CPI lower than expected, Provincial budget revenues, Carbon footprint database

Consumer spending over the Spring Festival was not particularly high and China’s economic recovery has not yet fully emerged from COVID: That’s one takeaway from January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which increased by 2.1%. That is 0.3 percentage points higher than December but a smaller than expected increase.

Just eight provinces achieved positive growth in budget revenue last year: Only the resource-rich provinces of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Ningxia and Qinghai achieved growth in fiscal revenue due to the high prices of bulk commodities such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Other provinces were held back by COVID, problems with logistics, the real estate downturn, power cuts, and extreme weather.

China launched the world’s first auto industry carbon footprint database: The China Automotive Technology and Research Center, launched yesterday in Beijing, will collect data on carbon footprints, emissions, and disclosures on local cars, auto parts, and products. Data for buses, trucks, and motorcycles will be added at a later stage.