Nectar Gan, Author at The Singapore Post

China’s Decline as a Superpower: Population Decline | Viewpoint

23Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

China’s Decline as a Superpower: Population Decline | Viewpoint

China's population, reported to be 1.41 billion, will drop to 330 million by the end of the century, predicts Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This startling conclusion is included in a paper to be published in the Winter 2024 issue of the Contemporary China Review. He's not the only one concerned. "China has embarked on a road of demographic no-return," writes Wang Feng of the University of California, Irvine. Yi puts it this way: "Left unaddressed, China's demographic trap could precipitate a civilizational collapse." Why do we care? Rapid demographic change can push an ambitious China to become even more militant and accelerate dangerous plans. The crisis is plain to see. Yi's stunning 330 million figure assumes that China will be able to stabilize its total fert...

23Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Three inexpensive Chinese favorites of Rakesh Bordia of Pzena

Haier is an Elite Companies AAA rated Hong Kong-listed household appliances maker that Bordia has owned for roughly two years. It is the eighth-largest holding in both his funds. Haier develops, makes and sells appliances ranging from fridges, freezers and TVs to air conditioners and dehumidifiers; it owns the Hoover and Candy brands in select countries and in 2016 paid $5.4bn to buy GE Appliances from the US-based conglomerate. The shares registered on the screens Pzena uses to identify the cheapest available stocks with relatively strong earnings because it was being pummelled by fears around the health of the property market in China. The assumption is that consumers buy new appliances when they move home, and so when the housing market freezes, so too do sales of new fridges and...

Trump imposes tariffs on India after Mexico, Canada, and China.

19Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Trump imposes tariffs on India after Mexico, Canada, and China.

Weeks after threatening to raise tariffs on America’s top three trade partners—Mexico, China, and Canada—US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday turned his attention to India, criticising its high tariffs and warning that Washington would impose reciprocal taxes on Indian products. This marks the first time Trump has threatened tariffs on Indian goods since winning the election in November. However, during his campaign, Trump frequently referred to India as a “very big [trade] abuser.” Trump is set to assume control of White House on January 20. Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Trump criticised India’s tariff regime, pointing to 100 per cent tariffs on certain US products. “The word ‘reciprocal’ is important because if somebody charges us—India, for example—we don’t have to t

Scientists in the US prepare for the impending government closure

19Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Scientists in the US prepare for the impending government closure

Acting at the eleventh hour, Congress avoided a U.S. government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution that funds the government through mid-March 2025. Lawmakers will try again to complete the 12 bills that set spending levels for the 2025 fiscal year that began on 1 October when the new, 119th Congress convenes on 3 January.It’s déjà vu all over again. The U.S. research community is holding its breath after the abrupt collapse last night of a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown on 21 December. If Congress fails to reach an agreement in the next few days, federal research agencies would have to suspend most operations, staff would be sent home, websites frozen, meetings postponed, training disrupted, and research projects halted. Depending on how long a pause lasts, in

Li Jianping was executed for a $421 million scam in China’s worst corruption case.

17Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Li Jianping was executed for a $421 million scam in China’s worst corruption case.

In the largest corruption case in China’s history, the Chinese government executed Li Jianping on Tuesday. Jianping, a former official in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of embezzling over three billion yuan (approximately $421 million). The execution was ordered by China’s Supreme People’s Court and carried out by a court in Inner Mongolia, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Jianping, 64, had served as secretary of the Communist Party working committee for the Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone. His death sentence was initially issued in September 2022 and upheld on appeal in August 2024. Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption driveSince coming to power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has made anti-corruption a key part of

Divided on China: Politicians disagree on luring Chinese foreign direct investment

17Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Divided on China: Politicians disagree on luring Chinese foreign direct investment

When the FY24 Economic Survey presented in July batted for allowing more Chinese investment into India, it was seen as a change in heart following the NDA government’s re-election for a third successive term. However, with trade minister Piyush Goyal quickly clarifying that there was no rethink within the government to support foreign direct investment (FDI) from China, matters died down. However, in recent months, India’s fast-tracking of business visas for Chinese nationals, troop disengagement along the Ladakh border, and statements by senior government functionaries have indicated a renewed deliberation on the future of India’s economic ties with its northern

Despite stimulus, British businesses are pessimistic about doing business in China: Survey

3Dec

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Despite stimulus, British businesses are pessimistic about doing business in China: Survey

British companies operating in China feel that doing business in the world's second-largest economy has become harder over the past year due to sluggish economic conditions and they expect that situation to remain in 2025, a survey found. That is despite China rolling out a series of stimulus measures over the past few months to bolster the $19 trillion economy, the British Chamber of Commerce in China found in its annual sentiment survey released on Tuesday. The findings by the lobby group, based on members' views over September and November, revealed that 58 per cent of companies felt that doing business in China had become more difficult over the past year, with 86 per cent of such firms blaming economic factors. "British businesses continue to face significant headwinds, from...

US : China’s telecom hack worst ever, intimidating

27Nov

By Nectar GanNo Comments

US : China’s telecom hack worst ever, intimidating

Chinese hackers are getting bolder by the day and now have hacked into top US telecommunication companies’ networks. US FBI and CISA have labelled this as the “worst ever” espionage attempt in the history. The US agencies have tapped into the source of the hack and have found out that the Chinese hackers have stolen call records of top political and government officials during the recent US elections. The Chinese hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon is in the middle of this huge scandal. As per the US intelligence the Chinese hackers were even able to listen to conversation between President elect Donald Trump and Vice-President elect JD Vance. They hacked into the vulnerable US telecommunication equipment, broadband networks, and computers to extract secret informa

22Nov

By Nectar GanNo Comments

China: 30-day visa-free travel policy

From November 30, 2024, visa-free stays in China will increase from 15 to 30 days, and nine new countries will be added to the list of nations benefiting from the unilateral visa-free policy. Good news for travelers from the many countries benefiting from China’s unilateral visa-free policy: from November 30, 2024, visa-free stays in China will be extended to 30 days, instead of the current 15. This decision was announced today by Chinese diplomacy, which will take the opportunity to extend the list of countries eligible for this entry facility to 38 nations, and add exchange visits (type “F”) as a purpose of stay authorized without a visa. “In order to further facilitate exchanges between China and foreign countries, China has decided to expand the scope of visa-f

China’s initial reaction to tragedy is to shut it down.

14Nov

By Nectar GanNo Comments

China’s initial reaction to tragedy is to shut it down.

The gates outside the Zhuhai sports complex in China were closed. Inside, the stadium was in darkness, as were the grounds around it. It was here, hours before, where dozens of people were killed when a man drove an SUV into a crowd. Many more were injured. Only security guards appeared to be moving around behind the fence when the BBC arrived, and they had been ordered to keep an eye out for reporters. One approached us asking: "Are you journalists?" When I asked why he wanted to know, he replied: "Oh just to understand the situation." He and a colleague took photos of us and started making calls, watching us as they did. Outside the gates people passed by to catch sight of the aftermath. But among them was a group of around a dozen people more interested in us. ...