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China's August Manufacturing Slips to 6-Month Low

FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a face mask works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rim at a factory, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China March 2, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a face mask works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rim at a factory, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China March 2, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo
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China's August Manufacturing Slips to 6-Month Low

FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a face mask works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rim at a factory, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China March 2, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a face mask works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rim at a factory, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China March 2, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo

China's manufacturing slowed to a six-month low in August, an official factory survey showed on Saturday, raising expectations policymakers will unveil fresh plans to direct more stimulus to households and less to infrastructure projects.
The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined for a fourth month to 49.1 in August from 49.4 in July, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and missing a median forecast of 49.5 in a Reuters poll.
In contrast, the non-manufacturing PMI, which includes services and construction, quickened to 50.3 from 50.2.
The world's second-biggest economy started the second half of the year on a shaky footing, with dismal exports, prices and bank lending indicators for July showing demand losing steam.
The recovery most analysts had expected following China's lifting of its strict COVID-19 pandemic curbs in 2022 has so far eluded the $19 trillion economy.
Last month, Beijing signaled it was ready to deviate from its playbook of pouring funds into infrastructure projects. Analysts have broadly welcomed support targeting consumer spending but warn other policy levers will need to be pulled if the government is to hit its annual growth target of around 5%.
There have been some green shoots, with retail sales topping forecasts last month.
But more specific details on how China plans to reinvigorate the 1.4 billion-strong consumer market remain to be seen, with officials so far only pledging to "focus on boosting consumption to expand domestic demand".
Weighing heavy on consumer spending has been a bruising slump in the property sector over the past three years.
With 70% of household wealth held in real estate, which at its peak accounted for a quarter of the economy, consumers have kept their wallets tightly shut.
There is little sign that policies aimed at restoring confidence are having the desired effect, as China's new home prices fell at the fastest pace in nine years in July.
A Reuters poll on Friday showed home prices would fall 8.5% in 2024, deeper than the 5.0% decline tipped in a May survey.

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African Leaders in Beijing Eyeing Big Loans and Investment

People pass by signage for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China, 01 September 2024. (EPA)
People pass by signage for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China, 01 September 2024. (EPA)
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African Leaders in Beijing Eyeing Big Loans and Investment

People pass by signage for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China, 01 September 2024. (EPA)
People pass by signage for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, China, 01 September 2024. (EPA)

African leaders descend on China's capital this week, seeking funds for big-ticket infrastructure projects as they eye mounting great power competition over resources and influence on the continent.

China has expanded ties with African nations in the past decade, furnishing them with billions in loans that have helped build infrastructure but also sometimes stoked controversy by saddling countries with huge debts.

China has sent hundreds of thousands of workers to Africa to build its megaprojects, while tapping the continent's vast natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.

Beijing has said this week's China-Africa forum will be its largest diplomatic event since the Covid-19 pandemic, with leaders of South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and other nations confirmed to attend and dozens of delegations expected.

African countries were "looking to tap the opportunities in China for growth", Ovigwe Eguegu, a policy analyst at consultancy Development Reimagined, told AFP.

China, the world's number two economy, is Africa's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting $167.8 billion in the first half of this year, according to Chinese state media.

Beijing's loans to African nations last year were their highest in five years, research by the Chinese Loans to Africa Database found. Top borrowers were Angola, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya.

But analysts said an economic slowdown in China has made Beijing increasingly reluctant to shell out big sums.

China has also resisted offering debt relief, even as some African nations have struggled to repay their loans -- in some cases being forced to slash spending on vital public services.

Since the last China-Africa forum six years ago, "the world experienced a lot of changes, including Covid, geopolitical tension and now these economic challenges", Tang Xiaoyang of Beijing's Tsinghua University told AFP.

The "old model" of loans for "large infrastructure and very rapid industrialization" is simply no longer feasible, he said.

The continent is a key node in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project and central pillar of Xi Jinping's bid to expand China's clout overseas.

The BRI has channeled much-needed investment to African countries for projects like railways, ports and hydroelectric plants.

But critics charge Beijing with saddling nations with debt and funding infrastructure projects that damage the environment.

One project in Kenya, a $5 billion railway -- built with finance from Exim Bank of China -- connects the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa.

But a second phase meant to continue the line to Uganda never materialized, as both countries struggled to repay BRI debts.

In central Africa, Western and Chinese firms are racing to secure access to rare minerals.

The continent has rich deposits of manganese, cobalt, nickel and lithium -- crucial for renewable energy technology.

The Moanda region of Gabon alone contains as much as a quarter of known global reserves of manganese, and South Africa accounts for 37 percent of global output of the metal.

Cobalt mining is dominated by the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for 70 percent of the world total. But in terms of processing, China is the leader, at 50 percent.

Mounting geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, which are clashing over everything from the status of self-ruled Taiwan to trade, also weigh on Africa.

Washington has warned against what it sees as Beijing's malign influence.

In 2022, the White House said China sought to "advance its own narrow commercial and geopolitical interests (and) undermine transparency and openness".

Beijing insists it does not want a new cold war with Washington but rather seeks "win-win" cooperation, promoting development while profiting from boosted trade.

"We do not just give aid, give them help," Tsinghua University's Tang said.

"We are just partners with you while you are developing. We are also benefiting from it."

But analysts fear African nations could be forced to pick sides.

"African countries lack leverage against China," Development Reimagined's Eguegu said.

"Some people... think you can use the US to balance China," he said. "You cannot."