Japan second-quarter economic growth drops to 1.3%

15:24, September 10, 2019

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  China's outbound investment second only to Japan in 2018

  BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) - Chinas outbound direct investment (ODI) amounted to 143 billion US dollars in 2018, making it the worlds second-largest outward investor, new government data showed.(File photo: VCG)Although the volume was down 9.6 percent year on year, it came second only to Japan, according to a report released by Chinas Ministry of Commerce, together with other departments.At the end of 2018, the countrys accumulated ODI stood at 1.98 trillion US dollars, ranking third in the world following the United States and the Netherlands.More than 27,000 Chinese investors had established about 43,000 overseas enterprises in 188 countries and regions by the end of last year, the data showed.Chinas ODI had seen rapid growth over the past decades, but authorities have set stricter rules in recent years and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully.

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  China to take targeted measures for steady economic growth

  Shoppers make their way through Nanjing Road in Shanghai on May 25, 2019. (Photo: VCG)BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinas State Council Wednesday called for enhanced efforts and targeted measures to keep the countrys major economic indicators within an appropriate range.Further steps will be taken to ensure the stability of employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment and expectations, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.The Chinese economy achieved generally stable growth while making further progress in the first half of this year. Facing an increasingly complicated and challenging external environment, China is coming under rising downward economic pressure, the statement said.Efforts to ensure stable economic performance should be further prioritized with effective use of counter-cyclical adjustment policy tools and targeted measures.The government will consider expanding enrollment for vocational colleges and technical schools as well as financial support for technical skills training.The consumer inflation level will be kept generally stable, ensuring stable pork supply and prices, while effective investment will be expanded, with issuance of all the special local government bonds within this years quota by end-September.China will continue to implement a prudent monetary policy while carrying out anticipatory adjustments and fine-tuning, according to the statement.Policy tools such as overall and targeted cuts of required reserve ratios will be taken in a prompt manner to encourage financial institutions to channel more capital into inclusive financing, enhancing support for the real economy, small and micro firms in particular.The meeting urged acceleration in issuance and use of special local government bonds. New additional bonds quota for the next year can be delivered ahead of the original schedule.The bonds should be mainl...

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  Japan's Abe set to reshuffle Cabinet as approval rating drops

  TOKYO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes Cabinet dropped from last month, while the disapproval rate rose, a nationwide poll showed Tuesday, with the results coming on the eve of a planned Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday.File photo: VCGAccording to the survey conducted by Japans public broadcaster NHK, the approval rating for Abes Cabinet dropped by one point from last month to stand at 48 percent, while the disapproval rate rose by two points to 33 percent.Those in support of the Cabinet said that the administration "seems better than other alternatives," although only 20 percent felt it had the ability to put new policies into effect.As for Abes trustworthiness, 31 percent of those who were disapproving of the current Cabinet said they did not trust the prime minister.But Abe plans to revamp his Cabinet and executive lineup Wednesday, and will likely retain the services of his allies holding similar political views in key ministerial and executive positions, sources close to the matter said, so that public opinion on his Cabinet will not change significantly.While Abe is now almost certain of becoming Japans longest-serving prime minister in November and thus bolstering his chance of achieving his career-led goal of amending Japans pacifist Constitution, NHKs poll showed that only five percent of respondents felt that this was an important policy issue that the new Cabinet should tackle.