This episode contains segments on:
- China’s January-February foreign direct investment;
- China’s January-February industrial production;
- EU Trade Commissioner’s Remarks ahead of WTO Summit in Cameroon; and
- China’s revised conduct standards for leaders of state-owned enterprises.
Listeners are also invited to join a breakfast roundtable with Eurasia Group’s Wang Dan in Beijing on 8th April, to hear her insights on China’s economic outlook.
Contact:
We’d love to hear your feedback. Contact us at website@europeanchamber.com.cn.
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Read more:
China’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Utilisation January – February 2026
https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/xwfb/rcxwfb/art/2026/art_8f9a848b79ef478f8cf75d540be2bf3b.html
China’s Industrial Production January – February 2026
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202603/t20260316_1962782.html
EU Trade Commissioner’s Remarks ahead of WTO Summit in Cameroon
https://www.euractiv.com/news/eu-demands-serious-reform-of-the-wto-to-stop-flood-of-chinese-exports/
China’s revised conduct standards for leaders of state-owned enterprises
https://english.news.cn/20260322/d4a0a141981445ed860a66f1940d7736/c.html
https://english.news.cn/20260323/727dfe1b8f8549d18e332d71ff33fd4c/c.html
Breakfast Roundtable with Wang Dan, Eurasia Group | China’s Economic Outlook: Consumption, Property and Structural Shifts
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 25th March 2026.
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RUI: China received over 161 billion yuan in foreign direct investment, or FDI, between January and February 2025.
XINHE: This represents a drop of 5.7 per cent year-on-year, slightly larger than the 5.6 per cent drop recorded a month prior. FDI into high-tech industries continued to increase with 39.2 per cent of total FDI, or 63.21 billion yuan, between January and February being invested in these sectors. This represents an 8.5 per cent jump compared the same period last year. Similar to last month’s figures, FDI into R&D and design services and computer and office equipment manufacturing were again the strongest subsectors, with respective increases of 171.8 per cent and 84.1 per cent year-on-year. By country, investment from Canada surged in February, increasing by 210 per cent year-on-year.
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RUI: Production at industrial enterprises above the designated size in China expanded by 6.3 per cent in the January to February period, the highest rate in three months.
XINHE: The manufacturing industry saw strong growth of 6.6 per cent year-on-year, while the mining industry expanded at 6.1 per cent year-on-year. Production expanded in 35 out of the 41 major industrial subsectors in the January to February period. Particularly strong growth was recorded in computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing, at 14.2 per cent year-on-year, and electrical machinery manufacturing, at 8.9 per cent year-on-year.
The automobile manufacturing sector performed weakly, with overall production dropping 9.9 per cent in the January to February period. Production of new energy vehicles, previously a driver of growth, declined by 13.7 per cent year-on-year. However, this could be a positive sign given that the sector has suffered from unsustainable competition driven by overproduction.
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RUI: EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič is set to raise European concerns about China’s surging exports and industrial overcapacity at the upcoming World Trade Organization—or WTO—talks in Cameroon this Thursday.
XINHE: At a press conference on Monday, Šefčovič said the WTO requires “serious reform”, noting that significant shifts in the global trade environment have created the need for changes to members’ rights and obligations with the aim of ensuring that issues like overcapacity, unlevel-playing fields, and non-market policies can be addressed adequately.
Šefčovič highlighted the need for new governance models to address longstanding limitations in the WTO’s dispute settlement system and indicated that the EU would look to bring more countries into the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement as a complementary mechanism.
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RUI: China has issued revised regulations on conduct standards for leaders of state-owned enterprises—or SOEs—to strengthen oversight mechanisms with the aim of preventing corruption.
XINHE: The updated rules, originally introduced in 2009 and recently revised by the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee and State Council, apply to leaders across wholly state-owned, state-controlled, and state-influenced enterprises, including financial firms. The regulations mandate annual reporting, regular Party-led oversight, and the integration of audit and regulatory supervision. Special provisions address anti-risk measures for overseas operations and tighter exit controls for departing leaders.
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RUI: Join the European Chamber’s breakfast roundtable with Dr Wang Dan, China Director at Eurasia Group and former Chief Economist at Hang Seng Bank China.
XINHE: At this breakfast roundtable, Dr Wang Dan will discuss the structural changes currently reshaping China’s economic trajectory, exploring the complex interplay between weakening domestic demand and persistent industrial strength. The session will examine how these dynamics differ from previous growth cycles driven by investment and the property sector, and what they mean for foreign businesses operating in an increasingly differentiated market environment.
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RUI: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in next week.
XINHE: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.