuss the global crisis.
“This is mainly shown in declining trade, weakening industrial production, management difficulties in some industries and growing employment troubles,” Hu said. He gave no new details on job losses.
Hu was expected to use the London summit to push China’s demand for a bigger role in managing the world economy, including a more prominent place in the IMF and other finance bodies.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from