China

Workers labor at a factory of coolant radiators for air conditioners in Yuexi county in central China's Anhui province, on Feb. 21, 2024.

China's manufacturing activity expanded in December for the third month in a row, official data showed on Tuesday, as leaders fight to reverse a slowdown in the world's number two economy.

China's Premier Li Qiang speaks during the opening ceremony of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov. 5, 2024.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday he was "fully confident" the country would hit its economic goals this year, lauding recent stimulus measures and suggesting there was still room for more.

"The global environment was crucial to China's emergence," University of Virginia professor emeritus of foreign affairs Brantly Womack tells Kathimerini, a few hours after the conclusion of the workshop "Recentering Pacific Asia: Regional China and World Order," organized by the Institute of International Relations (IDIS) in Athens.

Simmering tensions between Beijing and Washington remain the top worry for American companies operating in China, according to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China released on April 23.

Since U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Beijing last year, the world's two biggest economies have resumed regular talks and averted major escalations in tensions.

But the countries still trade barbs on economic issues as they battle for superiority in advanced technologies and work to secure critical supply chains.

China has had the most people in the world since at least 1950, the year United Nations population data began

China set on Tuesday a growth target of around five percent for 2024, an ambitious objective that the leaders of the world's second-largest economy admitted would be a challenge to meet.

Premier Li Qiang formally announced the growth goal, alongside the overall budget and key government policies for 2024, as China's annual National People's Congress (NPC) kicked off Tuesday.

China has seen a marked improvement in recent years

China's ruling Communist Party is facing a national emergency. To fix it, the party wants more women to have more babies.

It has offered them sweeteners, like cheaper housing, tax benefits and cash. It has also invoked patriotism, calling on them to be "good wives and mothers."

SHANGHAI - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic arrived in China on a four-day visit during which she will meet with Chinese PM Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss political and economic affairs.

While in China, Brnabic will also meet with representatives of Chinese companies.