Holiday spending, export demand drive China’s economic momentum as Iran war headwinds loom
"Retail sales for the first two months rose 2.8% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Statistics Bureau on Monday, beating economists’ forecast for a 2.5% growth. That growth, however, reflected a notable slowdown from the 4% rise in the January-February period in 2025"
--- And since China was in some kind of recession already back then, you can guess that the official numbers only show that the recession is actually getting worse.
"Separate data released on Monday showed that the prolonged decline in China’s home prices across 70 major cities worsened in February, with new-home prices dropping 3.2% from a year earlier, the steepest decline in eight months"
--- Case in point.
"Despite resilient economic data, government officials acknowledged growing headwinds to the economy"
--- Same here.
"Data suggests Beijing may be more insulated from the Strait of Hormuz closure than other major economies"
--- Utter bullshit. Only 6.2% of European oil goes through the Strait of Hormuz. For China, it's something like 13% if I remember correctly.
"Seaborne oil imports through the Hormuz waterway now account for less than half of China’s total oil shipments, according to Rush Doshi, director of China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations. Nomura also estimated that oil flows through Hormuz represent just 6.6% of China’s total energy consumption"
--- Mind you, that's 6.6% of China's total energy consumption, not of China's oil imports.
US assesses China not planning to invade Taiwan in 2027
"The Pentagon late last year said the U.S. military believed China was preparing to be able to win a fight for Taiwan by 2027, the centenary of the founding of its People's Liberation Army, and was refining options to take Taiwan by "brute force" if needed.
"China, despite its threat to use force to compel unification if necessary and to counter what it sees as a U.S. attempt to use Taiwan to undermine China's rise, prefers to achieve unification without the use of force, if possible," the U.S. intelligence agencies said in the report.
The U.S. "assesses that Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification,""
--- Chinese leaders? There is only one, Emperor Xi. And of course there is no fixed timeline, but as soon as Emperor Xi thinks his military is ready, he will strike.
Trump seeks to delay meeting with Xi in China
"China also rejected any connection between the delayed meeting and issues around the Strait of Hormuz - a critical waterway for global energy shipments from the Gulf.
"We have noted that the US side has publicly clarified these false reports by the media, stating that the relevant reports are completely wrong, and emphasised that the visit has nothing to do with the issue of the open navigation of the Strait of Hormuz," Jian said.
On Sunday, Trump told the Financial Times he might postpone the meeting if China did not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz. But on Monday, he said he had proposed the delay solely to make sure he was around to manage the war."
--- Trump, clear as ever.
s.a.: White House says China agreed to postpone Trump's Beijing trip
China backs Sri Lanka crackdown after over 100 Chinese arrested in online fraud probe
Chinese national charged for trying to smuggle 2,000 ants from Kenya
--- China Uncensored: "This Is Not Looking Good"
--- China Uncensored: "China's Navy is SUNK"
Autobahn in Montenegro: Die EU zahlt, China verdient
"Die EU bezuschusst den Bau mit 150 Millionen Euro, die Europäische Bank für Wiederaufbau und Entwicklung steuert einen Kredit über 200 Millionen Euro bei. Der Rest soll aus dem montenegrinischen Staatshaushalt kommen. Damit hat sich die Politik der EU, die das alles in allem 177 Kilometer lange Straßenprojekt vor einem Dutzend Jahren noch vehement abgelehnt hatte, um 180 Grad gedreht. Heute ist Montenegro ein heißer Anwärter auf den nächsten EU-Beitritt, manche spekulieren über das Jahr 2028.
Das allein erkläre nicht den Sinneswandel in Brüssel, argumentieren die China-Beobachter von Choise. Der EU gehe es um mehr, als den Zahlungsausfall Montenegros zu verhindern: „Die Autobahn ist Teil des größeren europäischen Verkehrskorridors XI, der Bari in Italien mit Bukarest in Rumänien verbindet.“ Zudem soll Chinas und Russlands Einfluss in der Region eingedämmt werden."
--- Dumm genug. Aber will mal hoffen, dass diesmal wenigstens europäische Arbeiter beschäftigt werden, nicht nur chinesische.
