Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (Aug. 28)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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Good Wednesday. This is TIAN in Beijing.
Welcome to monitor the pulse of China’s economy together with me.
DRIVING THE DAY, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in town. Today he held “candid, substantive and constructive discussions" with Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.
Here are some key takeaways from the discussion:
Firstly from Wang Yi:
In order to keep China-U.S. relations on the right direction, it is crucial that the two presidents steer and guide the relations.
The key to make China-U.S. interactions smooth lies in treating each other as equals.
Wang urged the United States to stop suppressing China in the fields of economy, trade, technology, and refrain from undermining China's legitimate interests. Utilizing "overcapacity" as an excuse to pursue protectionism will only harm global green development and impede world economic growth.
The two countries should build more bridges and pave more roads for people-to-people exchanges instead of putting up obstacles.
the key for China and the United States to achieve peaceful coexistence is to establish a correct understanding.
Secondly from Sullivan:
There are differences and competition between the United States and China, and there are also many areas where the two sides need to cooperate.
The U.S. side has no intention of decoupling with China.
The United States and China will coexist peacefully on this planet for a long time, and the goal of U.S. policy is to find a way to make the U.S.-China relationship sustainable.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2024 kicked off in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, attracting over 21,000 guests and 414 domestic and international companies to participate.
The expo's participants include domestic industry leaders such as Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com, as well as 77 overseas companies from over 30 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Canada.
The companies will showcase their cutting-edge digital technologies, solutions, and innovative applications across various fields.
Over 90 activities, including 25 industry exchange events, are expected to be held on the sidelines of the expo that will run through Friday.
MEANWHILE, the Beijing Daxing International Airport opened the international passenger channel of its fixed-base operator (FBO) as well as a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for business jets.
Business aviation is an important part of civil aviation transportation, and the latest move will greatly promote the development of business aviation at Beijing Daxing airport, said Jia Jianqing, deputy general manager of Capital Airports Holdings Co., Ltd.
FBO offers a wide range of services to general aviation aircraft, including refueling, maintenance and hangar facilities.
The FBO's international passenger channel, open 24 hours a day, aims to become the top entry and exit choice for business aviation, offering high-quality services for business travelers and VIPs worldwide.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Fell 0.4% on Wednesday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) lost 0.4% on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 0.31%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 0.46% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) ended nearly flat.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices mixed Wednesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above remained flat at 575.5 yuan (about 80.81 U.S. dollars) per gram.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went down 0.9 yuan from the previous trading day to 573.99 yuan.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.1216 against USD Wednesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 33 pips to 7.1216 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 1.02 pct lower
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower Wednesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 182.22 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 17,692.45 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.27 percent to end at 6,225.99 points and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1.59 percent to 3,445.46 points.
China's central bank conducts reverse repos Wednesday
China's central bank conducted 277.3 billion yuan (about 38.94 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.7 percent Wednesday.
The move aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system at the end of the month, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
Cotton futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for January 2025 delivery gained 40 yuan (about 5.62 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,810 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 325,803 lots with a turnover of 22.45 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for January 2025 delivery gained 22 yuan (3.09 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,633 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 385,789 lots with a turnover of 21.83 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed flat on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for January 2025 delivery was flat to close at 754.5 yuan (about 105.95 U.S. dollars) per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 472,939 lots, with a turnover of about 35.78 billion yuan.
No.1 soybean futures closed higher on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for January 2025 delivery gained 14 yuan (about 1.97 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,296 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 132,476 lots, with a turnover of about 5.71 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily, trustworthy content on China's economy and regularly updates the insights of Chinese youth on Sino-US relations. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.