Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program.
- China’s CPI edged up 0.1% while PPI came down 3.6% in April;
- Tianzhou 6 successfully docks with Tiangong space station.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours?
China's consumer inflation eased in April to an over 2-year low, while its factory-gate prices showed an annual fall for a seventh consecutive month, official data showed on Thursday.
China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, climbed 0.1 percent from a year earlier in April, down from 0.7 percent in March, cooling to the lowest rate since February 2021, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. On a month-on-month basis, April's CPI dipped 0.1 percent after a 0.3 percent decline in March.
Food prices rose by 0.4 percent in April compared with a year ago, down from 2.4 percent in March. Pork, a staple in Chinese cuisine, saw prices surge by 4 percent, down from a rise of 9.6 percent in March.
Notably, prices for industrial consumer products declined 1.5 percent in April, mainly due to the drop in energy prices. The prices of gasoline and diesel fuel dropped 10.6 percent and 11.5 percent in April, respectively.?
The growth in core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remained steady at 0.7 percent year-on-year and 0.1 percent month-on-month.
Compared with last year, service prices rose 1 percent in April, faster than the 0.8-percent increase in March. Notable strength came from travel as domestic tourism recovers, especially in transportation and leisure activities over the Golden Week holiday.
Meanwhile, the producer price index, which measures prices paid by wholesalers, was down 3.6 percent from a year earlier in April, compared with the 2.5 percent annual contraction seen in March. PPI dipped 0.5 percent in April on a monthly basis, said the NBS.?
Dong Lijuan, an NBS statistician, said the consumer inflation eased in April due to sufficient market supplies and a high comparison in the previous year, while the fall in factory-gate prices was affected by the fluctuations in international commodity prices, weak market demand at both home and abroad, as well as a high comparison base in the previous year.
由于食品价格回落和去年同期物价基数较高，今年4月CPI、PPI同比涨幅继续放缓。
国家统计局5月11日发布的数据显示，4月份全国居民消费价格（CPI）同比上涨0.1%，涨幅比上月回落0.6个百分点，环比下降0.1%；全国工业生产者出厂价格（PPI）同比下降3.6%，降幅比上月扩大1.1个百分点，环比下降0.5%。
扣除食品和能源价格的核心CPI环比由上月持平转为上涨0.1%，同比上涨0.7%，涨幅与上月相同。
国家统计局城市司首席统计师董莉娟表示，4月CPI同比涨幅回落较多，主要是上年同期对比基数较高。2022年4月，CPI同比上涨2.1%。
从环比看，4月CPI下降0.1%，降幅比上月收窄0.2个百分点。食品价格下降，猪肉价格仍持续回落。从同比看，4月CPI上涨0.1%，涨幅比上月回落0.6个百分点，其中食品涨幅回落，服务价格涨幅扩大，出行类服务恢复较好。工业消费品价格下降1.5%，降幅扩大0.7个百分点，主要是能源价格回落较多，汽油和柴油价格分别下降10.6%和11.5%，降幅分别扩大4.0和4.2个百分点。
有分析指，年初开始能繁母猪有所去化，对应2-3个季度之后生猪供应将有所回落，且下半年节假日较多，旅游、聚餐等助力猪肉需求回暖，预计猪价将于三季度迎来拐点。能源价格方面，受国际原油价格波动影响，4月国内成品油价格上调和下调各一次，总体价格水平与上月相比变化不大。不过，上年同期俄乌冲突爆发后，国内成品油价格基数持续抬高，导致今年4月成品油价格同比降幅进一步扩大。
PPI方面，4月份，受国际大宗商品价格波动、国内外市场需求总体偏弱及上年同期对比基数较高等因素影响，PPI环比下降0.5%，同比下降3.6%。
从同比看，PPI下降3.6%，降幅比上月扩大1.1个百分点。董莉娟分析，同比降幅扩大，主要是由于上年同期石油、黑色金属等行业对比基数走高，以及近期国内外需求偏弱。
近期CPI和PPI同比持续回落，引发市场对通缩的讨论和担忧。一些机构认为，随着猪肉、油价等影响通胀的主要扰动因素逐步退潮，甚至成为拖累，通缩趋势正在快速显性化，CPI年内可能进一步下降。核心通胀长期低迷，内需恢复并不强劲。
国家统计局新闻发言人付凌晖今年4月在国务院新闻办发布会上对此回应称，当前中国经济没有出现通缩，下阶段也不会出现通缩。接下来物价会稳步恢复，价格带动会逐步增强。随着下半年影响因素逐步消除，价格会回到一个合理水平。?
- The National Immigration Administration (NIA) of China on Thursday announced further optimization of immigration-related policies from May 15, including facilitating the travel between Chinese mainland and the two SARs and resuming service of previously expedited customs clearance. China will also fully resume the nationwide program for group travel permits for mainland residents to Hong Kong and Macao, as well as prolong the validity period of stay for mainland students in Macao. Expedited customs clearance at ports will be resumed, it noted.
- 15日起全面恢复口岸快捷通关：据国家移民管理局官方微信号5月11日消息，为进一步保障便利中外出入境人员往来，促进服务对外开放，国家移民管理局自2023年5月15日起进一步调整优化以下出入境管理政策措施，包括全面恢复实行内地居民赴港澳团队旅游签注“全国通办”；实施内地居民申办赴港澳地区探亲、工作、学习证件“全国通办”；调整在澳门就读的内地学生逗留签注有效期；全面恢复口岸快捷通关。
- The Tianzhou 6 robotic cargo ship connected with the Tiangong space station early Thursday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency. In a brief news release, the agency said the cargo craft docked with the Tiangong station's rear hatch at 5:16 am and began to fly with the station in a low-Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above Earth. Crew members of the Shenzhou XV mission will enter the Tianzhou 6 in due course to transfer materials, it noted. As the first spacecraft to visit China's Tiangong space station this year, the Tianzhou 6 was launched on Wednesday night by a Long March 7 carrier rocket from the coastal Wenchang Space Launch Center in the country's southernmost island province of Hainan.?
- 天宫空间站收到新“快递”：中国载人航天工程网11日消息，天舟六号货运飞船入轨后顺利完成状态设置，于北京时间2023年5月11日5时16分，成功对接于空间站天和核心舱后向端口。交会对接完成后，天舟六号将转入组合体飞行段。后续，神舟十五号航天员乘组将进入天舟六号货运飞船，按计划开展货物转运等相关工作。北京时间2023年5月10日21时22分，搭载天舟六号货运飞船的长征七号遥七运载火箭，在我国文昌航天发射场点火发射，约10分钟后，天舟六号货运飞船与火箭成功分离并进入预定轨道，之后，飞船太阳能帆板顺利展开工作，发射取得圆满成功。这次任务是我国载人航天工程进入空间站应用与发展阶段的首次飞行任务。这次天舟六号运送的“太空快递”中，装载了航天员系统、空间站系统、空间应用领域、货运飞船系统的货物共计258件（套）。其中，包括6名航天员在轨驻留消耗品、约700公斤补加推进剂和多项实（试）验载荷。
Moving on to regional highlights
- More than 1,000 innovative Chinese enterprises, and those with self-owned brands, exhibited their products and solutions at an event in Shanghai marking 2023 China Brand Day from Wednesday through Sunday. The exhibition area of nearly 60,000 square meters is more than double that of previous years and the event's duration has been prolonged. Altogether 38 centrally administered state-owned enterprises exhibited products, representing the country's cutting-edge manufacturing.
- 2023年中国品牌日活动开幕：2023年中国品牌日活动10日在上海开幕，活动主题是“中国品牌，世界共享；品牌新力量，品质新生活”，将持续到14日。其中，2023年中国品牌发展国际论坛，包括1场主论坛和12场分论坛。中国品牌博览会同步搭建线上线下展示平台，线下展览占地近6万平方米，在上海世博展览馆举办；线上展览以线下实体展览为基础，遴选超过1900家优秀品牌企业进行展示，全年在线开放，其中38家央企携“大国重器”独立参展，展现以央企为代表的中国最尖端制造业水平。
Next on industry and company news
- China has maintained steady development in terms of its grain production, said Cong Liang, head of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, at a press conference Thursday. The country's staple food self-sufficiency rate is above 100 percent, Cong said, adding that cereal self-sufficiency rate stands above 95 percent. China has secured a bumper harvest for the 19th year in a row, and per capita share of grain stands at about 480 kg, higher than the internationally recognized security line of 400 kg, Cong added.?
- 中国口粮自给率在100%以上：5月11日，国新办发布会上，国家发展和改革委员会副主任、国家粮食和物资储备局局长丛亮介绍，我国粮食生产实现了十九连丰，总产量连续8年保持在1.3万亿斤以上；口粮自给率在100%以上，谷物自给率在95%以上，人均粮食占有量大概480公斤，高于国际公认的400公斤粮食安全线，做到了谷物基本自给、口粮绝对安全。?
- China's aviation industry saw heavy losses in 2022, as official data on Wednesday revealed. The aviation industry saw a loss of 217.44 billion yuan in 2022, an increase from 137.46 billion yuan the previous year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Wednesday. The operating income of airlines was 336.48 billion yuan, a decrease of 20.5 percent from the previous year, and the loss was 177.12 billion yuan, an increased loss of 114.34 billion yuan from the previous year. The depth and persistence of the impact of the epidemic on civil aviation transportation was far exceeding expectations, the CAAC said.
- 去年民航全行业亏损2174.4亿元：5月10日，民航局发布《2022年民航行业发展统计公报》。据初步统计，2022年，全行业累计实现营业收入6328.9亿元，比上年下降15.8%；亏损2174.4亿元，比上年增亏1374.6亿元。其中，航空公司实现营业收入3364.8亿元，比上年下降20.5%；亏损1771.2亿元，比上年增亏1143.4亿元。全行业完成旅客周转量3913.87亿人公里，比上年下降40.1%。国内航线完成旅客周转量3805.01亿人公里，比上年下降40.9%；国际航线完成旅客周转量108.87亿人公里，比上年增长20.2%。
- State Power Investment Corp Hydrogen Energy Tech pledged to invest 1 billion yuan in the high-power density fuel cell reactor and engine technology for passenger vehicles over the next five years, said Chen Ping, the company's technical director, during its product release of Hydrofore-S — a fuel cell product for passenger vehicles — in Beijing on Wednesday. The company also plans to enhance cooperation with automotive conglomerates in China, including China FAW Group, and the first batch of its Hydrofore-S products will be applied to Hongqi H5 sedans, before being rolled out to more models later, he said, which is expected to hit 10,000 units in the five year period.
- 国氢科技拟五年投放一万台氢能乘用车：5月10日上午，国氢科技总经理助理、技术总监陈平正式发布了国氢科技“氢腾-S”系列产品战略。未来五年，国氢科技将投入10亿元专项资金，打造具有“一大自主基因，四大性能优势、一大成本优势”的“氢腾-S”系列乘用车燃料电池产品，建设万台级乘用车燃料电池电堆及系统产线，并与一汽等整车企业强强联合，推进车型开发。根据战略规划，“氢腾-S”系列产品将首先搭载全新红旗H5乘用车进行应用示范，后续将推广至更多车型，预期五年累计投放车辆10000台。?
- Shares of Century Sage Scientific Holdings surged after the Chinese investment holding company engaged in television broadcast application solutions said it will change its name to Be Friends Holdings after completing the acquisition of the e-commerce livestreaming firm behind famous Chinese businessman Luo Yonghao. Last June, Luo quit all social media, including livestreaming e-commerce, and no longer hold any stake in Be Friends.
- “交个朋友”曲线上市：5月10日，世纪睿科控股有限公司发布公告，宣布拟改名为“交个朋友控股有限公司”，其对应英文名也将相应更改为“Be Friends Holding Limited”。据了解，世纪睿科已经完成对“交个朋友”的全资收购，“交个朋友”的资产已正式注入上市公司。世纪睿科拥有“交个朋友”的核心IP和相关的全部账号。“交个朋友”原为罗永浩抖音直播账号，去年6月，罗永浩宣布正式退出“交个朋友”管理层。
- Chinese electric vehicle battery giant Gotion High-Tech said it will supply lithium iron phosphate battery cells to Volkswagen Group in markets outside of China. The deal is another breakthrough for Gotion after the firm previously became the German carmaker designated supplier of ternary and lithium iron phosphate battery cells in China. The unified cells will have the same design and specifications as those in China and be used in Volkswagen's new energy vehicles sold in overseas markets, Gotion said late yesterday.
- 国轩高科将为大众汽车供应标准电芯：5月10日晚间，中国电池企业国轩高科股份有限公司发布公告表示，公司全资子公司合肥国轩高科动力能源有限公司近日收到Volkswagenwerk AG的采购定点函，公司将成为大众汽车海外市场定点供应商，供应大众汽车磷酸铁锂“Unified Cell(标准电芯)”动力锂电池产品。这是国轩高科继取得大众汽车中国市场三元和磷酸铁锂电芯的正式量产定点之后取得的又一重大市场突破。据介绍，该款电芯采用与中国市场相同的设计样式和规格，面向大众汽车集团全系列新能源汽车。
- Shares of Faraday Future Intelligent Electric surged after the new energy vehicle maker that is fighting to deliver its first cars said it gained USD100 million via bonds that can later be turned into equity but come with no special pecking order in case of liquidation.?FF's first mass-produced model, FF 91, rolled off the production line only last month and?deliveries should begin late this month.
- FF宣布1亿美元无担保可转换债融资：10日消息，据Faraday Future官方微博发布，法拉第未来今日宣布签署1亿美元融资的无担保可转债的最终协议，本融资所得现金预计将用于支持旗舰车型FF 91的持续生产爬坡和销售及服务体系发展。首辆FF91量产车已于4月15日正式下线，法拉第未来已推迟第一批量产FF91 Futurist的交付时间，原定于4月份交付的新车，由于供应商供货问题，需要推迟至5月底开始。
- Shares in Li Auto surged as much as 17.3 percent today after the Chinese electric vehicle startup posted a profit in the first quarter for the first time. Li Auto logged a three-and-a-half-fold leap in net profit in the first quarter from the previous quarter to 933.8 million yuan, a huge improvement on the losses of 10.9 million yuan it incurred the same time last year, according to the firm’s latest financial report released yesterday. Revenue jumped 96.5 percent to 18.8 billion yuan, a new quarterly high. The firm’s NEV sales soared 66 percent in the period to 526,000 units.?And the outlook is bright. Revenue this quarter is likely to as much as triple from a year ago to 25.9 billion?yuan, the carmaker said. It expects sales to increase 182.4 percent over the period to 81,000 EVs.?
- 理想汽车Q1营收销量均创新高：5月10日，理想汽车发布2023年第一季度财报，营收与交付量创下历史新高。公司实现营收187.9亿元，同比增长96.5%，环比增长6.4%；净利润9.3亿元，环比增加252%，去年同期净亏损为1090万元；自由现金流达到67亿元。一季度，理想汽车共交付新车5.26万辆，同比增长65.8%，达成公司此前设定的5.2万辆至5.5万辆的交付指引。展望第二季度，理想汽车预计第二季度交付7.6万至8.1万辆新车，同比增长164.9%至182.4%；预计第二季度营收242.2亿元至258.6亿元，同比增长177.4%至196.1%。?
Switching gears to financial news
- China has told its "big four" state-owned banks to cut deposit rate ceilings on some products, media reported today. The interest rate self-disciplinary mechanism, a top regulatory body overseen by the People's Bank of China, urged the lenders to keep ceilings on some personal and corporate deposits to no more than 10 basis points above the benchmark interest rate, effective on May 15. In addition to the big four state lenders, other financial institutions have also been asked to lower deposit rate ceilings to 20 bps premium on the benchmark.
- 银行通知存款、协定存款利率加点上限受约束：据多家媒体报道，相关监管部门已发文调整协定存款和通知存款自律上限，其中国有银行执行基准利率加10个基点，其它金融机构执行基准利率加20个基点。同时，停办不需要客户操作、智能自动滚存的通知存款，存量自然到期。该自律上限调整将自5月15日起执行。?
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
- Chinese stocks extended losses on Thursday on weak inflation data, as the benchmark Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 percent, while the Shenzhen Component closed nearly flat. Hong Kong stocks ended mixed with the Hang Seng index down 0.1 percent, while the TECH index gained 1.3 percent.
- 沪指冲高回落收3连阴：周四大盘全天震荡分化，沪指冲高回落收跌，创业板指延续反弹。沪深两市今日成交额8959亿，连续两个交易日大幅萎缩，跌破万亿水平。截至收盘，沪指跌0.29%，深成指涨0.02%，创业板指涨0.63%。港股一度震荡下行，尾盘出现回升。截至收盘，恒生指数跌0.09％，恒生科技指数涨1.34％。
- The?Tianzhou?is a Chinese automated cargo spacecraft developed from China's first prototype space station Tiangong-1 to resupply its future modular space station. It was first launched (Tianzhou 1) on the Long March 7 rocket on April 20, 2017 and demonstrated autonomous propellant transfer (space refueling).
- “天舟”系列属于货运飞船，相当于太空“快递小哥”，主要作用是向空间站及空间实验室运送货物和飞行的“燃料”——推进剂等物资。作为我国新一代中型运载火箭，长征七号运载火箭主要承担天舟货运飞船发射任务，是搭建“天地运输走廊”的“货运专列”。2017年4月20日，我国首艘货运飞船天舟一号顺利升空，并首次在轨实施了飞行器间推进剂补加，为中国空间站组装建造和长期运营，扫清在能源供给问题上的最后障碍。
Executive Editor: Sonia YU
Sound Editor: Stephanie LI
Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni
Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.
