Latest news with #State Council
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Xi Questions Local Officials on EV, AI Plans in Rare Rebuke
(Bloomberg) -- 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. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say Mumbai Facelift Is Inspired by 200-Year-Old New York Blueprint '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 favored 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 fueling 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 behaviors 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 urbanization 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. (Updates with additional details throughout.) What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover Forget DOGE. Musk Is Suddenly All In on AI Why Access to Running Water Is a Luxury in Wealthy US Cities ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Xi Questions Local Officials on EV, AI Plans in Rare Rebuke
(Bloomberg) -- 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. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say Mumbai Facelift Is Inspired by 200-Year-Old New York Blueprint '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 favored 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 fueling 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 behaviors 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 urbanization 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. (Updates with additional details throughout.) What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover Forget DOGE. Musk Is Suddenly All In on AI The Quest for a Hangover-Free Buzz ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Xi Questions Local Officials on EV, AI Plans in Rare Rebuke
(Bloomberg) -- 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. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say Mumbai Facelift Is Inspired by 200-Year-Old New York Blueprint '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 favored 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 fueling 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 behaviors 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 urbanization 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. (Updates with additional details throughout.) What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover Forget DOGE. Musk Is Suddenly All In on AI The Quest for a Hangover-Free Buzz ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Lead poisoning scandal in China shows tendency to cover up is still strong
More than 200 families in a small city in northwestern China recently found themselves with a deeply worrying task: trying to establish if their children had lead poisoning. Some had been ill for months with symptoms such as stomach ache. Parents who took their children to a local hospital were told the blood lead results were normal. Those who sought a second opinion in a neighbouring province discovered dangerous blood lead levels, as much as 40 times higher in at least one case – a clear sign of poisoning. The scandal in Tianshui, Gansu province, finally erupted this month. On July 8, the local authorities concluded that a kindergarten had used inedible paint in its pastries, causing 233 out of 251 children to have abnormal blood lead levels. Eight people were detained in connection with the case. But the public was not satisfied and many demanded more answers. Over the weekend, the Gansu government announced an upgraded investigation involving provincial officials and a task force from the State Council. This need not have happened. The Tianshui government had every opportunity to properly handle the crisis. Sadly, such failures are common in a system where political performance is seen as the top priority and officials do not necessarily do what is best for the people. 01:35 Eight held in China over kindergarten lead poisoning after high levels found in children Eight held in China over kindergarten lead poisoning after high levels found in children The Tianshui government seems to have done quite a few things wrong. First, local officials allegedly tried to suppress the matter, probably hoping it would fail to catch wider media attention and the notice of their superiors.
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
China widens kindergarten lead poisoning investigation as central government gets involved
China has expanded the probe into a kindergarten lead poisoning scandal that has shocked the nation, with the central government getting involved in a rare intervention in a provincial investigation. Advertisement On Saturday night the authorities in Gansu said the investigation would be led by provincial leaders working alongside a task force from the State Council, the country's cabinet. Last week, Chinese media reported that 233 of 251 children at the kindergarten in Tianshui, a second-tier city in the northwestern province, were found to have abnormal blood lead levels Parents said local tests had not highlighted that anything was amiss and the problem only came to light when the children were tested in another province. The local police said on Tuesday that the kindergarten was suspected of using inedible paint to add colour to food and had detained eight people, including the principal. Advertisement The provincial investigation team is headed by party chief Hu Changsheng and governor Ren Zhenhe, working alongside other officials, police and party discipline inspectors. Experts from the national environmental and health ministries and a task force from the state council's food safety commission will also be involved, the statement said.
