COP28 sees encouraging progress in climate financing in Dubai, UAE. Over $57 billion has been raised at the annual global climate change conference to address the adverse effects caused by global warming.
The International Finance Forum (IFF), the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) co-hosted a side event at COP28 to discuss establishing a global methane emission control mechanism.
China held the first International Supply Chain Expo to promote smoother links, collaboration and interaction among industries alone supply chains and between Chinese and foreign enterprises in Beijing from November 28 to December 2, 2023. The five-day event has brought together 515 enterprises and institutions from 55 countries and regions.
OECD expected a moderate global GDP growth of 2.9 per cent in 2023, followed by a slowdown to 2.7 per cent in 2024 according to its Economic Outlook released on November 27 due to the persistent impact of monetary policy tightening and lower business and consumer confidence.
IFF holds sideline at COP28 on methane emissions
The Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Finance Forum (IFF) jointly held a meeting in Dubai, UAE, calling for the enhanced control of methane emissions on December 5, 2023. Representatives from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and researchers from universities, government regulators and representatives from energy industries attended the closed-door meeting.
Zhu Xian, the vice president and secretary general of the IFF, pointed out that a failure of methane emissions control will cause a rise of methane by 13 per cent by 2030, resulting in accelerating global warming and the catastrophe of climate change.
Only about $ 75 billion spent on methane emission control by the oil and gas industry would achieve these reduction targets, which will be the least costly options for reducing greenhouse gas, according to the IEA
Academic member of the IFF, former Deputy Director of the National Climate Centre of China, and former Chief Climate Change Specialist of the Asian Development Bank, Lu Xuedu, introduced the methane emission control policies and industrial best practices China has adopted and the relevant results achieved recently.
China International Supply Chain Expo held in Beijing
The world's first national-level supply chain expo, the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), kicked off in Beijing on November 28, 2023. Aimed to build a new open platform for the international business community to strengthen cooperation in industrial and supply chains, the expo culminated in the signing of nearly 20 contracts, collectively worth an excess of RMB150 billion yuan (about $21 billion).
Moody’s downgraded China’s economic expectations
New York-based rating agency Moody's downgraded Chinese economic expectations from stable to negative for the first time since 2017, considering the risks from the staggering real estate and the financing troubles of local governments and state-owned enterprises on December 5.
The Chinese government said the adjustment was disappointing on the same day.
Some Chinese economists expected that completely defusing the hidden local government debts would take China four or five years, but it is unlikely to trigger a systematic financial risk.
China's central bank to guard against financial risks further
Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China said that the central bank would ramp up support for the real economy, guard against systemic financial risks and deepen opening-up in the finance sector in early December.
Some Chinese commercial banks have voiced support in recent meetings for the reasonable financing needs of real estate enterprises, which was a positive signal for the further stabilization of the housing market in China.
A recent S&P report indicated that both market sentiment and prices in China's property market are starting to normalize, and the rating agency said the Chinese property market appears to have bottomed out.
China eyes coal capacity reserve system to ensure energy security
China aims to establish a coal capacity reserve system by 2027 and achieve a capacity reserve of 300 million metric tons per year for coal that can be dispatched by 2030, according to a draft statement released by the country's economic regulator for public comment on December 6.
The backup coal production system is to ensure energy security through more flexible coal supplies at peak times of power use in the context of a significant increase in grid-connected renewable energy.
Foreign investors add 1 trillion worth of holdings in Chinese bonds
Foreign investors have increased their holdings of Chinese bonds for nine consecutive months by one trillion yuan, said the PBC Chinese central bank this week.
Overseas institutional investors have bought up domestic bonds rapidly since Q3. The increase in October was up to RMB 40 billion and may reach RMB 250 billion in November. Almost RMB 3.3 trillion in Chinese bonds are held by 100 foreign institutions from 70 countries, up 200 per cent since 2017.
China strives to commercialize 6G technology around 2030
China is working to commercialize 6G, the next-generation wireless technology in 2030, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China this week. The country will complete the 6G standards by 2025 for further inter-sector collaboration of a 6G ecosystem. China also tries to promote the domestic technology standards to a global 6G standard.
COP28 mobilizes over $57 billion for climate actions
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) held in the UAE, witnessed a series of pledges announced by governments, companies, investors, and charitable institutions. The pledges they made amounted to about AED210 billion dirhams ($57 billion) during the first four days of COP28. On the first day, a very important agreement was reached to activate a global climate fund. The fund focuses on addressing the losses and damages resulting from climate change. It was followed by a range of announcements and pledges across all climate action priorities, including finance, health, food, nature, and energy.
The world to expect a moderate growth in 2024
The global GDP would grow 2.9 per cent in 2023, followed by a mild slowdown to 2.7 per cent in 2024, according to the Economic Outlook released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on November 27, 2023.
The OECD stated in the report that global trade growth has been unexpectedly weak during the past year and is currently moderating due to the persistent impact of monetary policy tightening and lower business and consumer confidence.
China is projected to grow at a rate of 5.2 per cent this year, followed by a decrease to 4.7 per cent in 2024 and to 4.2 per cent in 2025.
Inflation falling in the developed nations to fuel the rate-cut expectations
The core personal consumption expenditures price index in the US rose 3.5% year over year in October, down from 3.7% in September, according to the Department of Commerce.
Analysts predict that the latest inflation data should only confirm investor expectations that the Fed may begin lowering borrowing costs in the first half of next year, perhaps as soon as March.
Annual inflation in the eurozone cooled to 2.4% in November from 2.9% in October, while the Core inflation also came in lower than expected, dropping to 3.6% from 4.2% in October.
According to Bert Colijn, senior euro zone economist at ING, the European Central Bank would start considering the rate cuts for 2024 as the battle over inflation comes to an end.
