China, the global growth engine for the last 20 years, now boasts lower long-term bond yields than Japan, the former poster child for deflationary economic stagnation. This may signal that the "factory to the world" faces the real risk of "Japanification.
Japan, MirrorFace and cyberattacks
After a powerful earthquake struck China's remote Tibet region and killed at least 126 people, an old video of a cyclist panicking as tremors shook the buildings around him spread globally in social media posts that falsely linked it to the disaster.
Japan’s biggest automakers pledged cooperation in tech-focused areas to survive in the rapidly evolving global industry, just as two of its largest car brands begin negotiating a deal that would effectively split the country’s industry in two.
Police in Japan and the government's cybersecurity center have warned that a group suspected to be linked to China is carrying out cyberattacks on government offices and private firms.
In August of that chaotic year for Asia’s biggest economy, President Xi Jinping’s team announced a nearly 3% downshift in the yuan’s value versus the dollar. Naturally, it caused pandemonium in world markets — at least briefly. The real fallout, though, was suffered by China itself, as huge waves of capital fled yuan-denominated assets.
With China facing a deflationary spiral and uncertain economic prospects, lower interest rates alone wouldn’t be enough to kick the economy back into high gear.
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Eighth, the two sides will conduct exchanges between women's groups and share experience on promoting the common development of men and women. China invites Japan to attend the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
China and Japan have stepped up engagement in recent months, but analysts say the trajectory of relations will largely come down to Tokyo's political situation and its ties with the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Japanese "panda fans" can easily embark on spontaneous trips to China with a "simple click," while young people in South Korea embrace the new trend of "Shanghai weekend getaways," the culturally rich and historic streets of Shanghai have become a must-visit destination for South Korean tourists.
During his first official visit to China on December 25-26, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi made an unexpected announcement. Japan will relax its entry requirements for Chinese nationals and grant ten-year tourist visas as part of a so-called Creating an Environment Conducive to Promoting People-to-People Exchanges initiative.