IFF Newsletter Issue 137

TIME：2024-08-23

From the Editor

Chinese courts will step up efforts to combat money laundering, with a particular focus on crimes committed through virtual currencies, online game coins and other emerging digital platforms, officials from China's top court announced on Monday.

Federal Reserve officials at their July meeting moved closer to a long-awaited interest rate reduction but stopped short while indicating that a September cut had grown increasingly probable, minutes released Wednesday showed.

Newsletter

China News

China labels Illegal online asset transactions as money laundering

In the latest judicial interpretation released byChina's top judicial authorities virtual assets transaction was labeled as a new form of money laundering.

With internet technologies becoming increasingly used, money laundering methods are also upgrading, including virtual and video game currencies and livestream rewards, China's top court noted.

China, US enhance links to boost financial stability

The world's two largest economies are strengthening financial cooperation through the China-United States Financial Working Group to jointly address the new challenges brought by intensified fluctuations in the global financial market.

At the recent closed-door meeting in Shanghai, the two countries have demonstrated strong commitment to mitigating potential risks and safeguarding global financial stability.

The PBOC, China's central bank, said on Monday that the two sides signed documents on strengthening China-US cooperation to boost financial stability under theworking group’s framework, established in September to hold regular and ad hoc meetings to strengthen communication on financial topics.

Steps to bolster service trade

The State Council announced on Monday that it will accelerate the development of trade in services to expand high-level opening-up and foster new drivers for foreign trade growth.

Byimplementing a negative list for cross-border service trade and advancing pilot programs to boost service industry openness, the country aims to facilitate the seamless cross-border flow of critical resources such as talent, capital, technology and data.

China moves to create first-class business environment in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

On Monday, China's top economic planner unveiled a three-year action plan to create a first-class business environment in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, especially the Xiong'an New Area.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, over the next three years, China expects to remove barriers hindering the flow and allocation of production factors, improve services for trade, investment and government affairs, and lower institutional transaction costs in the region.

China approves building of five new nuclear power projects for over USD28 billion

China has approved the construction of five new nuclear power projects, including a record-high 11 nuclear power units with a total investment of more than CNY200 billion (USD28 billion).

According to the latest guidelines on the construction of clean energy projects, including wind and solar power in the northwest, hydropower schemes in the southwest and offshore wind power and coastal nuclear power projects, the country has set an ambitions plan to increase its non-fossil fuel energy consumption to about 25 percent by 2030.

Newsletter

International News

Fed minutes point to ‘likely’ rate cut coming in September

Markets are fully pricing in a September cut, the first time since the emergency easing in the early days of the Covid crisis.

Calls grew for the Fed to cut rates quickly, with some even suggesting that the central bank make a steady move to head off worries that the economy was sinking fast.

Youth jobless rate falls to 15-year low, says UN labour agency

The number of young people unemployed globally is at a 15-year and in some Asia Pacific countries and Arab States, and women in particular - “are not seeing the benefits” of this post-COVID economic recovery, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Monday.

Demographic trends, notably the African ‘youthquake’， means creating enough decent jobs will be critical for social justice and the global economy according to ILO’s new data on the worldwide jobs market.

“Millions of young people around the world are blocked in their aspiration for decent work,” the ILO insisted, adding that although global youth unemployment fell to 13 per cent in 2023 – lower than pre-pandemic levels with continued falls expected in 2024 and 2025 - this recovery has been"uneven".

“In East Asia (up 4.3 per cent), the Arab States (up one per cent) and South-East Asia and the Pacific (up one per cent), youth unemployment rates have continued to rise,” said Sara Elder, ILO Head of Employment Analyses and Public Policies.

EU risks its climate goals with EV tariff hikes

The European Union's decision to levy additional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles could be counterproductive, as it puts the bloc's decarbonization goals at risk, experts said.

While it is right for the EU to value its homemade goods, Chris Aylett, a research associate at the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House, a London-based independent policy institute, highlighted in an analysis that the restrictions on Chinese BEVs jeopardize the union's legally binding climate targets of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and at least a 55 percent reduction by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Asia News Wrap: Japan's birth rate falls to new low, and more

Japan's birth rate has fallen to a new low and is now at a "critical" level, according to the country's Health Ministry. On Wednesday, the ministry released data to show the average number of children a woman is expected to have stood at 1.2 in 2023. It is the eighth successive year of decline and is far below what is necessary to maintain a stable population. On the same day, Japan's parliament enacted a bill to bolster measures to tackle the declining birth rate.

Australia approves plan for 'world's largest' solar hub

Australia, on Wednesday, approved plans for a massive solar farm in its remote north, a project it dubbed the "largest solar precinct in the world."

Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the vast solar farm would generate enough energy to power 3 million homes via panels, batteries and, eventually, a cable linking Australia with Singapore.

IAEA says safety 'deteriorating' at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned on Saturday that the nuclear safety situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) was "deteriorating" after a drone strike nearby.

The IAEA experts stationed at the ZNPP immediately visited the impact site "close to the essential cooling water sprinkler ponds and about 100 meters from the Dniprovska power line of the ZNPP," after being informed of the drone attack on Saturday that "hit the road around the plant site perimeter," the agency said in a statement.

Although there were no casualties or impact on any equipment at the plant, there was " an impact to the road between the two main gates of ZNPP," the statement read.