With China’s job market in a period of contraction and uncertainty, the country’s internet users have crafted a set of terms to relieve the pressures of work – or not working – through wit and humour.

As the first batches of a trillion-yuan offering of ultra-long-term special government bonds came roaring out of the gate this week, those bearish on China’s economic outlook triggered a feeding frenzy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with business leaders, overseas investors and economists on Thursday, with analysts pointing to the timing of the meeting ahead of the key third plenum.

The People’s Bank of China keeps a running tab of big policy moves, and it shows that trillions of yuan worth of support measures have been rolled out since 2021.

Chinese president calls for deepened reforms to address economic woes and says country should pursue ‘goal- and problem-oriented’ approach.

China is seeking to defuse financial risks, with asset management companies expected to help other ailing sectors, particularly property developers, but the firms are already highly leveraged due to bond financing and exposure to the troubled real estate sector.

Prospective homebuyers are visiting showrooms in droves while transactions have revived, according to agents, soon after Beijing unveiled its most aggressive measures to revive the housing market.

China’s central bank is set to participate in treasury-bond trading in the secondary market, and a prominent researcher affiliated with the Ministry of Finance says purchases in the primary market should also be made.

Students with overseas undergraduate degrees in China earn an average first monthly salary about 2,700 yuan (US$374) below their expected income, according to a survey.

The tsunami of new-energy manufacturing flooding the industry is not the first time a wave of Chinese goods has forced institutional upheavals and left foreign firms with little room to compete.

By allowing local governments and state-owned enterprises to buy unsold land and housing from distressed developers, China is betting a property slump weighing down the economy can be stopped once and for all.

Consumer and entrepreneur confidence should ‘continue to pick up from this point’ as Beijing’s efforts strengthen the capital markets and enhance Hong Kong’s connector role, say speakers at the Greater China Private Equity Summit.

China left benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday having last week announced ‘historic’ steps to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector.

Economist Richard Koo’s theories influenced Western policy decisions after the global financial crisis, and now he has strong words for Chinese policymakers on the need for fiscal stimulus to ward off a ‘balance-sheet recession’.

Recovery in China’s luxury home market is gaining pace, while recent measures by the government could help turn around the fortunes of the property industry.

With consumption taking a hit in fraught economic times, safe-haven investments are outshining discretionary diamond purchases in the eyes of many Chinese buyers.

Property investment in China fell again in the first four months of the year and retail sales growth cooled in April, but industrial output remained strong last month, data released on Friday showed.

Beijing has announced 300 billion-yuan in funds to help clear excess housing inventory, as well as measures to ensure developers have access to financing and that homes are delivered on time.

German industrial engineering firms reported a negative outlook for their China business in a recent survey, with weak demand and overcapacity most frequently mentioned as the cause for their low confidence.

He Lifeng stressed the need to ‘carry on the battle’ to surmount the risks that unfinished and unconstructed homes represent, as the health of the property market is tied closely to social wellness and economic development.

Another set of weak housing market data for April underscores the urgency among officials in Beijing to stem the crisis and rescue some of the nation’s biggest yet cash-strapped developers.

China’s property investment fall accelerated in the first four months of the year, while retail sales growth slowed in April, data released on Friday showed.

With the end of pandemic control measures severely reducing the demand for medical testing services, China’s laboratories are facing massive declines in revenue and laying off large portions of their staff.

The visa-policy easing is expected to boost tourism that has yet to fully rebound since the pandemic, and the move could also give local economies a jolt.

The added value of the financial sector is being calculated via a new set of metrics to increase statistical accuracy and cut down on data manipulation, making GDP figures more resilient to massaging by localities.

A meeting of political officials and experts has been convened to propose new ways to boost dropping fertility rates, as recent policies have made little headway in encouraging births.