Skyscrapers border a lush green landscape in the central business district in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]Rebound:?Nation may top equity market, analysts sayChina's economy is widely expected to rebound by the end of the first quarter as COVID-related disruptions wane, giving a much-needed boost to the ailing global economy, according to international investment banks and asset managers.A rebound in the world's second-largest economy will help drive the growth of neighboring economies, strengthen global supply chain stability and provide attractive opportunities for international investors, they said."The speed of China passing the peak of COVID-19 — at least when it comes to the recent wave of infections — is much faster than we previously expected. This means a significant economic upturn may soon take place," said Chen Dong, head of Asia macroeconomic research at Pictet Wealth Management.China's economic activity may pick up substantially by the end of the first quarter, which will reduce uncertainties related to global supply chains, boost outbound travel and benefit neighboring economies, Chen said.As some provinces and cities in China have announced that they have passed the peak of the current COVID-19 outbreak, population mobility and economic activity are regaining their momentum, propelling a rally in the Chinese currency and the stock market.The central parity rate of the renminbi jumped 654 basis points to 6.7611 against the US dollar on Tuesday, reaching its strongest level since mid-August.In addition, the CSI 300 index, which covers the top 300 stocks traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose for the seventh straight trading session as of Tuesday, closing up 0.11 percent at 4,017.47 points.Amid weakening global economic and market prospects and tightening campaigns by a number of nations' central banks to curb inflation, the pickup in China's economic fundamentals and its financial markets offers unique opportunities to international institutional investors.Xu Fei, head of alternatives and multi-asset strategies at Vanguard's Quantitative Equity Group, said that the US asset manager is increasing its exposure to emerging market assets to capitalize on the upside potential offered by Chinese A shares.China's unfolding economic rebound sharply contrasts with the rising recession risks in major developed economies, thus providing international investors with valuable diversification benefits, Xu said.Analysts at Morgan Stanley also said in a report on Monday that China may top global equity market performance in 2023.Given that China's economic activity is recovering from the impact of COVID-19 at a faster pace, they increased their forecast for the nation's GDP growth this year from 5.4 percent to 5.7 percent while also expecting the renminbi to rise to 6.65 against the dollar in the next 12 months, the report said.Stepped-up fiscal and monetary policies will also boost China's economic recovery, said Wang Tao, head of Asia economics at UBS Investment Bank, who pointed to the possibility of a further reduction in the reserve requirement ratio — the proportion of money that lenders must hold as reserves, as well as further measures to boost the real estate market by authorities in a number of cities.Efforts should be made to properly boost credit expansion early this year to deliver "accurate and substantial" support for key areas and weak links, the People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank, said on Tuesday after holding a meeting with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.Key areas that financial services should support include infrastructure investment, small business, technological innovation, manufacturing and green development, while financing of the real estate sector will be "steady and orderly", said the central bank.Data from the central bank showed that China's new yuan-denominated loans totaled 1.4 trillion yuan (6.5 billion) in December, up by 266.5 billion yuan year-on-year, indicating continuous credit support for the real economy.Wang said that China's economic recovery is expected to help boost the travel revenue of some neighboring economies and benefit producers of oil and other commodities by propping up related market demand.Nevertheless, experts also cautioned about the risk of China's demand recovery overstimulating commodity prices. Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：3592
A job seeker (left) talks with a recruitment officer on Saturday at a job fair in Hefei, Anhui province. China has created a more friendly environment for entrepreneurs and stepped up efforts to secure the rights of the flexibly employed. [Provided to China Daily]China will maintain a stable employment landscape in 2023 by continuing to implement the employment-first policy and energizing people's passion for entrepreneurship in order to develop new growth points in the job market.In November, the nation surpassed the year's target of creating 11 million new jobs, with about 12.06 million people landing jobs in urban areas. The encouraging achievement, which came despite economic challenges and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, was due to the recovering economy and support policies in the fiscal, monetary, and employment sectors.Wang Xiaoping, minister of human resources and social security, said in a recent interview with China Central Television that the nation sustained a stable job market last year, with the employment of college graduates and other key groups — primarily migrant workers and demobilized military members — maintaining good performance. In addition, the number of formerly impoverished people finding jobs increased, she said.Wang also said that "policies and follow-up measures for stabilizing the economy have driven the economy to recover and helped industries to develop (in 2022), which has given strong support to the growth of employment."As of November, deferral of a total of 116.2 billion yuan (.1 billion) in social security fees, such as pension security and work-related injury insurance payments, was allowed in order to help companies retain job positions, she added.The nation has also created a more friendly environment for entrepreneurs and stepped up efforts to secure the working rights of the flexibly employed, Wang said.For example, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, released a guideline near the end of the year on protecting the working rights of flexible workers. It called for improving such workers' sense of happiness and safety by optimizing the government's guidance and enhancing flexible workers' skills training and social security. So far, 18,275 workers, or around 44 percent of the city's flexibly employed, are included in the social security net.Meanwhile, in 2022, the ministry's employment services were used more than 100 million times, and working skills training programs were used over 16 million times.Wang said her ministry will continue to implement the employment-first policy in 2023 and make every effort to stabilize the job market by setting a target of developing high-quality employment.She said this is of great importance to energizing people's passion for entrepreneurship in order to incubate new growth points for the job market."We will keep promoting the employment of key groups and establish a group of pioneer zones for startup incubation," she said."It's necessary to stabilize the employment of college graduates and help unemployed young people to reenter the market as soon as possible. We will improve employment services and carry out training campaigns to relieve the structural imbalance of the job market. Regulating the job market is also important, including cracking down on fraudulent agencies and addressing gender bias to better secure workers' rights."Wang said that the ministry will prioritize college graduates' finding jobs. The employment of graduates, whose population is projected to reach 11.58 million this year, matters much to the fulfillment of their personal value and the happiness of their families, as well as the nation's high-quality economic development, she said.The ministry will help create more job openings for college graduates by granting allowances to companies and encouraging government bodies to offer job opportunities, Wang said. In addition, the ministry will organize skills training campaigns for college graduates and help them get internships with companies. Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：242
