China Evergrande Group’s famous log-cabin hotel in Quebec, Canada, has been placed in receivership after the defaulted real estate developer failed to make payments on its debt, Bloomberg News reported. Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello, which has hosted luminaries including Grace Kelly and Margaret Thatcher, would be put up for sale by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the court-appointed receiver, according to documents filed this week on the accounting firm’s website.
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The U.S. is the biggest recipient of China's lending activities globally, according to a study which tracked Beijing's credit activities and found it is increasingly lending to higher-income countries over developing countries, Reuters reported. The report, published on Tuesday by AidData, a research lab at U.S. university William & Mary, said China's lending and grant giving totalled $2.2 trillion across 200 countries in every region of the world from 2000 to 2023.
China escalated its retaliation against Japan, suspending imports of Japanese seafood and halting approvals for new films — the latest signs that their diplomatic spat is far from over, Bloomberg News reported. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Wednesday that Japan had not met the conditions for resuming seafood shipments, effectively confirming earlier Japanese media reports that imports would be suspended. The move comes just months after Beijing lifted a similar ban.
Focusing on the needs of technology-driven enterprises, Beijing bankruptcy tribunal has, since 2024, rescued 27 small and medium-sized high-tech businesses through the rule of law, helping them overcome operational difficulties and serving industrial development, Global.ChinaDaily.com reported. These rescued companies are involved in cutting-edge sectors, such as artificial intelligence, big data, intelligent healthcare, digital culture and tourism, and computing power infrastructure, according to a statement from the tribunal under the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court.
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A Chinese-born businessman that the United States and China say ran one of Southeast Asia’s largest scam compounds was extradited to China to face charges of money laundering and other crimes, three years after he was arrested in Thailand, the New York Times reported. The businessman, She Zhijiang, arrived in the Chinese city of Nanjing from Thailand on Wednesday. He would be one of the highest ranking figures linked to the scam industry to face charges in China, which launched a mass crackdown this year to rescue people trafficked to work as scammers in Southeast Asia.
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Chinese companies in the European Union say business conditions in the bloc have deteriorated for a sixth consecutive year, with rising labour costs and political challenges pressuring their operations, according to a survey published on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The survey for the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU of 200 Chinese companies and organisations said that the bloc's performance in research, talent, digitalisation and market access represented obstacles.
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Weak domestic demand rather than U.S. tariffs is the main reason China is dumping surplus product on European markets at rock-bottom prices at the expense of domestic producers, a European Central Bank study argued on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Pressure has been growing on the European Union to act on surging imports from China as U.S. tariffs force Beijing to find new markets for products it now struggles to sell. "Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China might result in a further diversion of Chinese exports to Europe," the ECB argued in an Economic Bulletin article.
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Mainland businessman Li Yonghong’s company, Rossoneri Sport Investment Co., Ltd., which previously owned Italian football club AC Milan, is facing a liquidation petition filed by creditor General Fantasy Limited, with a hearing set for next January, TheStandard.com.hk reported. Li acquired AC Milan through his Chinese-led consortium in 2017. However, the company later failed to repay debts after signing a bond subscription agreement with five investment fund firms.
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Country Garden Holdings, one of the biggest casualties of China’s real estate crisis, is wrapping up its US$14.1 billion offshore debt restructuring after more than two years, with creditors likely to approve its plan in a vote on Wednesday (Nov 5), Bloomberg News reported. The vote represents a milestone for the developer after years of negotiations as it sought to avoid the fate of its peer China Evergrande Group, which was ordered to liquidate in 2024. It’s also a sign of some stability amid a years-long property slump that has triggered US$130 billion of defaults.
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A private gauge of China’s manufacturing activity showed Chinese factories continued to expand production in October, albeit at a slower pace, signaling weaker growth momentum heading into the fourth quarter of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by S&P Global, declined to 50.6 last month from 51.2 in September, according to a statement released on Monday.
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