News Briefing for Monday, July 11, 2022
Notable China news from around the world
Hereโs what else you need to know about China today:
U.S. federal agents charged for Chinese spying: The U.S. prosecuted two Department of Homeland Security employees (one former and one current) for their involvement in a โtransnational repression scheme.โ According to court filings, they worked on behalf of the Chinese government to spy on and harass Chinese dissidents living in the United States.
Blinken calls out China on Russia and Myanmar ties: At the G20 summit, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi ็ๆฏ , and expressed his concern over Chinaโs support of Russia despite its ongoing war in Ukraine, while urging ASEAN members to exert more pressure on Myanmarโs junta.
Is Chinaโs auto market on the rebound? During the first half of 2022, Chinaโs auto sales dipped 7.6% over mass lockdown restrictions. However, car companies experienced a shift this June, with total sales rising by $2.5 million, or 23.8%.
SME business confidence improving: On Friday, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) reported that the overall SME Development Index for June was 88.4, an increase of 0.2 points month-on-month, and the first increase since January; for the first time since March, all the sub-indices increased last month.
Relentless rise of the digital economy: According to a new report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the scale of Chinaโs digital economy has grown from 11.2 trillion yuan ($1.67 trillion) in 2012 to 45.5 trillion yuan ($6.79 trillion) in 2021, and proportionally accounts for 39.8% of Chinaโs total GDP.
Steel profits on a steep fall: According to survey data published by the My Steel Network, the profitability rate of 247 domestic steel companies decreased from 83.55% in March this year to 15.15% in late June, a drop of nearly 70 percentage points, as steel production increased and demand declined.
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