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The rapid rebound of China's V-shaped economic recovery since the second half of 2020 and improvement in the business environment will continue to make the domestic market attractive for foreign investment, a policy adviser said. Jiang Ying, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, spoke about economic and other issues she expects to see during the two sessions in March, the annual meetings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body. She said she expects a GDP growth rate for 2021 of about 7.5 percent and a double-digit rate in the first quarter. The global recovery is starting to speed up enough to boost China's exports in 2021. But investment, which recovered strongly last year, may not see a sustainable boom this year as the government may be reluctant to promote growth by raising the debt level, according to Jiang, who is also vice-chairwoman of Deloitte China, an international consulting company. ... » Learn More about Policy adviser: China to remain attractive to foreign investors

#Corona Vaccine COVID-19 recovered people showing faster antibody response to Covishield vaccine #Corona Vaccine Get a dose 24x7 at your convenience: Govt removes time constraint for getting Covid-19 shot #Corona Vaccine Coronavirus cases: India records 14,989 new COVID-19 cases, 98 fresh fatalities in past 24 hours #Corona Vaccine List of side effects of Covishield and Covaxin #Corona Vaccine Centre allows states to take call on converting more private hospitals into vaccine sites #Corona Vaccine TMC writes to EC over PM Modi’s photo on Covid-19 vaccination doc For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now India-made Covaxin showed 81% interim efficacy: Bharat Biotech on Phase 3 results View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts Just In 6 min ago Jan Sangh founded by Bengal's son, still Mamata calls BJP 'outsider party': Nitin Gadkari ... » Learn More about India-made Covaxin showed 81% interim efficacy: Bharat Biotech on Phase 3 results

#Indo China Bilateral heavily titled in China’s favour, needs a reset: Foreign Secretary #Indo China India-China agree to establish hotline between foreign ministers #Indo China We were resolute, strong about protecting our interests: S Jaishankar on border issue #Indo China Broader de-escalation of troops once disengagement is completed at all friction points: Jaishankar tells Wang #Indo China India set to clear 45 investments from China: Non-sensitive sectors to get faster approval #Indo China No significant breakthrough during Indo-China talks, but proposals to be taken forward For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now India-made Covaxin showed 81% interim efficacy: Bharat Biotech on Phase 3 results View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts Just In 6 min ago Jan Sangh founded by Bengal's son, still Mamata calls BJP 'outsider party': Nitin ... » Learn More about Ex-army man who received Star Medal during Indo-China war now drives an auto for a living

More American consumers have turned to plant-based meat substitutes since the pandemic, and now some of the biggest fast-food chains in the US – including McDonald's — will source the products with producers. The popular plant-based meat alternative company Beyond Meat signed a new partnership with McDonald's last week, a vital step in the growing shift to take meat alternatives into the dining mainstream in the country. The company will be the preferred supplier for a new plant-based burger dubbed the "McPlant"and work with McDonald's to develop new substitutes for pork, chicken and egg. It also signed a new contract with fast-food giant Yum Brands, which owns and operates brands like KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, to supply new plan-based protein items as substitute options. "We're excited about the long-term potential plant-based protein menu items have to attract more customers to our brands, especially younger consumers," Chris Turner, Yum Brands CFO said in a company ... » Learn More about Meatless products hit stride in pandemic

WHO takes heart from first shots handed out under equitable vaccines initiative The World Health Organization on Monday applauded the start of COVID-19 vaccinations through the global initiative COVAX, though it warned the coronavirus crisis will likely persist into next year. Ghana and Cote d'lvoire on Monday became the first countries to begin vaccination campaigns with doses supplied through the WHO-backed initiative that aims to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. "It's encouraging to see health workers in lower-income countries starting to be vaccinated, but it's regrettable that this comes almost three months after some of the wealthiest countries started their vaccination campaigns," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference. Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday became the first recipient of a coronavirus vaccine under the global vaccine program. Aside from the doses given to Ghana and Cote d'lvoire, a further 11 ... » Learn More about Long-awaited start on jabs aid plan hailed

India-made COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has demonstrated an interim clinical efficacy of 81% in its Phase 3 clinical trial, vaccine maker Bharat Biotech said. Covaxin has demonstrated high clinical efficacy trend against COVID-19 as well as significant immunogenicity against the rapidly emerging variants, CMD Krishna Ella said. A statement from Bharat Biotech, which developed the vaccine in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said 25,800 participants between 18-98 years of age were enrolled for the Phase 3 study. It included 2,433 over the age of 60 and 4,500 with comorbidities. The first interim analysis is based on 43 cases, of which 36 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus seven cases observed in the Covaxin group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 80.6%. Also read: Coronavirus | Hyderabad CSIR lab helped develop key molecule for Covaxin The interim analysis included a preliminary review of the safety ... » Learn More about Bharat Biotech says COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin shows 81% efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials

The piloting of the digital renminbi, which is now in full swing, has become the focus of public attention. Following the distribution of digital RMB red envelopes in Shenzhen in October, the central bank launched another pilot digital RMB program a few days ago, distributing 20 million yuan ($3.05 million) in digital "red envelopes" to eligible local residents in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province. The digital RMB is aimed at filling some gaps in the market and not competing with the popular Alipay and WeChat modes of electronic payments. The idea behind the introduction of the digital RMB is to replace cash. The scale of cash use in China is on the decline and the introduction of digital currency will expedite the emergence of a cashless society, rather than replacing the existing electronic retail payment market. Compared with the existing means of paying electronically, the digital RMB embodies more advantages. It has sacrificed some convenience by paying more attention to ... » Learn More about It pays for the RMB to go digital

Editor's note: Chen Jiahe is the chief investment officer at Novem Arcae Technologies. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN. The Chinese economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2020, according to the latest figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics. The potential growth rate of the Chinese economy, or the long-term average growth rate, is around 6 percent. This means last year's economic performance was slightly below the regular economic growth rate which the country would have achieved if COVID-19 had not hit. China is the only economy that registered growth in a pandemic-ravaged world. The UK posted an economic growth rate of -9.9 percent in 2020, far below the potential growth rate. The figure touched -3.5 percent in the U.S. where the potential growth rate is around 2-3 percent. A growth rate of 2.3 percent has been truly remarkable in China, which has fought well against the pandemic. Looking into the details, the Chinese ... » Learn More about Chinese economy finishes 2020 on a high note

The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, once inked by the European Union and China, will become an important milestone for the two major economies. To some extent, the CAI, on which the two sides wrapped up negotiations on Dec 30, can be considered more important than a trade agreement for the EU. We (at Deutsche Bank) believe the CAI will likely boost EU investment in China. For EU manufacturers, China's move to further widen market access and remove shareholding limits will likely help create new opportunities and build a level playing field for domestic and foreign investors. Perhaps the service sector can be expected to make even greater progress after the two sides sign the agreement. EU subsidiaries in China accounted for 11 percent of the total manufacturing sales, but only 3 percent of services sales of EU subsidiaries worldwide. By further opening up China's financial and information technology services－as well as promising sectors such as environment and health ... » Learn More about China-EU investment deal more vital than FTA

Recently, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply criticized the “wildly uneven and unfair” distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Addressing the Security Council, Guterres noted that just 10 countries have administered 75 percent of all vaccinations. Meanwhile, 130 countries had not received a single dose. In two reports – The Tragedy of Missed Opportunities (April 2020) and The Tragedy of More Missed Opportunities (August 2020) – I documented four missed opportunities in the mobilization against the global pandemic last year. Without vaccination equity, the ongoing year could represent the fifth missed opportunity and even more challenging long-term prospects. Failure of early mobilization The first opportunity emerged around the first recorded case (Dec 30, 2019), and the WHO’s announcement of the international emergency (Jan 30, 2020). Then, the epicenter of the outbreak was still in Wuhan, Hubei. After mid-January, China introduced social distancing and launched a ... » Learn More about Vaccine inequality: A new beginning or another missed opportunity?