Taipei, Taiwan – Chinese President Xi Jinping met with American business leaders and academics at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, state media has reported, as he tries to woo foreign investment back to China after a challenging few years for the world’s second-largest economy.
The meeting on Wednesday included Evan Greenberg, the chief executive of the US insurance company Chubb, as well as Stephen Orlins, the president of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and Craig Allen, the president of the US-China Business Council.
Like many Chinese state functions, the event was highly choreographed, with footage showing attendees arranged in a square formation offset by elaborate floral installations.
Xi last met with US executives in San Francisco following the APEC summit there in November.
The meeting offers an opportunity for Beijing to shore up ties with US companies amid tensions with Washington and signal that their investment is welcome.
Many of the world’s top executives are already in Beijing this week for the China Development Forum, which took place on Sunday and Monday.
The forum’s guest list includes World Bank President Ajay Banga, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and representatives of more than 100 multinational firms.
While business leaders have been able to meet with many senior Chinese leaders in recent days, the invitation to meet Xi signals a concerted effort by Beijing to address negative perceptions about the current business environment.
“It’s possible that investors and executives will air some grievances at the meeting and it’s possible that lobbying might make some impact, but I don’t think that’s what this meeting is really about,” Chris Beddor, the deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics, told Al Jazeera.
“This is primarily about Xi sending a message. The message is that the Chinese government is attuned to the concerns of global companies and investors, and still wants their presence in the country, at a time when global businesses are very wary of China.”
Last year, foreign direct investment in China fell by 8 percent as companies scaled back operations and sought to “de-risk” their businesses amid continuing geopolitical tensions and a tougher regulatory environment.
Tightened espionage and state secret laws have also made some firms question whether they are truly welcome, while the COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to their over-reliance on Chinese supply chains.
Still, some foreign companies have stressed their eagerness to double down on their investment.
Cook on Sunday told Chinese media that he hoped to increase Apple’s investment in China, where the company’s flagship iPhone has lost ground to local Huawei models like the Mate 60 Pro Plus.
“I think China is really opening up, and I’m so happy to be here,” Cook was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the China Development Forum.
Others, including the IMF’s Georgieva, are more jittery over China’s future.
During a speech at the China Development Forum, Georgieva told policymakers that more pro-market reforms are needed to help China’s economy rebound from the pandemic.
Despite growing 5 percent last year, China’s economy is struggling with deflation and a protracted real-estate crisis.
“China is poised to face a fork in the road – rely on the policies that have worked in the past, or update its policies for a new era of high-quality growth,” Georgieva said, suggesting that reforms could add $3.5 trillion to the economy over the next 15 years.
Shifting to consumption-focused growth, however, may be easier said than done in an economy marked by weakened domestic demand and sagging business confidence.
Chinese officials have long relied on mega infrastructure projects to boost gross domestic product (GDP), necessitating a mind shift among policymakers to move towards consumption-led growth.
Despite these concerns, China has set this year’s GDP target at 5 percent and pledged to continue its support for strategic sectors, among other goals outlined to attendees of the China Development Forum.
This year’s China Development Forum got off to a less rocky start than last year’s event, which was overshadowed by the aftermath of Beijing’s tough pandemic curbs and controversy over a Chinese spy balloon in US airspace.
“US-China tensions are a bit more stable this year, so the political pressure on American attendees has lessened somewhat,” Beddor said.
“There simply weren’t that many foreign visitors in China in March 2023. So it’s not surprising that attendance is up this year, because foreign travel of all sorts to the country is a bit more normal compared to last year,” he said.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
