Top searches in China: Chinese FM meets with Kissinger, Personal deposit rate cuts, E-commerce coupon
"The top priority now is to properly manage the Taiwan question, otherwise it will have a subversive impact on China-U.S. relations."
Today's trending list is quite busy. Much attention is drawn to Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a key figure in the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations, in New York on Monday.
Turing back to domestic affairs, the personal deposit rate cuts hovers on the trending of both WeChat and Weibo. It is reasonable considering it relates to people's money in the bank. And another round of e-commerce coupons is ready for consumers in Shanghai. Why is it more effective than blunt money handouts in China?
Tuesday's top 10 trending searches on WeChat as of 5:00 p.m. (0900 GMT):
#1 Registration of Shanghai e-commerce coupon begins
上海电子消费券报名
#2 Over 80 pct of Chinese students studying abroad come back home after graduation, said the Ministry of Education (MOE)
教育部称超八成留学人员学成归国
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, over 80 percent of students studying abroad come back home after graduation, said the MOE at a press conference on Tuesday.
The ministry adds that cooperation between China's universities and foreign ones plays an active role when COVID-19 disrupted studying overseas.
#3 Firefighters rush to put out the fire from a self-combusted car in Shanghai
上海一残疾车起火消防紧急救援
A car for the disabled caught fire on its own in Yangpu district of central Shanghai. The police and firefighters rushed to the scene immediately to put out the fire, and luckily, the driver and his family got off before the fire engulfed the vehicle.
#4 Earthquake of 7.7 magnitude shakes Mexico killing at least 1 person -- CNN
墨西哥发生7.7级地震已致1人死亡
#5 UK to match or exceed the aid for Ukraine in 2022 next year -- gov.uk
英国明年对乌援助金额或超今年
#6 Shanghai Disneyland to launch "Avatar" theme exhibition
上海迪士尼即将推出阿凡达主题展
Shanghai Disneyland will launch an immersive exhibition titled "Avatar: Explore Pandora" on Sept 22. Classic scenes from the movie will be recreated in the hi-tech hall, which is 1400 meters square large, according to Chinanews.com.
#7 Chinese FM meets with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
王毅会见美国前国务卿基辛格
#8 Expert's view on the US wielding nuclear power to protect Japan
专家谈美国准备使用核潜力保卫日本
#9 Over 3500 monkeypox cases spotted in Germany -- Robert Koch-Institut [Twitter account]
德国累计猴痘确诊超3500例
#10 Several Chinese banks cut personal deposit rates
多家银行下调存款利率
#7 Chinese FM meets with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
According to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on September 19, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in New York.
Wang Yi meets Kissinger, urges U.S. to properly handle Taiwan question - CGTN
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said that the pressing priority for China and the United States is to properly handle the Taiwan question, warning that mishandling will have a subversive impact on bilateral ties.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the Taiwan region, the Senate's deliberation of the "Taiwan Policy Act of 2022" and claims about "defending" Taiwan from the U.S. side all gravely challenge the three China-U.S. joint communiques and seriously undermine the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, Wang said.
He said the Chinese side's biggest aspiration is to achieve peaceful reunification of the country and will do its best to make that happen.
Yet, it must be seen that the more rampant "Taiwan independence" is, the less likely the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question would be, Wang warned.
"As an old Chinese saying goes, it is better to lose a thousand troops than to lose an inch of land," he said. "This is the will and determination of the Chinese people."
...
Kissinger, who had personally taken part in the making of the Shanghai Communique between China and the United States 50 years ago, recalled how he and Chinese leaders reached the historic document back then, and said the extreme importance of the Taiwan question for China should be fully recognized.
The U.S. and China should have dialogue, not confrontation, and they should build a bilateral relationship of peaceful coexistence, said Kissinger.
Last Wednesday, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada met with U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon near Washington.
In their talk, a major part targeted the Taiwan question and suppressing China. And according to Japanese media, Austin reaffirmed the “unwavering” commitment of the United States to the defense of Japan, including extended deterrence backed by the “full range” of U.S. nuclear and conventional defense capabilities.
In a China's TV program named "China's Public Opinion Field" aired on Monday, special commentator Su Xiaohui, deputy director of China Institute of International Studies, expressed her views on the event. "'Nuclear' is a keyword, everyone is nervous about the word. Though people in Japan are still afraid of nuclear weapons, the Japanese government and the U.S. Government just clicked over the topic," she said.
"In fact, the US has always offered 'nuclear umbrella' to Japan, but clearly Japan wants more now. Japan wants the US to 'share' nuclear technology by deploying nuclear weapons in the country, which would turn a non-nuclear state into a de facto nuclear state. And it would be a step forward for both Japan and the US," she added.
#10 Several Chinese banks cut personal deposit rates
Starting from last Thursday, four major state-owned commercial banks cut personal deposit rates, which is another reduction since the lowering of personal deposit rates in April this year. Considering the recent decrease in one-year loan prime rate (LPR) and the 10-year government bond yield, the cut is reasonable, according to Economic Daily's official Weibo account.
China's state-owned banks cut personal deposit rates -- CGTN
The Industrial and Commercial banks of China (ICBC), the largest bank in the world by total assets, cut interest rates for three-year deposits by 15 basis points to 2.6 percent, its website showed.
ICBC also cut its interest rate for three-month, six-month, one-year, and five-year deposits by 10 basis points to 1.25 percent, 1.45 percent, 1.65 percent, and 2.65 percent respectively.
Other three state-owned banks, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank, also made similar rates cuts, China Securities Journal reported on Thursday.
The lower deposit rates were as expected after recent lending rates cuts, Yan Yuejin, director of Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institute, said in a note on Thursday.
Big Four cut deposit rates to support real economy -- ChinaDaily
Since the beginning of this year, Chinese banks have stepped up efforts to surrender part of their profits to support the real economy under regulatory guidance.
The People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank, cut the one-year loan prime rate, a market-based benchmark lending rate, by five basis points to 3.65 percent and the five-year LPR by 15 basis points to 4.3 percent on Aug 22. The PBOC also lowered the one-year interest rate of its medium-term lending facility by 10 basis points to 2.75 percent on Aug 15.
"Following rate cuts by the PBOC, the latest deposit rate cuts by large State-owned commercial banks will drive down the cost of debt and promote a further reduction in lending rates while helping the banks maintain stable net interest margins at the same time," said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance Co.
"More banks are expected to follow large commercial lenders' steps to cut deposit rates. Different banks may vary in terms of their pace and range of deposit rate adjustments as they have different development strategies, debt capacity and business structures. In general, it is a long-term trend for the Chinese market to see a decline in risk-free interest rates," Dong said.
In addition, deposit rate cuts will also help boost the financing needs of market entities, which may boost credit expansion and is conducive to building a virtuous circle of the economy, said Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Banking Corp.
Taking a medium and long-term view, the lowering of deposit rates is part of the reform in China's interest rate pricing mechanism, said Zeng with the National Institution for Finance & Development.
#1 Registration of Shanghai e-commerce coupons begins
Shanghai opened registration for the second round of e-commerce coupons worth 500 million yuan (about 71.30 million U.S. dollars) on Tuesday to boost consumption.
Like the first round, every consumer over 18 years old in Shanghai can sign up on three major online payment platforms, namely Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay, to draw straws for the vouchers, according to the Shanghai Commission of Commerce.
The coupons will be sent to the lucky ones on Sept 26, and will be valid for the following 20 days, which covers the upcoming National Day vacation.
The first batch of coupons issued on Aug 26 was a success, according to Jiefang Daily. Over 100,000 online and offline merchants participated in the campaign, covering the retail, catering and tourism industries.
The coupon program distributed in three batches from late August to late November will total one billion yuan, the commission said.
E-commerce coupons have already been sent out in many cities like Beijing, Shenzhen, and Xiamen, for economic recovery from the pandemic.
Why do Western countries prefer giving out money to their citizens directly to boost consumption, while China prefers issuing coupons?
Professor Bai Xuejie from the Economic and social development research institute of Nankai University said that China is a large economy, giving out money directly could easily lead to unwanted inflation. And issuing coupons can stimulate the consumption of people who have the will to spend, and help business owners, so it's a cost-effective measure.
The commentator from Yicai believed that coupons are suitable for China's unique conditions. Because Chinese people tend to save money, especially when the macro economy is gloomy, handing out money may not boost consumption in China.
Since coupons generally have an expiration date and can only be used in specific scenarios, it would have a better effect on promoting consumption. And with coupons, different local authorities get to target different fields according to their strengths.
It adds that e-commerce coupons are easier for regulators to track and help improve the system in the future. Besides relieving burdens on citizens' shoulders, coupons could direct people to spend more on the hardest hit sectors in the pandemic, which would facilitate economic circulation and revive the economy.
China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 5.4 percent year on year in August, 2.7 percentage points higher than that of July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Fu Jiaqi, a statistician of NBS commented that the consumer market keeps reviving under pro-consumption policy stimulation as shown in the data.
However, due to recent COVID-19 flare-ups in multiple places, scenarios for consumption are still restricted. Therefore, more efforts are needed to boost residents' willingness to spend and consolidate the reviving foundation of the consumer market, he added.