6 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 1, 2019 http://www.bjreview.com
THIS WEEK
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The economy moved a step forward
in external rebalancing with the cur-
rent account surplus plunging from
more than 10 percent of the GDP in
2007 to 0.4 percent in 2018.
The substantial decline can be
attributed to shrinking trade balance
driven by high import growth and
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driven by tourism, as well as higher
commodity and semiconductor prices,
according to a report released by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sun Xuegong, Director of the
Institute of Economic Research of the
National Development and Reform
Commission, said the reduction
means the economy has become
more reliant on domestic demand,
rather than external factors.
“In an overall perspective, the
current account surplus decline
is conducive to the stability of the
macroeconomy as a more domestic
demand-driven economy has fewer
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control over the whole picture,” Sun
said.
The IMF expects the current
account surplus to decline further
over the next few years, in line with
China’s continued rebalancing.
However, it remains important
to ensure that the rebalancing con-
tinues in order to avoid a return of
excessive current account surpluses,
the report said.
Chief IMF economist Gitaexpansion by planning businesses
in the Greater Middle East and India
markets via a partnership.
Luckin and Americana Group,
the largest integrated food product
company in the Middle East, signed
a memorandum of understanding
on July 22. It includes a plan to set
up a joint venture to launch new
retail coffee businesses in these
regions.
Founded in 2017, Luckin
posted fast expansion thanks to its
convenient tech-driven services and
affordable products. It now operates
over 3,000 stores across 40 cities in
China.
The company plans to open
more than 4,500 stores by the end
of 2019 to become China’s largest
coffee chain.6DIHW\ó$VVHVVPHQW
A guideline on assessing the safety
of cloud computing services has
been issued by the Cyberspace
Administration of China, National
Development and Reform
Commission, Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology
and Ministry of Finance to make
cloud computing services safer for
Communist Party of China users,
government organs and key infor-
mation infrastructure operators.
The safety assessment focuses
on the credibility of cloud platform
operators and their operation, the
background of the staff of cloud
service providers and the safety of
cloud platforms’ supply chains.
Cloud service providers can of-
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computing service safety assessment
from September 1. The assessment
results will be valid for up to three
years.9HKLFOHó([SRUWV
A ceremony was held in north
China’s Tianjin on July 22, marking
the export of 60 second-hand
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of used commercial vehicles to be
exported from China.ECONOMY
Gopinath said the continued nar-
rowing of China’s current account
surplus was a noteworthy develop-
ment. Countries which run large
current account surpluses may be
saving too much and therefore can
be detrimental to global demand,
she added.
Therefore, it is important for
China to continue its pivot toward
more domestic demand-driven
growth to ensure that there is less re-
liance on credit boom-driven growth
and work on encouraging the private
sector, Gopinath said.&RIIHHó([SDQVLRQó
Chinese coffee chain brand Luckin
Coffee has set its sights on globalXIN
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A staff works in an automated production workshop of a car part company in southwest China’s Chongqing on July 15.
The city has supported local small and medium-sized enterprises to shift toward smart manufacturing, improving their
competitiveness and contributing to high-quality growth.