China Archives - FINANCIAL POST

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd Stock: Diversified Financial Powerhouse with Strong Earnings Momentum in 2026

29Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

China

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd Stock: Diversified Financial Powerhouse with Strong Earnings Momentum in 2026

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd stands as one of China's most prominent financial conglomerates, offering a compelling case for North American investors seeking exposure to the world's largest insurance market. The company blends traditional insurance with banking, wealth management, and innovative health services, positioning it for sustained growth amid China's economic recovery. Recent quarterly results underscore its resilience, making its shares particularly relevant now. By Elena Hargrove, Senior Financial Editor at NorthStar Market Insights: Ping An Insurance exemplifies how integrated financial models drive value in emerging markets like China. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Shenzhen, Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd has evolved from a joint-stoc...

As the Hormuz crisis worsens, China warns of a “uncontrollable” escalation.

24Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China, World

As the Hormuz crisis worsens, China warns of a “uncontrollable” escalation.

China warns the Hormuz crisis could spiral into an uncontrollable regional conflict threatening global energy supplies. Beijing is maintaining “strategic neutrality” while quietly ensuring continued oil flows, particularly from Iran. Prolonged disruption risks undermining China’s economy and its vast trade and infrastructure investments across the Middle East. China has warned of an "uncontrollable situation" amid the escalating Strait of Hormuz crisis and urged all sides to halt military operations as the war involving Iran enters a critical phase and threatens global energy supplies. On March 21, US President Donald Trump issued Tehran a 48-hour ultimatum to lift its partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow Gulf passage that carries about 20 percent of global ...

The Iran war is causing a global energy crisis – can China withstand it?

20Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China

The Iran war is causing a global energy crisis – can China withstand it?

China has long braced for a Gulf oil supply shock - but the Iran war's disruption of a key global shipping route is now putting its resilience to the test. Energy shipments from the Middle East have been at a standstill following Iran's threats to attack vessels that pass through a critical trade waterway as retaliation against US-Israeli strikes. The blockade has led to a global oil shortage which has rocked Gulf-reliant Asian countries hard - with the Philippines mandating four-day work weeks to save fuel, and Indonesia seeking ways to avoid burning through reserves that will last just weeks. China, the world's largest buyer of oil, is also feeling the strain. But the country sits in a better position than its neighbours, after years of statecraft that have prepared it f...

China’s economy gets off to better-than-forecast start to year

16Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China

China’s economy gets off to better-than-forecast start to year

China’s main economic indicators fared better than forecast to start the year, in a sign that momentum was improving before the war in Iran roiled the outlook for global growth and inflation. Industrial production climbed 6.3% in the January-February period from a year ago — its fastest growth since September and up from 5.2% in December. Fixed-asset investment unexpectedly expanded 1.8%, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, after contracting for the first time on record in 2025. Retail sales rose 2.8% in the first two months, accelerating from 0.9% in December and topping the 2.5% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The figures provide the first official snapshot of the state of the world’s second-biggest economy this ye...

US, China economic chiefs meet in Paris to clear path to Trump-Xi summit

15Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China, USA, World

US, China economic chiefs meet in Paris to clear path to Trump-Xi summit

Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials wrapped up the first of two days of talks in Paris on Sunday to iron out kinks in their trade truce and clear a path for U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of March. The discussions, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He ‌Lifeng, were expected to focus on shifting U.S. tariffs, the flow of Chinese-produced rare earth minerals and magnets to U.S. buyers, American high-tech export controls and Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products. The two sides met for more than six hours at the Paris headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, with talks to resume on Monday morning, a Treasury spokesperson ...

Interview: Stable growth of China’s economy brings certainty to global economic outlook — Kyrgyz expert

13Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

China

Interview: Stable growth of China’s economy brings certainty to global economic outlook — Kyrgyz expert

The announced growth target is a key indicator for international markets, helping mitigate uncertainty and maintain global economic balance, said a Kyrgyz expert. BISHKEK, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Stable growth in China's economy brings certainty to global economic development, a Kyrgyz economist has said. China's government work report approved during the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress has set the 2026 growth target at 4.5-5 percent. In an interview with Xinhua, Tolonbek Abdyrov, professor of economics and vice rector of the International Higher School of Medicine in Kyrgyzstan, noted that given the current complex international environment, including rising unilateralism, protectionism, geopolitical tensions, and increasing global market volatility, the g...

9Mar

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia, China

Why Iran depends on exports to China

While Iranian threats have brought maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely to a halt, experts doubt Iran will risk a long-term blockade of the shipping lane in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. "Around 70 percent of Iran's non-oil trade passes through ports that depend on access via the Strait of Hormuz," says gas and economic analyst Dalga Khatinoglu of Iran International, a London-based news outlet. Blockading the strait long-term would hurt Iran itself. "It doesn't feel rational for Iran to close the street of Hormuz, because they have the imports of the crucial goods like crucial food for example, but also the majority of their exports go to China and India, so that would turn against the country," energy expert Sara Vakhshouri of SVB Energy...

U.S.-Israel War with Iran’s Impact on Indian, Chinese, and Global Economies

7Mar

By Michael SmithNo Comments

Asia, China, USA, World

U.S.-Israel War with Iran’s Impact on Indian, Chinese, and Global Economies

As the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran rages and expands, the immediate focus is understandably on military issues such as airstrikes, missile defense, naval deployments, and retaliatory actions. Yet beneath the spectacle of war lies a far more consequential battlefield: energy and the global economy. The Heart of the Global Energy System The Middle East remains at the center of global energy. Even though there has been diversification of energy sources in recent decades, the region still accounts for roughly 30% of global oil production and about half of all global seaborne oil exports. The region’s centrality is reinforced by the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day flow, amounting to roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply. ...

The U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Shakes the Foundations of China’s Economy

5Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China, USA, World

The U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Shakes the Foundations of China’s Economy

The Middle East has erupted in the most intense direct military escalation in decades. Joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple Iranian sites, ranging from military and air defence facilities to locations linked to Iran’s missile and nuclear programs. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the launch of “major combat operations” aimed at dismantling Iran’s military and naval capabilities and preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while calling on the Iranian people to rise against their government. Iran responded swiftly, launching dozens of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. bases in Gulf states in an operation dubbed “True Promise 4.” The escalation led to widespread airspace closures and a comprehensive state of emergency across the region. ...

China sets lowest GDP growth target for decades as it braces for economic slowdown

5Mar

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China

China sets lowest GDP growth target for decades as it braces for economic slowdown

‘High-quality growth’ target of 4.5-5% outlined at Two Sessions as Chinese premier talks of complex situations at home and abroad China has set its target for GDP growth to a record low of 4.5-5%, the first time since 1991 that the figure has dropped below 5%, reflecting an economic strategy that is shifting away from export-led growth to a model that leaders hope will be more resilient to external shocks. Li Qiang, China’s premier, announced the target for 2026 in the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s annual parliamentary gathering, which began on Thursday. Addressing the nearly 3,000 delegates gathered in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Li described 2025 as a “truly remarkable” year with “profound and complex developments bo...

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