China’s State Council Institution Reform Plan Approved
The latest round of the State Council institution reform plan has been finalized. The focus of this round of institutional reform of the State Council is to strengthen the institutions’ responsibilities in key areas such as science and technology, financial supervision, data management, rural revitalization, intellectual property rights, and affairs concerning the elderly. The reform plan also focuses on transforming government functions and accelerate the construction of a government ruled by law.
Scholars have pointed out that this round of reform is significant. The reform will particularly focus on addressing some difficult issues of great importance as well as high social concern. These reform measures will have major impacts on the overall economic and social development in the future, although these impacts will gradually become apparent. Renowned scholar Xue Lan told Caijing’s reporters that, overall, this institutional reform is very much in line with the direction of modernizing national governance and the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability.
During Two Sessions, China’s Policy Makers Set New Targets as Challenges Mount
The Two Sessions of 2023 concluded. At the press conference following the grand meeting, Premier Li Qiang introduced the policy goals and priorities of the government in coming years. He said that people care more about practical issues like housing, employment, income, education, medical treatment, ecological environment. The government’s work is to truly solve the problems for the people. The government will prioritize restoring and boosting consumption. A long-term mechanism for stimulating residents’ consumption will be established and improved. It will make sure that residents have enough funds to spend without worries.
Premier Li Qiang said that the overall world economic situation this year is not optimistic. How to achieve stable growth is a challenge for all countries in the world. This year, China’s economic growth target is set at about 5%, which is determined by the central government after comprehensive consideration of various factors.
The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Leading to Major Banking Turmoil
Taking advantage of the financial resources in Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Bank has enjoyed double dividends out of the development of technology and financial industries in the past few years. However, as the tide of the tech industry and the global liquidity feast had disappeared, the SVB suddenly found itself placed at the center of the storm.
On March 10, local time, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by U.S. regulators, making it the second largest bank failed in U.S. history. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said it has taken over Silicon Valley Bank through its newly created entity, the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara. All deposits at Silicon Valley Bank have been transferred to the new bank, the FDIC said. Industry insiders believe that Silicon Valley Bank may be more like a special case, but we also need to stay sharp. There are other banks that share the same business model as the SVB.
How CATL, the Chinese Battery Giant, Stays ahead of Its Competition
The success of the CATL, the leading battery maker in China, has benefited from policies on the one hand, but also because of its predictive market judgment. CATL was the first to develop ternary lithium batteries and it prepared sufficient production capacity for the upcoming rise of the electric vehicle industry.
According to the general law, when the opponent sees the success path of the leader and when the competition becomes more sufficient, the catch-up and challenges of the peers will follow. But at the end of 2022, CATL’s global market share has increased by 4.4 percentage compared with the previous year.
Behind its success, CATL has this very basic but not easy to find ability, that is, manufacturing capability. By looking into the CATL factory and interviewing more than a dozen engineers, external suppliers, we tried to explore the manufacturing capabilities and evolution mechanism of the CATL.
