China’s factory activity improved last month ahead of talks with Washington aimed at ending a tariff dispute.
Surveys released yesterday by an industry group and a business magazine showed improvement, although gains were small.
The China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said that its purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.8 from August’s 49.5 on a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 show activity contracting.
Photo: AFP
Caixin said its index rose to 51.4 from 50.4.
Demand for Chinese goods has been hurt by weakening domestic and global economic growth as well as US tariff hikes in a fight over trade and technology.
Negotiators are due to meet in Washington next week, but there has been no sign of progress toward ending the dispute, which threatens to tip global economic growth into a recession.
“We don’t expect a meaningful breakthrough. Even if there is a ceasefire, the damage is already partly done because of elevated business uncertainties,” Citigroup economists said in a report.
Weak factory activity is adding to pressure on Chinese leaders to shore up economic growth.
However, they have resisted US demands to roll back plans for state-led development of technology industries that Washington and other trading partners say violate Beijing’s market-opening promises.
The federation described last month’s data as a manufacturing rebound and said “business confidence shows signs of stabilizing,” but forecasters warn that China’s economic activity is likely to decline in the longer term.
A construction boom is winding down and Chinese regulators who want to reduce reliance on debt to propel growth look unlikely to ease lending controls.
Beijing has avoided following the US and Europe in cutting interest rates to spur activity.
A separate index by the federation of service industries declined to 53.8 from August’s 53.7 as construction activity cooled.
“This is unlikely to mark the start of a turnaround,” London-based Capital Economics Ltd said in a report.
“Not only is global demand set to weaken further, but the long-overdue pull-back in property construction is getting under way,” it added.
In related developments, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴), the nation’s top trade negotiator is to lead the 13th round of talks aimed at resolving the trade dispute with the US, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen (王受文) said on Sunday.
Liu would travel to Washington for the negotiations, he said.
Wang did not give exact dates, but said that the talks would be after China’s long National Day holiday, which runs through Saturday.
“The two sides should find a solution through equal dialogue in accordance with the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” Wang told a Beijing news conference with other officials, including Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan (鍾山).
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS