Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
- Global shares gain after US says tariffs on China will drop “substantially”;
- IMF downgrades global growth forecast to 2.8% in 2025 amid increased tariffs.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday after US stocks advanced on Tuesday, as investors grew optimistic that US-China trade tensions may soon ease.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leads the regional gains, ending 2.4 percent higher today, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up about 2 percent and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.5 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also surged 1.6 percent. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite was little changed, down by 0.1 percent.
Shares in Europe also opened shapely higher on Wednesday’s trading. Germany's DAX rose by 2.4 percent, while France’s CAC 40 traded up 1.1 percent. The UK FTSE 100 rose 1 percent, and the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 1.8 pecent.
US stocks jumped in a widespread rally Tuesday, and other US investments steadied a day after falling sharply. The S&P 500 climbed 2.5 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite each gained 2.7 percent. All three indexes more than made up their big losses from the start of the week.
The rally gained traction after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors that there would be a "de-escalation" in the ongoing trade war with China. "No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable," he said Tuesday during a meeting with investors hosted by JPMorgan Chase.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on April 16 that the tariff war was started by the US. China has taken necessary countermeasures in order to defend its legitimate rights and interests and international fairness and justice.
“China's position has been very clear. Tariff and trade wars have no winners. China does not want to fight these wars but is not scared of them,” said the spokesperson.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday downgraded its global growth forecast in 2025 to 2.8 percent, a hefty 0.5 percentage point decrease from its January projection, and growth in 2026 slashed from 3.3 percent to 3 percent, according to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO). "Since the release of the January WEO Update, a series of new tariff measures by the United States and countermeasures by trading partners have been announced and implemented, ending up in near-universal U.S. tariffs on April 2 and bringing effective tariff rates to levels not seen in a century," the report said. Growth in advanced economies is projected to be 1.4 percent in 2025, while in emerging market and developing economies, growth is expected to slow down to 3.7 percent in 2025. Growth in the US is expected to slow to 1.8 percent, 0.9 percentage points lower than the previous projection due to "greater policy uncertainty, trade tensions, and softer demand momentum.”
GBA express
- Guangdong province, China's economic powerhouse, recorded a GDP of 3.35 trillion yuan in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 4.1 percent year-on-year growth, according to official data released on Wednesday. As China's manufacturing powerhouse, the province's critical manufacturing sector grew 4.4 percent. Advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing reported growth of 5.9 percent and 5.3 percent respectively. The output of new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, industrial robots, and service robots increased by 29.9 percent, 83.5 percent, 31.3 percent, and 10.8 percent, respectively. The service industry, which now comprises more than 60 percent of Guangdong's GDP, showed renewed momentum, growing 4.3 percent in the first quarter.
- Hong Kong is set to ink deals with Zhejiang province across key sectors, including tech, housing, trade and youth development, said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday as he began a four-day visit accompanied by one-third of Hong Kong’s top officials. Lee said Hong Kong and Hangzhou have room for collaboration amid rising geopolitical complexities, with both cities placing a strong emphasis on innovation and technology.
- Cathay Pacific Airways reported a nearly 20 percent rise in passenger volume to 2.26 million passengers in March compared to the same month last year. Hong Kong’s flagship carrier’s passengers jumped 23.4 percent to 6.67 million in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period last year.
Industry and company news
- China plans to launch the Shenzhou XX mission on Thursday afternoon for a crew shift aboard the nation's Tiangong space station. The China Manned Space Agency announced on Wednesday that the Shenzhou XX spacecraft, carrying three crew members, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, is set to launch at 5:17 pm on Thursday using a Long March 2F carrier rocket. Meanwhile, the agency said its first astronauts from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, selected as payload specialists, are on track to make their inaugural spaceflight as early as 2026.
- The 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition has officially opened in the eastern Chinese city today and will run until May 2. Nearly 1,000 companies from 26 countries and regions will attend the Auto Shanghai 2025, setting a new attendance record. More than 100 new car models will debut at the event.
- Japanese automaker Toyota on Tuesday signed an agreement to establish a wholly owned EV plant with the Shanghai municipal government, investing a total of 14.6 billion yuan into the NEV project in Jinshan District, which focuses on the research and development, production and sales of Lexus EVs and EV batteries.
- GAC showed four new models at the Auto Shanghai 2025, including a highly automated L4 Robotaxi from the alliance of its Aion brand with Didi and the mid-to-large SUV Trumpchi Xiangwang S9, co-developed with Huawei's Qiankun division and Chinese battery giant CATL. The robotaxi will likely complete testing by next year and launch in 2027.
- Avatr Technology, the smart EV brand of Changan Auto, displayed its new sedan, Avatr 06, at the Shanghai Auto Show. Starting from 209,900 yuan, the new car is equipped with Huawei's Qiankun ADS and Harmony smart cockpit. Meanwhile, CEO of Huawei's Smart Car BU Richard Jin said yesterday that Huawei spent more than 10 billion yuan on auto R&D last year, employing 8,000 researchers, as the tech giant debuted the driving assistance system Qiankun ADS 4 and smart cockpit operation system HarmonySpace 5 ahead of the Auto Show.
- BMW's first China-tailored EV model, the iX3L, will hit the market next year, CEO Oliver Zipse said at the Auto Shanghai 2025. The German auto giant will integrate DeepSeek’s AI models into its new vehicles for the Chinese market this year, he added.
- Pop Mart's shares gained today after the Chinese toy maker’s preliminary earnings figures showed its revenue likely soared 165 percent to 170 percent in the first quarter of the year from a year earlier, thanks to strong overseas sales growth.
- China's first Embodied AI Robot Games will be held from tomorrow through April 26 in Wuxi, eastern Jiangsu province, according to organizer Chinese Institute of Electronics. The inaugural event will showcase the latest advancements in embodied intelligence technology.
Asia-Pacific highlights
- Thailand has postponed tariff negotiations with the United States, while Japan remains unwilling to yield to Washington's demands. Thailand's negotiations with Washington on steep trade tariffs were postponed after the US requested that Bangkok review key issues, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told the country's parliament on Monday that Japan won't concede to all US demands in trade talks, citing the need to protect national interests.
Executive Editor: Sonia YU
Editor: LI Yanxia
Host: Stephanie LI
Writer: Stephanie LI
Sound Editor: Stephanie LI
Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni
Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.
Presented by SFC
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