This episode contains segments on:
- China’s December PMI;
- January–November industrial profits;
- Hainan Free Trade Port customs closure; and
- The revised Foreign Trade Law.
The November/December issue of EURObiz is available to download from the Chamber’s website here.
Contact:
We’d love to hear your feedback. Contact us at website@europeanchamber.com.cn.
Follow the European Chamber on LinkedIn, Twitter, WeChat (europeanchamber), and sign up for our newsletter here, to get notified on new episodes.
Read more:
China PMI Performance in December 2025
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfbhjd/202512/t20251231_1962218.html
Industrial Profits January through November 2025
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202512/t20251227_1962158.html
Hainan Free Trade Port customs closure
https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202512/18/content_WS6943ac7dc6d00ca5f9a082cb.html
China adopts revised Foreign Trade Law
https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/dwmygl/art/2025/art_d71882d8e70e43e5a28f686c4f0b8db4.html
EURObiz magazine
https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/publications-archive/1378/EURObiz_November_December_2025
Transcript:
RUI: Hello and welcome to China ShortCuts,
XINHE: the European Chamber’s weekly catch-up on China’s business landscape.
RUI: This episode was recorded on 7th January 2026.
(Music)
XINHE: Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China’s manufacturing activity surged in December, entering expansion territory for the first time since March. Non-manufacturing business activity also moved back into expansion territory after a brief contraction in November.
RUI: The manufacturing purchasing manager’s index—or PMI—for December 2025 increased by 0.9 percentage points to 50.1. This was mainly driven by a significant improvement in the outlook for large enterprises, which saw an increase in production activity and new orders. New export orders also improved after softening in October and November. Bucking the trend of a general improvement were small enterprises, which slid further into contractionary territory in December.
The official non-manufacturing PMI returned to growth in December, driven by a strong recovery in the construction sector, which saw the largest month-on-month improvement since January 2025. The services sector also saw a slight increase in PMI, albeit remaining in contraction territory.
(Music)
XINHE: Industrial Profits in November declined by 13.1 per cent year-on-year, dragging down overall growth for the January through November period to just 0.1 per cent according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on 27th December.
RUI: November’s year-on-year decline was more pronounced than October, which saw a 5.5 per cent year-on-year decline. The mining sector continued to drag down overall growth, posting a 27.5 per cent decrease year-on-year. The manufacturing and utilities sectors, which make up the majority of industrial profits, saw increases of five per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively. Compared to the previous month, growth in the manufacturing and utilities sectors, however, was weaker, which was reflected in the lower headline figure for November.
(Music)
XINHE: On 18th December, Hainan Island was officially designated a special customs supervision zone, creating what China is calling the world’s largest free trade port by area.
RUI: Under the new regulations, the number of items that can be imported to the island tariff-free was expanded from 1,900 to 6,600, now covering 74 per cent of product categories. Goods shipped from the Hainan Free Trade Port to other parts of the Chinese mainland will be subject to customs checks, and applicable tariffs unless at least 30 per cent of value is added to its original price within Hainan through some form of processing.
(Music)
XINHE: On 27th December, the National People’s Congress passed a revised version of China’s Foreign Trade Law, focusing on expanding intellectual property protection and strengthening the government’s ability to respond to trade disputes.
RUI: While previously only goods and services were covered, the new revisions now include intellectual property-related trade, allowing China to impose sanctions for IP infringements. The law also creates a stronger legal basis for the Chinese Government to impose trade sanctions against countries restricting Chinese exports. The authority of the government to restrict exports of critical goods such as rare earths was also strengthened.
(Music)
XINHE: The 89th issue of the Chamber’s bimonthly EURObiz magazine focuses on the ongoing challenges in dealing with supply chain dependencies and features highlights of the Chamber’s 2025 Annual Conference.
RUI: This issue contains a wide range of articles, from how AI is transforming the manufacturing sector in China, to a deep dive into how communications teams worked to contain a recent high-profile public relations crisis.
XINHE: Download the latest issue for free from the Chamber’s website to learn more.
(Music)
XINHE: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in next week.
RUI: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.