Welcome to China Business News, NEO’s weekly roundup of top business developments as reported by news outlets in China and the region.
This week’s highlights:
- Sinopec’s net cash flow from operating activities accounted for RMB 4.947 in the first half of 2022, down 89.8% year-on-year. China’s largest listed central refining company disclosed the information in a teleconference earlier this week. The significant drop was tied to regional epidemic control measures in China that hampered product sales, according to Sinopec’s Chief Financial Officer Shou Donghua. In turn, Sinopec Senior Vice President Ling Yiqun noted that domestic demand for refined oil products achieved year-on-year growth in the first quarter, but that demand dropped significantly in the second quarter due Sinopec’s main domestic market in East China and South China suffering an outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sinopec’s official representatives believe the company will show better results in the second half of the year, as the pandemic is currently under effective control. (Caixin)
- China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin criticised the United States’ export restriction on Nvidia’s high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. Wenbin said the U.S. wants to use its own technological advantage to contain and suppress the development of emerging markets, which violates market economy rules and undermines the global economic and trade order. According to Nvidia, the U.S. government said the new export licensing controls will address the risk of the above products being used for so-called “military end-use.” China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesman said the U.S. decision will not only harm the rights of Chinese enterprises but also seriously affect the interests of U.S. enterprises, hinder international scientific and technological exchanges and economic cooperation, and affect the stability of the global industrial supply chain as well as the global economic recovery. (Caixin)
- Nearly 70% of U.S. companies reported revenue growth in the Chinese market in the past year, according to a survey of more than 100 large U.S. companies operating in China. Nearly 80% of the companies did not move their supply chains out of China in the past year. However, current challenges, such as inbound and outbound travel restrictions concerning businesses and employees, have seriously affected the investment plans of U.S. companies in China. (Caixin)
