China says industrial economy has stabilised

China says industrial economy has stabilised

Business

Chinese regulator lists preventing local government ‘debt implosion’ as top priority

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's industry minister said the country's industrial economy stabilised and recovered in the first three quarters of 2023 and the new energy sector, such as electric cars, shined.

"In the fourth quarter, we are confident the industrial economy will keep the recovery momentum," said Jin Zhuanglong, China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, in an interview with China state television CCTV.

China's industrial output in September grew 4.5 per cent from a year earlier, matching the pace in August, as policy support measures stabilised some parts of the world's second-largest economy.

For the first nine months, car sales in China rose 2.1pc to 15.41 million units. Overseas markets remain an important growth area, although an EU probe into China-made EVs may put a damper on exports.

Jin also said the use of artificial intelligence in manufacturing and medical fields, as well as humanoid robots and the metaverse might be important symbols of the scientific and technological revolution in the future, CCTV reported on Saturday.

‘DEBT IMPLOSION'

Preventing a local government "debt implosion" is a top priority, China's securities regulator was quoted by state media China Securities Journal as saying on Friday.

China should resolve bond default risks of large property firms and strengthen risk monitoring alerts for the debt of local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), the regulator was quoted as saying.