This episode contains segments on:

• Annual Government Work Report;
• Official Purchasing Manufacturing Index (PMI) in February;
• European Commission to simplify rules on sustainability; and
• The United States raised additional tariffs on Chinese imports.

Listeners are also invited to join the townhall briefing on 13^th March in Beijing or online, during which President Jens Eskelund will share his key takeaways from the 2025 European tour.

This episode contains segments on:

• State Council’s Action Plan for Stabilising Foreign Investment
• Actual use of foreign direct investment in China in January 2025
• The Council of the EU adopts 16^th sanction package on Russia’s war against Ukraine
• Financial Times report on China’s spending on individual consumption

Listeners are also invited to join the event The German Election—Which Way Forward For EU-China Relations? on 27^th February online or in Beijing.

This episode contains segments on:

• Chinese President meets private entrepreneurs;
• Caixin analysis of 2025 local GDP growth targets;
• China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association opposes US tariffs on aluminium products;

Listeners are also invited to join the event Digital Transformation in Retail—Experiential Retail on 26^th February in Shanghai.

This episode contains segments on:

• January producer and consumer price indexes;
• The United States imposed additional tariff on Chinese imports;
• State Council Executive meeting; and
• Rhodium Group report on China’s role in global supply chains;

From the Chamber’s side, the European Tour 2025 took place in Brussels between 3^rd and 7^th February.

This episode contains segments on:

• China’s GDP and macroeconomic data in 2024;
• Foreign direct investment in 2024;
• The EU’s report on International Procurement Instrument investigation into China’s public procurement for medical devices; and
• EU launches challenge against China at the WTO on royalties for EU high-tech sector;

The Chamber released Siloing and Diversification: One World, Two Systemsreport on 9^th January, which is available to download from the Chamber’s official website.

This episode contains segments on:

• Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index in December and 2024;
• Foreign trade data in 2024; and
• National commerce work conference.

Listeners are also invited to join the event China’s Economic Outlook 2025: Opportunities for FIEs after the Central Economic Work Conference on 16th January in Beijing or online.

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 PPI, CPI December and 2024 (NBS)

https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202501/t20250109_1958168.html

China foreign trade data 2024 (GACC)

http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/zfxxgk/2799825/302274/302275/6312599/index.html

http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/zfxxgk/2799825/302274/302275/6312783/index.html 

National commerce work conference

https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/xwfb/bldhd/art/2025/art_0796c059fe504c5eb07376213a7aaffb.html

Chamber event: China’s Economic Outlook 2025: Opportunities for FIEs after the Central Economic Work Conference

https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/upcoming-events/27058/_Hybrid_China_Economic_Outlook_2025_Opportunities_for_FIEs_After_the_Central_Economic_Work_Conference

Transcript:

RUI: Hello and welcome to China ShortCuts,

MARIANN: the European Chamber’s weekly catchup on China’s business landscape.

RUI: This episode was recorded on 15^th January 2025.

(MUSIC)

RUI: Producer prices in China fell for the 27^th month in a row in December, while consumer price growth continued to hover around zero, according to data released by China’s statistics bureau on 9^th January.

MARIANN: Producer prices dropped 2.3 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year. The rate of decline showed a gradual easing from last year’s low point of 2.9 per cent recorded in October over the final two months of the year. In 2024, overall producer prices fell 2.2 per cent compared to the previous year.

Consumer prices edged up 0.1 per cent year-on-year in December, and 0.2 per cent in the whole of 2024. This was way below the government’s target set in the March 2024 Government Work Report, which set consumer price inflation at ‘around 3 per cent’.

(MUSIC)

RUI: Data published by China’s customs authorities on 13^th January showed that the country’s trade surplus reached almost 1 trillion US dollars.

MARIANN: In dollar denominated terms, the total value of China’s exports increased 10.7 per cent year-on-year in December. The annual export growth was 5.9 per cent. Conversely, import growth was subdued both in December as well as throughout 2024. In December, the total value of imports edged up 1 per cent, following two consecutive months of decline. The annual import growth was 1.1 per cent.

The discrepancy between its exports and imports led China to reach a trade surplus of 992 billion US dollars in 2024. Some of last year’s sharp surge in exports, especially towards the end of the year, was widely attributed to export ‘front loading’, as Chinese exporters fast-tracked their shipments to the US before the new Trump administration comes into office later this month. Trump has stated that he will slap steep tariffs on goods imported to the US from China.

Customs data showed that in the last two months of 2024, the US overtook the EU as China’s second largest export market in cumulative terms. Looking at overall trade, however, the EU still maintained its position as China’s second largest trade partner, preceded only by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is its largest trade partner for the fourth year running.

 (MUSIC)

RUI: At the two-day national commerce work conference, held in Beijing on 11^th and 12^th January, Chinese policymakers reinforced earlier pledges to boost consumption and attract foreign investment in the year ahead.

MARIANN: Among steps to boost consumption, discussions at the meeting focussed on the consumer goods trade-in programme, as well as the promotion of services and digital consumption. As for the task of attracting foreign investment, the meeting readout highlighted the need to build a “first-class business environment” and to leverage China’s national economic development zones to attract foreign investment.

Chinese Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao, who delivered an annual work report at the meeting, also emphasised the need to lay the groundwork for the next five-year plan, as 2025 is the last year covered in the current, 14^th Five-year Plan.  

(MUSIC)

RUI: The Central Economic Work Conference, held in Beijing in December, outlined the key tasks for 2025. It called for efforts to drive the development of ‘new quality productive forces’ and to expand high standard opening up, while keeping foreign trade and foreign investment stable.

MARIANN: Meanwhile, over the past half-decade or so, an increasing number of international companies have conducted reviews of their global resilience, with their China operations seen as being particularly exposed to various risk factors and increasing trade tensions. The trend of companies diversifying their supply chains has also become more pronounced. 

RUI: Join the European Chamber’s event China Economic Outlook 2025 online on 16^th January, to hear economists, think tankers and policy experts decode China’s economic landscape and explore some of the opportunities for foreign-invested enterprises in 2025.

(MUSIC)

MARIANN: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in again next week.

RUI: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.

This episode contains segments on:

• A draft standard for government procurement of domestically produced products;
• Strengthening dual-use products export control to the United States;
• Consumer and producer price indices in November;
• Foreign trade data in November.

From the Chamber’s side, Secretary General Adam Dunnett met Hainan provincial leaders at an event on the Hainan Free Trade Port hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This episode contains segments on:

• Guidelines to further develop digital trade;
• Pilot work plan permitting the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals;
• November Official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and Caixin China Manufacturing and Services PMI;
• January to October industrial profits;

Listeners are also invited to join the European Chamber Annual Conference: Looking Back and Moving Forward on 10^th December in Beijing to hear from business leader, economists, academics and China experts.