China

China’s Births Hit Historic Low, a Political Problem for Beijing – The New York Times

by dldamore

China’s Births Hit Historic Low, a Political Problem for Beijing – The New York Times:

China’s ruling Communist Party has taken steps to address the birthrate decline, by relaxing its notorious “one child” policy, first allowing two children in 2016 and as many as three since last year. It is also offering incentives to young families and promising improvement in workplace rules and early education.

None have been able to reverse a stark fact: An increasing number of Chinese women don’t want children.

Secretary Azar Delivers Remarks on Declaration of Public Health Emergency for 2019 Novel Coronavirus | HHS.gov

by dldamore

Secretary Azar Delivers Remarks on Declaration of Public Health Emergency for 2019 Novel Coronavirus | HHS.gov:

“Following the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the 2019 novel coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, I have declared today that the coronavirus presents a Public Health Emergency in the United States.

[Read Secretary Azar’s statement on the Public Health Emergency]

The actions we have taken and continue to take complement the work of China and the WHO to contain the outbreak within China.

In accordance with the declaration, beginning 5 PM Eastern Standard Time, Sunday, February 2, the U.S. government will implement temporary measures to increase our abilities to detect and contain the coronavirus proactively and aggressively.

Any U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. who has been in Hubei Province in the previous 14 days will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine, to ensure they’re provided proper medical care and health screening. To be clear, this applies only to U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei Province in the past 14 days.

Any U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. who has been in the rest of mainland China within the previous 14 days will undergo proactive entry health screening at a select number of ports of entry and up to 14 days of monitored self-quarantine to ensure they have not contracted the virus and do not pose a public health risk.”

(Via.) Inside Daily Brief February 1, 2020

Signs of a Growing Hush in China’s Economy – The New York Times

by dldamore

Signs of a Growing Hush in China’s Economy – The New York Times:

 

‘Of course car sales have not returned to normal levels — people are still very wary,’ Cui Dongshu, the secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, which represents manufacturers, said on Friday. ‘They feel this spike in the stock market today is probably not sustainable.

Even with the rebound, $3.1 trillion in market value, much of it financed with borrowed money, has been erased since mid-June. Many experts worry about the damage to the Chinese economy, particularly if stocks continue to fall. Consumer confidence could suffer, weighing on the country’s growth and on economies elsewhere that depend on exports to China.

*Is Apple seeing fewer sales of the Apple Watch Edition (U.S. Apple Store pricing) in China? If yes, what is the degree of change in sales?

Beijing Imposes Limits on New Passenger Vehicles to Reduce City Congestion – Bloomberg

by dldamore

Tax cuts and government subsidies aimed at spurring auto sales have fueled a surge in traffic as China passed the U.S. last year to become the world’s biggest car market.

via Beijing Imposes Limits on New Passenger Vehicles to Reduce City Congestion – Bloomberg.

China has greater than three times the population of the Unted States. Several factors are at play. The first is the rapid growth in the Chinese economy. The second is the severe recession that knocked U.S. new car auto demand to around a 10 million unit sales pace from what was 16 million just a few years previously.