China's economy structural reform progressing ...

[TaiShang]

Yearender-Commentary: China: growth engine, stabilizer of world economy

Source: Xinhua 2016-12-26

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Although China cannot solely lift the world economy out its current malaise, the nation's current stable growth offers more than just confidence to the world.

Despite a troublesome start and headwinds from home and abroad, the Chinese economy ends 2016 on a firm footing, and it looks like growth targets for this year will be met..

"Seeking progress while maintaining stability" is the main theme of next year's economic work, as China pledges to ensure its economy operates within a reasonable range while pushing structural reform.

As the world's second-largest economy and the main source of export demand for over 100 economies, which account for about 80 percent of global GDP according to the IMF, China's commitment to ensuring stable growth is reassuring.

China has long been seen as an engine to shore up global economic growth, a role it played during the global financial crisis, when strong growth here -- backed by a 4 trillion yuan (about 575.9 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package -- helped avert the worst of a global recession.

It is not crisis time yet, but alarm bells are ringing. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that not since the early nineties has the world economy been so weak for so long.

Growing uncertainty for the world economy, and geopolitical instability have made China's economic stability particularly significant.

It is true that China has slowed significantly from its double-digit growth rates, but after the transition to what some Chinese leaders have dubbed the "new normal," China still remains the world's major growth engine.

If China's GDP growth reaches 6.7 percent in 2016, in line with the government's official target for the year, China would account for 1.2 percentage points of world GDP growth, according to economist Stephen Roach. With the IMF currently expecting only 3.1 percent global growth this year, China would contribute to over one-third of the world's growth.

Given persistently weak external demand, ongoing deleveraging and capacity-reduction pressure, and a slowing property sector, maintaining stable growth will not be easy for China in 2017.

Unlike some major economies, where policy space is constrained, China policy makers have ample room to boost activity and avoid drastic decline. And unlike other major economies, China's slowdown is to some extent a desired outcome of reforms designed to transform the economy. China is moving from an export-and-investment-driven economy to one that is more sustainable and draws strength from consumption, services and innovation.

Through structural reform, China's transition is capable of addressing both short-term cyclical pressures and longer-term issues. Its successful rebalancing will greatly benefit the world.

Expanding domestic demand from China will become an increasingly important source of export-led growth for China's major trade partners, provided that those countries grant open access to growing Chinese markets.

China has worked hard to assume responsibility as a regional and global economic power, putting forward a series of initiatives to encourage regional economic integration and cooperation. High on the list are the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is also gaining momentum.

Under such circumstances, a weak and vulnerable world economy needs China more than ever.

 

[TaiShang]

Over 13 million new jobs created in 2016: official
Xinhua, December 29, 2016

China created more than 13 million new jobs in cities this year as part of the efforts to stabilize a slowing economy, a Chinese official said.

Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin disclosed the figure at an annual ministry conference on Wednesday

The number exceeds the official target of 10 million set earlier this year.

The stable employment helped prop up economic growth and maintain social harmony, he said.

Despite the economic slowdown, the government has managed to keep a low urban registered unemployment rate, partly by employment services and support for college graduates and laid-off workers from saturated heavy industries.

Yin said the employment will remain a top priority in the next year due to lingering pressures.

In 2017, the ministry will also cautiously push forward pension funds investment, and improve the distribution of workers' salary, Yin added.

***

China over delivers. Taishang not surprised. Life goes on.

 

[Shotgunner51]

In the first 11 months, 24,355 new foreign-funded firms were established in China

Yes, inbound FDI to China is still increasing, by now total stock of inbound FDI (booked under external liabilities in IIP statement) should exceed $2.7 trillion. Trend is healthy, though from perspective of macroscopic financials, it pose more challenge on China to increase outbound FDI (ODI; booked under external assets in IIP statement) which is only $1.2515 trillion by June 2016. The gap in between as wide as $1.5 trillion!

For the same period last year, sources of inbound FDI were

1. 78.175% from Hong Kong
2. 5.479% from Singapore
3. 3.653% from Taiwan
4. 3.457% from South Korea
5. 2.842% from Japan

Source: https://defence.pk/threads/china-20...es-594-5-billions.417749/page-2#ixzz4UCsT2sQp​

Also take note, additional pressure is that China has huge incoming BoP surpluses every year (last year trade surplus $594.5 billion). China must increase outbound direct investment drastically to close the $1.5 trillion gap with inbound FDI, priority destinations are:

1. ASEAN
   
2. Sub-Saharan Africa
   
3. South Asia: CPEC, Columbo port, industrial hub in gulf of Bengal
   
4. Latin America & Caribbean
5. Arabic World (MENA)
   
6. Eurasian Economic Belt: Central-Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asian "stans"
   
7. EU: build or acquire infra in Mediterranean region, M&A in northern Europe
   
8. UK: build or acquire infra
   
9. US/Canada: mostly M&A, it's main source of surplus for China but at the same time political scrutiny may also block FDI from China
10. East Asia: accounts for 90% of China inbound FDI, but itself culturally "closed" market for M&A
    
11. Australia: mostly commodity trade

Source: https://defence.pk/threads/vision-on-the-global-south.362960/​

 

[TaiShang]

A strong start for China's latest five-year plan
Xinhua, December 28, 2016

China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period has had a strong start and is poised to fulfill all key targets set by the central government for economic development.

The latest sign of a warming economy came on Tuesday as the National Bureau of Statistics said industrial profits expanded 9.4 percent year on year in the first 11 months, faster than the 8.6-percent rise for the first 10 months.

Although full-year statistics have yet to be released, all indicators suggest China will reach its main targets this year, including a GDP growth rate of 6.5 to 7 percent, creation of over 10 million new urban jobs, and a 3.4-percent decline of energy consumption per unit of GDP.

The GDP grew by 6.7 percent in the first three quarters. Experts expect the full-year growth rate to be near the same level as the first nine months.

As an important barometer of the overall economy, China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 51.7 in November from the previous month's 51.2, marking its strongest pace in more than two years.

The stronger-than-expected PMI data added to evidence that China's economy has been stabilizing and is on track to meet the government's annual growth target.

Per-capita disposable income of residents rose 6.3 percent in the first three quarters, slightly lower than the average annual target of more than 6.5 percent in 2016-2020.

With 55.75 million people still living under the poverty line at the end of 2015, China aims to lift all its poor population out of poverty by 2020 as one of the major tasks to build an "all-round moderately prosperous society."

Central and local government spending on poverty relief exceeded 100 billion yuan (14.4 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time, and China will fulfill this year's target of bringing 10 million people out of poverty ahead of schedule, according to a national meeting earlier this month.

Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said the country will work on several fronts in 2017: promoting industrial development in poor regions; giving the poor easier access to employment services, health care and education; and improving infrastructure facilities in poor regions.

China has also met this year's targets in advance for reducing outdated capacity in the coal and steel sector, which will help improve corporate profitability, optimize structure and balance market supply with demand.

Driven by intensified efforts to protect the environment, China's energy use per unit of GDP dropped 5.2 percent in the first three quarters and total coal consumption dropped by 2 percent, resulting in better air quality.

And the list of encouraging signs goes on.

However, a complicated external and domestic economic environment has left China little room for complacency.

Weak growth momentum in major economies, flagging international trade, some backsliding on globalization and rising trade protectionism added to uncertainties for global economic recovery.

Global trade growth has been slower than world economic growth for five consecutive years and the trend is likely to continue.

At home, daunting challenges, including debt overhangs, excess capacity and a highly leveraged property market should not be taken lightly either.

Wang Yiming, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said China should be sober-minded about the risks by taking active measures to avoid further accumulation and spread of risks.

China has made "seeking progress while maintaining stability" the main theme for economic work in 2017, pledging to push for substantial progress in supply-side structural reform, according to the Central Economic Work Conference.

By doing so, China will consolidate a foundation for steady economic growth and attain major targets in realizing an all-round moderately prosperous society.

@Shotgunner51 , @AndrewJin , @oprih , @Chinese-Dragon , @cirr

 

[TaiShang]

China's continuing economic rise
By Einar Tangen
China.org.cn, December 31, 2016

China's recently completed annual Central Economic Work Conference in December offers a sharp contrast to a world where developed economies are sliding sideways, developing and emerging economies are nervous, and xenophobia, anti-globalization and demagogy are on the rise. Rather than ringing alarm bells, Beijing's report highlights China's 2016 economic progress, Beijing's commitment to sustainable global economic, environmental and governance systems, and a mildly optimistic outlook for the coming year. It's a sharp contrast to the E.U.'s dire outlook on Brexit and America's rhetorical direction under Trump.

So how did a country, which was a fledgling entrant to the WTO 15 years ago, become the champion of global trade and responsible economic, environmental and political governance, while the U.S. – the originator and enforcer of the WTO and climate change policies – has changed its tune to "America First?"

When China joined the WTO, the rules were created by Western nations and the organization was dominated by the world's sole superpower, the U.S. It wasn't an easy bargain for China, which had virtually no intellectual property, immature banking, legal, insurance and finance systems and a massive need for investment in private and public sectors; China's only advantage was a large labor pool and a committed centralized system of government. Represented by the able Madame Wu Yi, China cut the best deal it could, but far from what it would have liked.

From these humble beginnings, the world's GDP grew from 50 trillion in 2001, to 113 trillion in 2016, a more than 125 percent increase. China's GDP went up by over 400 percent, other emerging economies went up by lower triple digits, and even developing countries experienced double digit growth; but in the U.S. and the E.U., GDP growth was slightly less than 70 percent and 65 percent, respectively. One thing these numbers do not tell is the amount of profits from lower cost manufacturing, new market development and investment banking and finance fees that went into the pockets of companies from developed nations. For example the trillions in profits and fees from the tech and Investment banking sectors.

Today, as technology replaces people with machines and global supply chains create productivity and lower prices, there is a movement in first world nations to replace economics with politics and an effort to recapture past glories with revisionist policies – policies that unfortunately threaten to unravel the global economic and political progress made over the last 70 years.

Why this is happening now is due to the lower middle class voters who were marginalized by the changes and watched while the rich got richer; economically, it is the Technological Revolution that is displacing workers at rates and magnitudes not seen since the Industrial Revolution. Their anger and the inability of many democratically elected governments to make unpopular but necessary structural changes, like in Greece, has created a downward spiral of recriminations, entitlement and disappointment.

In contrast, Beijing, "the government which should have collapsed," under American Exceptionalism and Francis Fujiyama's "The End of History" theories, has emerged as the positive voice for many of the values once championed by the U.S. The irony is inescapable.

In 2017, China will continue to fight for Market Economy Status, Yuan Internationalization, escape from the Middle Income Trap and to preserve economic and political order; Trump will seek to "make deals" without regard to history. It will be another tale of two cities, but, through the sour grapes, regrets and crocodile tears, remains the truth that, to create a better world, it is better to work with it than against it.

Let me add a few caveats: Though China is an emerging country which looms large on the world stage, because of its size and accomplishments over the past 35 years, it is still a new government, it has problems with debt, asset bubbles, the maturity of its legal, financial and governance institutions, the road ahead may be different, but in some ways it could be just as difficult. The difference between China and many other governments around the world today are not the challenges, but the tools it has to meet them.

Einar Tangen is now an economic and political affairs author and commentator.Opinion article reflected the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

 

[ahojunk]

Let me add a few caveats: Though China is an emerging country which looms large on the world stage, because of its size and accomplishments over the past 35 years, it is still a new government, it has problems with debt, asset bubbles, the maturity of its legal, financial and governance institutions, the road ahead may be different, but in some ways it could be just as difficult. The difference between China and many other governments around the world today are not the challenges, but the tools it has to meet them.

To sustain the economic growth, there is a lot of work ahead for China, as mentioned by Einar.
He said China has the tools to deal with them, but it is still a lot of work ahead.

 

[Jlaw]

Over 13 million new jobs created in 2016: official
Xinhua, December 29, 2016

China created more than 13 million new jobs in cities this year as part of the efforts to stabilize a slowing economy, a Chinese official said.

Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin disclosed the figure at an annual ministry conference on Wednesday

The number exceeds the official target of 10 million set earlier this year.

The stable employment helped prop up economic growth and maintain social harmony, he said.

Despite the economic slowdown, the government has managed to keep a low urban registered unemployment rate, partly by employment services and support for college graduates and laid-off workers from saturated heavy industries.

Yin said the employment will remain a top priority in the next year due to lingering pressures.

In 2017, the ministry will also cautiously push forward pension funds investment, and improve the distribution of workers' salary, Yin added.

***

China over delivers. Taishang not surprised. Life goes on.

impressive. trump convinced an Indianapolis assembly plant to remain for the time being saving 1000 assembly jobs

 

[TaiShang]

China's manufacturing activity expands for 5th month
Xinhua, January 1, 2017

China's manufacturing activity expanded for a fifth month in December.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 51.4 in December, lower than 51.7 in November and staying above the 50-point boom-bust line for the fifth straight month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

This is the second highest monthly reading this year.

Despite the slight decline in December, the latest data reaffirmed the momentum for a stabilizing Chinese economy, said Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Center under the State Council.

The sub-index for production registered at 53.3, low than 53.9 in November.

The sub-index for new orders stayed at the same level as the previous month, the highest point this year.

The sub-index for new export and import orders stayed above the boom-bust line of 50 for a second month, the NBS said.

On a quarterly basis, manufacturing PMI had been rising steadily, from the first quarter's lower than 50 to the second and third quarters' slightly above 50, and to over 51 for the fourth quarter.

The PMI for the whole year averaged at 50.3, compared to 49.9 for 2015.

Chen Zhongtao, analyst at the China Logistics Information Center, said positive factors had added up in China's economic activity, including increasing demand, rising prices, better performance for companies, restructuring and a good job market.

China's non-manufacturing activity also expanded at a fast pace in December, second only to November this year.

 

[TaiShang]

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[TaiShang]

Guidelines approved for medical care, reform
China Daily, December 22, 2016

New guidelines to provide greater comprehensive medical care nationwide and to deepen reform to cover urban and rural residents alike with universal healthcare were approved on Wednesday by a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

Both guidelines are part of the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). Healthcare remains one of the government's top concerns.

Li has stressed repeatedly that "health is the root of people's happiness", and he has often reiterated the importance of medical reform.

According to the guideline, greater efforts will be made in major disease control and treatment. The government will encourage a greater focus on prevention of major chronic diseases as well as major contagious and mental illnesses.

The government will also boost medical competence in lower-tier cities and regions and encourage a wider allocation of medical resources. Additionally, approval procedures for new and urgently needed medicines will be simplified, and more incentives will be provided to families with two children.

The guideline on deepening medical reform, also approved on Wednesday, aims to fully establish a comprehensive system for public medical services, healthcare and medical insurance.

"In terms of medical reform, we need to concentrate on areas that people are most concerned about, and work harder in reducing high quality medical resources concentration in major cities, and make them more available to the public," Premier Li said.

The guidelines target the most urgent needs of patients and will improve the country's medical services if they can be properly carried out, said Chen Yuming, a professor of public health at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

Additionally, integration of regional medical reimbursement is important so migrants can have more bills reimbursed when they are treated somewhere other than their hometowns, Chen said.

To bridge the disparity in services between major hospitals and those in less-developed areas, an incentive system should be introduced to encourage doctors to go to less-developed areas and stay there by raising their income and showing greater respect, Chen said.

 

[ahojunk]

China to move closer to centenary goals in 2017
(Xinhua) 10:12, January 03, 2017

A foreign cargo ship is seen at Qingdao Port in east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 8, 2016. (File photo: Xinhua/Yu Fangping)

As 2017 begins, a significant year on China's political calendar, the world is watching closely on how China moves toward its two centenary goals.

Although China's development is in a period of strategic opportunities, the world's second largest economy is facing complex external and internal environments.

Externally, people are concerned with the sluggish recovery of the global economy, lack of growth momentum, weak trade and investment, and the backlash against globalization, not to mention terrorist attacks and the refugee crisis.

Internally, China's decades-long reform drive is now in a deep-water zone where easier reforms have been accomplished and remaining reforms are hard nuts to crack.

In the face of the need to rebalance the economy, China is tackling problems regarding reform, development and stability.

Yet despite these challenges, Chinese people are more confident than ever that the country will realize its two centenary goals, pegged to the 100th anniversaries of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People's Republic of China.

According to the twin goals, by 2020 China's GDP and per-capita income should double from 2010 levels, and the building of a moderately prosperous society should be complete. By the middle of this century, China should become a modern socialist country that is "prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious."

The Chinese people's confidence comes from the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. The core leadership is of vital importance to the country and the Party.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the ruling party led by Xi has contributed new thoughts to state governance by drawing up a four-pronged comprehensive strategy of building an all-round moderately prosperous society, deepening reform, advancing rule of law, and strict Party governance.

In the economic sphere, Xi has promised extensive supply-side structural reform, including reducing pollution and phasing out excess capacity.

The country is seeking progress while maintaining stability and adapting to the new normal of economic development, by pursuing innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

In addition, State Council agencies have canceled or delegated administrative approval power on 618 items, meeting targets ahead of schedule in a bid to cut red tape and streamline governance.

Breakthroughs have also been made in judicial reform, fiscal and tax reform, state-owned enterprise reform, and in the military where a tiered command system including the Central Military Commission and five theater commands - replacing the original seven military area commands - was installed as part of the reform of the military organization and a culmination of Xi's military thought.

The results are encouraging. Today, China is one of the world's fastest growing major economies and a top trading body. It boasts a strong military of over 2 million people and is the biggest contributor to international peacekeeping personnel among permanent members of the UN Security Council.

It had seen its rural population living in poverty decrease from 770 million to 55.75 million between 1978 and 2015. An additional 10 million were lifted out of poverty last year, and China is aiming to lift all out of poverty by 2020.

Never before have the Chinese people been so close to realizing their dreams.

In the meantime, the ruling Party's battle against corruption has gained crushing momentum, netting both "tigers" and "flies."

Among the tigers felled by the campaign were Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee; Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing Municipality; Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, both former top generals and vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission; as well as Ling Jihua and Su Rong, former vice chairmen of China's top political advisory body.

As Xi once said: "All people are equal before the law and regulations, and the enforcement of such rules allows no privilege or exception."

Domestic progress aside, China is also moving closer to the center of the world stage. China hosted the G20 Hangzhou Summit and Beijing APEC economic leaders' meeting, prescribing remedies for global economic governance.

Pressing flesh and brokering deals, Xi's busy globetrotting, which has already taken him to 51 countries in 24 trips over about four years, has brought China closer to its neighbors and distant friends alike, setting a new global agenda for peace, progress, prosperity and stability.

In particular, the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese president has been participated in by more than 100 countries and international organizations, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with 57 member states, has started operation.

Xi's vision and efforts toward a fairer global governance system and a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, as well as his busy globetrotting have helped China create an open, inclusive and responsible image on the international stage.

The 19th CPC National Congress will convene in 2017. Altogether, over 88 million Party members will choose 2,300 delegates who will assemble in Beijing's Great Hall of the People in the second half of this year and elect a new Central Committee.

It is expected that by then the CPC will further elaborate on how to rule itself, how to lead the world's largest developing nation to lift more people out of poverty and advance key reforms, as well as how to build a community of shared destiny for all humankind.

 

[ahojunk]

Share-holding reform to boost China's rural development: official
2017-01-03 20:17 | Xinhua | Editor: Huang Mingrui

Reforming the system of collectively owned rural assets through a share-holding cooperative system will inject new growth momentum into the rural economy and increase farmers' incomes, said a senior Chinese official.

"The reform is crucial to improving the vitality of the collective economy in rural areas," Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said Tuesday at a press conference.

Farmers can voluntarily turn their rights in collective operating assets into shares and acquire corresponding revenue, according to a guideline jointly released last week by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet.

"The reform has far-reaching significance, and will help promote agricultural development, increase farmers' incomes and maintain stability in the rural areas," Han said.

China aims to finish verification of assets owned by villages within three years and to complete the share-holding reform concerning operating assets within about five years, he added.

In China, rural collective assets consist of resource assets, such as land, forest, hills and grassland, operating assets such as buildings,machinery, rural infrastructure and enterprises, and non-operating assets such as those used for education, science, technology and other public purposes.

 

[TaiShang]

China economy shows solid foundation
Xinhua, January 3, 2017

China's GDP growth is expected to fall solidly in the target range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent as both official and private data point to a stabilizing economy.

China's manufacturing sector continues to expand, with the purchasing managers'index (PMI) hitting a 47-month high in December, a private survey showed Tuesday.

The Caixin factory PMI, based on surveys of small and medium enterprises, came in at 51.9 in December, up from 50.9 in November, according to the survey by financial information service provider Markit, sponsored by Caixin Media.

It was the biggest index rise since January 2013, with production growing at the fastest pace in nearly six years due to higher numbers in new work.

Official manufacturing PMI, which surveys larger companies, stood at 51.4 in December, lower than 51.7 in November but above the boom-bust line of 50 for the fifth straight month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Sunday.

"The Chinese manufacturing economy continued to improve in December, with the majority of sub-indices looking optimistic," said Zhong Zhengsheng, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, a large investment research firm.

Alongside booming factory output, profits of China's major industrial firms increased 14.5 percent year on year in November, up from 9.8 percent in October, official data showed last week.

China's non-manufacturing industries also showed strong expansion in December, second only to November this year, the NBS data showed.

GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 is expected to stay flat at 6.7 percent year on year, with stronger fixed asset investment and retail sales in December, according to China International Capital Corporation.

China's target for GDP growth was 6.5 percent to 7 percent in 2016, and it saw stable 6.7 percent growth in the first three quarters.

"However, it remains to be seen if stabilization of the economy can be consolidated, due to uncertainty if restocking and consumer price rises are sustainable," Zhong said.

Inflationary pressures remained sharp in December, with the Caixin factory PMI showing input prices picking up to their highest since early 2011, amid reports of higher raw material costs.

The basic plan of "seeking progress while maintaining stability" will be an important principle in state governance and methodology for economic work, with implementation of critical importance for 2017, according to the Central Economic Work Conference.

China International Capital Corporation expect macro data in December to show continued broadening of reflation in mid-to-downstream industrial sectors, which may lead to further recovery in manufacturing investment.

Meanwhile, the corporation has observed early signs of an upturn in credit demand from the private and manufacturing sectors for the first time since 2011.

"We remain hopeful that nominal growth and profitability will continue on the mend in 2017," the corporation said.

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese steel companies out of the red in Jan.-Nov. 2016
Xinhua, January 4, 2017

China's large and medium-sized steel mills reported profits of 33.15 billion yuan (about 4.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eleven months of 2016, according to the latest report of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

That compared to a loss of 52.91 billion yuan in the same period of 2015, CISA data showed.

Of the 99 steel mills tracked by CISA, the average profit margin stood at 1.28 percent in the said period, said the CISA report.

China's manufacturing sector continues to expand, with the official manufacturing PMI, which surveys larger companies, standing at 51.4 in December, lower than the 51.7 in November but above the boom-bust line of 50 for the fifth straight month.

The steel industry still has a long way to go to increase profit margins, said Li Xinchuang, CISA vice-president, adding that this year the industry will continue to cut excessive and outdated capacity.

***

The profit margin is still low, but the turnaround is amazing. Structural reform seems to be well on track.

@Shotgunner51

 

[ahojunk]

China creates over 13 million new jobs in 2016: official
By Li Yan (People's Daily Online) 16:33, January 10, 2017

China created over 13 million new jobs in urban areas in 2016 as part of an effort to stabilize the slowing economy. The country has seen over 1.2 million jobs created for three consecutive years, from 2014 to 2016, according to Economic Information Daily.

Despite the economic slowdown, the Chinese government has managed to keep a low urban registered unemployment rate, partially through employment services and support for college graduates, as well as for workers laid off from industries with excess capacity.

About 5.11 million workers in urban areas were re-employed from January to November 2016, or 102.2 percent of the goal set for the year. What's more, 1.54 million people categorized as difficult to employ found jobs, accounting for 128.3 percent of the annual target, according to reports.

Employment will remain a top priority in the next year due to lingering pressures. Experts believe 130 million new jobs will be created in 2017, as the industrial structure will be optimized and the economy stabilized. Reports indicate that approximately 25 million new jobs will be created during each year of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, among which 10 million are set aside for registered workers who have been laid off, 1.5 million are for college graduates and 3 million are for surplus agricultural laborers.

Employment will be the top priority of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), according to Yin Weimin, MOHRSS minister. A total of 7.95 million college students are expected to graduate in 2017, according to China's Ministry of Education.

Chen Baosheng, the minister of Education, said the numbers of college students who secured employment or started their own businesses after graduation has increased in the last three years. A report by Renmin University showed that 89.8 percent of college students have considered starting their own businesses, and 18.2 percent indicate firm plans to do so. The Ministry of Education called for improved policies that encourage college students to become entrepreneurs.

About 1.8 million jobs in the steel, coal and mining industries may have been lost by cutting overcapacity, which is the biggest employment pressure in five years, according to MOHRSS. The ministry has reportedly issued policies redistributing laborers in more than 20 provinces.