March 4th Macroeconomic Index: China Strengthens Quality Development, Fed Signals Interest Rate Cuts

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Domestic News

1. The State Administration for Market Regulation deploys the work of strengthening enterprises, linkage, and counties with strong quality

2. Beijing plans to introduce new regulations on the supervision of the auto repair industry, and the price should be public and is not allowed to falsely list maintenance items

3. The 2024 National Foreign Trade Work Conference was held in Beijing

4. Ministry of Education: In 2023, there was 167,200 private schools nationwide, accounting for 33.54%

International News

1. Japan announced a new round of sanctions against Russia

2. Iran and the United States held a new round of talks on ending the mission of the League of Nations in Iraq

3. Fed's Williams reiterated that interest rate cuts are likely to be achieved later this year

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks a "dual strategy" to solve the problem of reducing emissions

Domestic News

1. The State Administration for Market Regulation deploys the work of strengthening enterprises, linkage, and counties with strong quality

From February 28th to 29th, the National Market Supervision System Quality Development Work Symposium and the Work Deployment Meeting for Strengthening Enterprises, Linkage and Counties were held in Quanzhou, Fujian. In 2024, we will systematically promote the quality development of strengthening enterprises, linkages, and counties (districts and towns), better play the role of quality in promoting enterprises to become bigger and stronger, support the construction of industrial parks and strong chains, and promote the sustainable development of cities, and promote the refined, high-quality and intelligent development of cities and towns. In 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation will build 1,450 "one-stop" service platforms by carrying out quality infrastructure assistance actions, extensively carry out quality technical services, and solve a total of 111,000 quality and technical problems for enterprises.

2. Beijing plans to introduce new regulations on the supervision of the auto repair industry, and the price should be public and is not allowed to falsely list maintenance items

"Beijing Motor Vehicle Maintenance Industry Comprehensive Supervision Measures (Trial)" recently collect public consultation, the new regulations involve motor vehicle maintenance parts traceability mechanism, maintenance prepaid card management, quality assurance and other aspects, while emphasizing that motor vehicle maintenance operators shall not modify motor vehicles without authorization, shall not undertake the repair of scrapped motor vehicles, shall not use accessories to assemble motor vehicles.

3. The 2024 National Foreign Trade Work Conference was held in Beijing

From February 29 to March 1, the 2024 National Foreign Trade Work Conference was held in Beijing. Wang Shouwen, deputy secretary of the party group of the Ministry of Commerce, international trade negotiator and vice minister, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. The meeting stressed that it is necessary to fully understand the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the current foreign trade situation. It is necessary to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, focus on expanding intermediate goods trade and cross-border e-commerce exports in the field of foreign trade, and promote trade digitalization and green development of trade. It is necessary to serve enterprises to expand the market and seize orders, expand imports and ensure domestic demand. It is necessary to focus on optimizing the trade environment, enhancing the international competitiveness of China's enterprises and products, and solidly promoting the high-quality development of trade.

4. Ministry of Education: In 2023, there was 167,200 private schools nationwide, accounting for 33.54%

The reporter learned from the press conference held by the Ministry of Education today that in 2023, there was 167,200 private schools of all levels and types in the country, accounting for 33.54% of the total number of schools in the country, and 49,395,300 students, accounting for 16.96% of the total number of students in the country. Among them, there were 149,500 private kindergartens and 17,916,200 children in kindergartens. There were 10,100 private compulsory education schools, with 12,219,900 students (including 6,094,600 government-purchased places). There were 4,567 private high schools with 5,477,600 students. There were 2,128 private secondary vocational schools (excluding technical schools), with 2,664,400 students. There were 789 private colleges and universities. Among them, there were 391 regular undergraduate schools, 22 vocational schools at the undergraduate level, 374 higher vocational (junior college) schools, and 2 adult colleges and universities. There were 9,943,800 students enrolled in private general and vocational colleges.

International News

1. Japan announced a new round of sanctions against Russia

Japan announced sanctions against nine Russian individuals, seven companies and TINKOFF Bank, as well as export restrictions on 29 Russian entities, according to a press release from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

2. Iran and the United States held a new round of talks on ending the mission of the League of Nations in Iraq

Yahya Rasul, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, said in a statement on 29 February that Iraq held a new round of talks with the US-led international coalition in Baghdad on the same day to discuss the end of the international coalition's mission in Iraq. In a statement, Rasul said three subcommittees of the High Military Council met in Baghdad to assess the terrorist threat, the combat environment and the combat capability of the Iraqi armed forces. The Subcommittee will meet regularly to pave the way for Iraq's transition to bilateral relations with members of the international coalition.

3. Fed's Williams reiterated that interest rate cuts are likely to be achieved later this year

Fed's Williams said he doesn't see the need for officials to tighten policy further and reiterated that he expects the central bank to cut interest rates later this year. Williams acknowledged that inflation has come down from multi-decade highs, but stressed that officials want to see inflation return to 2% and stay there consistently. He expects the Fed to cut rates later this year, and they will bring them back to more normal levels. These remarks echo his recent rhetoric, which comes as a number of Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, have made it clear in recent weeks that they do not see the need to rush rate cuts given the underlying resilience of the economy and labor markets, as well as the ongoing risks to the inflation outlook.

4. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks a "dual strategy" to solve the problem of reducing emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks to narrow the power sector emissions reduction regulations that are being developed to ensure they can withstand the challenges of power plant operators and Congress. The EPA's move includes postponing emissions reductions at some existing gas-fired power plants, which environmentalists say are urgently needed to slow global warming. However, EPA officials said a broader rule would be developed for all operating natural gas power plants in the United States, promising to significantly reduce toxic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

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