Latest news with #Communist Party
France 24
21 minutes ago
- Climate
- France 24
Beijing officials admit 'gaps' in readiness after rain kill dozens
Swathes of northern China endured deadly rains and floods since last week that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands. The capital's rural suburbs were hardest hit, officials said, raising the toll from the previously reported 30 announced on Tuesday. "As of midday on July 31, some 44 people have died and nine are still missing as a result of the disasters across the whole of Beijing," top city official Xia Linmao told a news conference. "Between July 23 and 29, Beijing suffered extreme rainfall," he said, adding they had caused "significant casualties and (other) losses". Out of those deaths, 31 took place at an "elderly care centre" in the town of Taishitun in the northeast of the city, Xia said. Among those still missing are local officials working on search and rescue, he added. "On behalf of the municipal party committee and the city government, I would like to express deep mourning for those who have regrettably lost their lives, and profound condolences to their relatives," he said. Xia vowed to "learn profound lessons" from the disaster. "Our ability to forecast and warn of extreme weather is insufficient, and disaster prevention and mitigation plans have not been fully developed. There are still shortcomings in the construction of infrastructure in mountainous areas," he said. Yu Weiguo, ruling Communist Party boss in the hard-hit Miyun district, also admitted there had been "gaps" in readiness. "Our knowledge of extreme weather was lacking. This tragic lesson has warned us that putting the people first, putting human life first, is more than a slogan," he said. Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat. China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense. But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's Politburo calls for ‘stepped up' economic policy support
China has vowed to maintain its macro policy support for the rest of 2025 as the country seeks to navigate economic risks – both external and internal – in the second half of the year and plan for its next half-decade of development. After a meeting of the 24-member Politburo – a major decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party led by President Xi Jinping – that ended on Wednesday, the party's upper echelon issued a statement encouraging action to support the economy. 'Macro policies must continue to exert strength and be stepped up when appropriate,' according to a readout released by state news agency Xinhua. The Politburo said it would also 'stabilise the fundamentals of foreign trade and investment' and support firms hit hard by recent shocks to the global economy. On the same day, Xi held a symposium on the economy with prominent figures from outside the party, stressing the need for stability and calling for efforts to boost consumption and break free from destructive intra-industrial competition – reiterating the sentiments in the Politburo's statement.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate
BEIJING: China's government will offer subsidies to parents to the tune of US$500 per child under the age of three per year, Beijing's state media said on Monday (Jul 28), as the world's second most populous nation faces a looming demographic crisis. The country's population has declined for three consecutive years, with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100. The nationwide subsidies apply retroactively from Jan 1, Beijing's state broadcaster CCTV said, citing a decision by the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, China's cabinet. "This is a major nationwide policy aimed at improving public wellbeing," CCTV said. "It provides direct cash subsidies to families across the country, helping to reduce the burden of raising children," it added. There were just 9.54 million births in China last year, half the number than in 2016, the year it ended its one-child policy, which was in place for more than three decades. The population declined by 1.39 million last year, and China lost its crown as the world's most populous country to India in 2023. Marriage rates are also at record low levels, with many young couples put off having babies by high child-rearing costs and career concerns. "GROUNDWORK FOR THE FUTURE" Analysts warned that the subsidies alone would not reverse China's population decline, nor boost its long-standing domestic spending slump. "The sums involved are too small to have a near-term impact on the birth rate or consumption," Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said. "But the policy does mark a major milestone in terms of direct handouts to households and could lay the groundwork for more fiscal transfers in future." Many local governments have already rolled out subsidies to encourage childbirth. In March, Hohhot, the capital of China's northern Inner Mongolia region, began offering residents up to 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) per newborn for couples with three or more children, while first and second children will be eligible for 10,000 and 50,000 yuan subsidies. In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, local authorities give families who have a third child 500 yuan per month until the child turns three. Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, offers a one-time payment of 25,000 yuan to couples who have a third child. More than 20 provincial-level administrations in the country now offer childcare subsidies, according to official data. Premier Li Qiang vowed to provide childcare subsidies during the government's annual work report in March. China's shrinking population is also ageing fast, sparking worries about the future of the country's pension system. There were nearly 310 million people aged 60 and over in 2024.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
China to offer childcare subsidies in bid to boost birth rate
BEIJING: China's government will offer subsidies to parents to the tune of $500 per child under the age of three per year, Beijing's state media said Monday, as the world's second most populous nation faces a looming demographic crisis. The country's population has declined for three consecutive years, with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100. The nationwide subsidies apply retroactively from January 1, Beijing's state broadcaster CCTV said, citing a decision by the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, China's cabinet. 'This is a major nationwide policy aimed at improving public wellbeing,' CCTV said. 'It provides direct cash subsidies to families across the country, helping to reduce the burden of raising children,' it added. There were just 9.54 million births in China last year, half the number than in 2016, the year it ended its one-child policy, which was in place for more than three decades. The population declined by 1.39 million last year, and China lost its crown as the world's most populous country to India in 2023. Marriage rates are also at record low levels, with many young couples put off having babies by high child-rearing costs and career concerns. Analysts warned that the subsidies alone would not reverse China's population decline, nor boost its long-standing domestic spending slump. 'The sums involved are too small to have a near-term impact on the birth rate or consumption,' Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said. 'But the policy does mark a major milestone in terms of direct handouts to households and could lay the groundwork for more fiscal transfers in future.' Many local governments have already rolled out subsidies to encourage childbirth. In March, Hohhot, the capital of China's northern Inner Mongolia region, began offering residents up to 100,000 yuan ($14,000) per newborn for couples with three or more children, while first and second children will be eligible for 10,000 and 50,000 yuan subsidies. In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, local authorities give families who have a third child 500 yuan per month until the child turns three. Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, offers a one-time payment of 25,000 yuan to couples who have a third child. More than 20 provincial-level administrations in the country now offer childcare subsidies, according to official data. Premier Li Qiang vowed to provide childcare subsidies during the government's annual work report in March. China's shrinking population is also aging fast, sparking worries about the future of the country's pension system. There were nearly 310 million people aged 60 and over in 2024.
Free Malaysia Today
18-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Xi questions local officials on EV, AI plans in rare rebuke
Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned against rushed urban plans, saying development must unfold naturally, not be driven by quick success. (EPA Images pic) BEIJING : President Xi Jinping questioned the need for local governments across China to crowd into the same emerging industries, a rare rebuke that reflects growing concerns about deflation at home and trade tensions abroad. 'When it comes to launching new projects, it's always the same few things: artificial intelligence, computing power, new-energy vehicles,' Xi said in a meeting in Beijing this week on urban development, according to a Thursday article on the front page of the People's Daily. 'Should every province in the country be developing industries in these areas?' he was quoted as asking by the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party. The blunt, colloquial criticism was unusual as state media typically publish his more formal comments or policy guidance. The comments reflect a growing concern of policymakers that officials across the country are pursuing investment in a select few industries favoured by Beijing, exacerbating excess capacity and delaying consolidation. Xi's remarks add to a recent chorus from top officials calling for an end to price wars among industries, which are worsening a downward spiral in company profits and wages. A state council meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday pledged to rein in 'irrational competition' in the EV sector, more signs that authorities are getting serious about curbing overcapacity. A meeting of the top Communist Party body in charge of economic policy earlier this month vowed to regulate how local governments try to attract investment. As domestic demands remain sluggish, growing supplies across industries are fuelling a worrying deflation trend despite the economy's recent resilience. Nominal growth rate, which accounts for price changes, was only 3.9% in the second quarter, the least outside the pandemic since the quarterly data began in 1993. Competition among local governments for faster expansion, coupled with an investment-led model, has driven China's growth miracle in recent decades. But it also created surging public debt and wasteful investment, leading to chronic overcapacity that has flooded foreign markets and raised geopolitical tensions. Qiushi, an official magazine of the Communist Party, in an article this month offered a harsh criticism of local behaviours that fostered 'disorderly competition.' It called out practices of illicit subsidies, 'blind' investment in key industries and market barriers that disadvantage companies from other places. In a similar vein, Xi in March 2024 called on local governments to develop 'new productive forces' – commonly understood as emerging industries – based on their unique conditions and avoid creating 'industry bubbles.' The imbalance of supply and demand is evident across many sectors, from traditional heavy industries like steel to new ones like EV and solar. Even after the number of EV makers started shrinking for the first time last year, the industry is still using less than half its production capacity. The combined targets of new energy storage by 2025 from 26 of the 31 provinces that published such a goal are more than double the national target, according to an industry group. In the gathering this week, Xi made clear that some local authorities have gone too far, saying that 'promoting urbanisation should be a gradual process that unfolds naturally.' 'It must align with the laws of economic and social development and should not be divorced from reality or driven by a rush for quick success,' he said.
