China's Factory Output Grows More Than Forecast Despite Tariffs
China's industrial output expanded faster than expected in April, highlighting the resilience of the world's second-largest economy and feeding optimism about growth following a quick de-escalation of trade tensions with the US. Goldman Sachs Chief China Economist Hui Shan and Credit Agricole Chief China Economist Xiaojia Zhi share their insights on the latest snapshot of China's economy.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Travel Weekly
31 minutes ago
- Travel Weekly
Aircraft delivery delays are stunting growth, but there's a silver lining
NEW DELHI, India -- The backlog for commercial airline orders is currently more than 17,000 planes, according to IATA, as aircraft makers continue to fall short of production targets. It's a backlog of 14 years at current production rates. The backlog is constraining industry growth and increasing the age of fleets, officials said during IATA's Annual General Meeting here. The industry's average aircraft age has increased from 13 years in 2015 to 15 years currently. This year, Boeing and Airbus had forecast 1,430 deliveries, according to airline industry data company Cirium, but through the first four months of the year they had delivered just 359 planes. "It's very unpredictable. You order an aircraft today, your guess is as good as mine when you're going to receive it," said Nick Careen, IATA's senior vice president of operations, safety and security. The industry's annual fleet replacement rate is just half of the 5% to 6% that it was in 2020, IATA director general Willie Walsh said. Walsh criticized manufacturers for not making faster progress on supply chain problems that he said could last until the end of the decade. A variety of issues have contributed to supply challenges, including a shortage of skilled labor and titanium sourcing problems, Careen added. A shortage of spare parts and aircraft grounded for inspections of Pratt & Whitney GTF engines have exacerbated the shortfall. IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers, whose airline currently has a narrowbody order book of nearly 1,000 Airbus planes plus 60 widebody orders, said delivery delays and shortfalls are hurting the airline industry. "I would say it's a missed opportunity in terms of addressing the market demand," he said. But not everybody agrees. Steve Saxon, a partner and aviation industry analyst for the consulting firm McKinsey, said delivery delays have been a blessing for airlines, driving up yields and profitability by preventing them from growing too fast. Last year, the airline industry recorded a net profit of $32.4 billion, according to IATA. Walsh, too, acknowledged that the slow delivery pipeline has a silver lining. Last year, airlines filled 84% of their seats, a record. "I didn't think I'd ever see load factors at that level," he said.


Bloomberg
42 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bessent Says China Has a ‘Choice' on Whether or Not to Be a Reliable Partner
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China has a choice on whether or not to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world, reiterating that it needs to be more of a consumption-led economy. Speaking via video link to the American Swiss Foundation Leadership Summit in Zurich on Tuesday, Bessent also said he sees untapped potential for Switzerland and the US to collaborate more on artificial intelligence and financial services.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Job openings rise more than expected in April despite tariff escalation
Job openings unexpectedly rose in the first month that a wide swath of President Trump's tariffs went into effect. After hovering near a four-year low in March, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 7.39 million jobs open at the end of April, an increase from the 7.2 million seen the month prior. The data comes as investors closely watch for signs that economic growth may be slowing further. The March figure was revised higher from the 7.19 million open jobs initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected Tuesday's report to show 7.1 million openings in April. The April survey included data from the period immediately following Trump's announcement of steep reciprocal tariffs for a host of countries. Those were put on a 90-day pause on April 9, with 10% baseline tariffs remaining in effect. The data doesn't include any reaction to the US-China tariff pause in May. "A rise in job openings at the end of April shows labor demand is far from collapsing in the wake of policy uncertainty, but the modest gain still leaves openings declining on trend," Wells Fargo senior economist Sarah House wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday. "Turnover remains subdued as businesses await more clarity on the outlook and workers await more job opportunities." The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that 5.57 million hires were made during the month, up slightly from the 5.4 million made during March. The hiring rate ticked up to 3.5% from 3.4%. In one sign that workers may be getting more cautious about labor market conditions, the quits rate, a sign of confidence among workers, moved down slightly to 2% from 2.1% in March. Both the hiring and quits rates are hovering near decade lows, reflecting what economists have described as a labor market in "stasis." Wolfe Research chief economist Stephanie Roth told Yahoo Finance that the slight tick down in quits in April shows "at the margin, a cooling off economy." The latest JOLTs data comes as market participants continue to closely watch economic data for any signs that Trump's tariff escalation is weighing on growth data. In April, tariffs appeared to have minimal impact on the headline labor market numbers as the US economy added 177,000 nonfarm payrolls while the unemployment rate held flat at 4.2%. Economists don't expect Friday's May jobs report to show significant signs of cooling either. Consensus expects a modest higher slowdown with nonfarm payroll additions projected to fall to 130,000 in May while the unemployment rate once again held flat at 4.2%. Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.