Chinese New Year Traditions 2023 and China News, Economy and Real Estate Market
By Leroy A. Brown
Lunar New Year (in French, Nouvel An Lunaire), also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is a traditional holiday celebrated in China and other Asian countries that follow the lunar calendar.
This festival may be referred to as Chunjie in China, Solnal in Korea, Losar in Tibet, and Tet in Vietnam.
Sunday, January 22, 2023, is when the Chinese New Year officially begins, and the zodiac sign is the Year of the Rabbit.
The Chinese New Year 2022 was the Year of the Tiger.
The Chinese New Year’s celebrations are usually held over sixteen (16) days. However, the first seven (7) days are generally considered public holidays.
February 5, 2023, is when the Chinese New Year celebrations officially end with the Yuan Xiao or Lantern Festival.
There may be fireworks, lion dancing, and other activities throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations.
The Year of the Rabbit
The 2023 Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year zodiac sign is the Year of the Rabbit.
The Yin Yang is Yin, the celestial stem is gui, the element is water, and the earthly branch is mao.
Celestial Stem
The celestial stem gui and the earthly branch mao are paired and used as part of the 60-year cycle.
There are ten (10) stems and twelve (12) earthly branches in total, and these are the essential counting systems in the Chinese calendar.
Earthly Branch
When the year ends in an odd number, like the 23 in 2023, it is Yin.
When the year ends in an even number, it is Yang.
Element Water
The characteristic of the water element is that it has the nature to be calm, agile, observant, reflective, contemplative, eloquent, and have careful thoughts.
Its fortune is to turn unfortunate events around and spend money for longevity.
Water governs the Chinese zodiac signs- pig, rat, and ox.
Chinese Zodiac Sign the Rabbit
The Chinese zodiac sign for 2023 is the rabbit.
The rabbit’s quiet demeanor conceals its confidence and strength.
The rabbit is known to steadily advance towards its goals and dreams regardless of the circumstances.
The Yuan Xiao or Lantern Festival
The Yuan Xiao, or Lantern Festival, is the culmination of the Chinese New Year celebrations.
The Yuan Xiao or Lantern Festival will be held on February 5, 2023.
The Yuan Xiao or Lantern Festival is a way to recognize and demonstrate respect for family and the overall society.
The family dinner is one of the essential parts of the Lantern Festival.
Many activities are conducted, such as lighting lanterns, lion dancing, moon gazing, etc.
China Economy 2023
China held its annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) in Beijing, China, December 15 – 16, 2022.
Some of the individuals who spoke and gave presentations at the conference were:
Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and chairman of the Central Military Commission
Li Keqiang, the Premier of China
Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee
The conference is held to plan China’s economic and social future.
Some of the highlights from the CEWC meeting are:
The Yuan
One of the areas discussed at the CEWC gathering was to keep the yuan’s (i.e., Chinese currency) exchange rate stable.
Fiscal Policy
Another area outlined at the CEWC meeting was to be more proactive with its fiscal policies.
As such, China has plans to use special-purpose bonds, financial deficits, interest subsidies, etc., for various courses of action. While at the same time, China wants to increase its efforts in pursuing high-quality development, maintain finances at acceptable levels, and adequately manage local government debts.
An example of China using special-purpose bonds was in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis when China raised about 270 billion yuan via special treasury bonds that were used to increase the capital of China’s four (4) major state-owned banks, which are the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Another example of China using special-purpose bonds is the announcement on December 9, 2022, that China will issue a 2022 special bond worth 750 billion yuan (approximately US$108 billion) to specific banks in the interbank bond market.
These special bonds or financial notes were interest-bearing bonds with fixed rates.
These interest-bearing bonds were used to assist with China's social and economic development by refinancing monetary notes that came due on December 12, 2022.
Trade and Economic Agreements
Another highlight of the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) is that China will actively pursue being part of high-standard economic and trade arrangements such as the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Key Infrastructure Projects and High-Quality Developments
China decided to continue critical and high-quality developments.
An example of a key infrastructure project was the construction of the Nanshan Island Bridge in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, in the south of China.
This development was completed on October 23, 2022.
This infrastructure project is part of China’s economic growth plan, as it will improve the commute between the two (2) islands and contribute to the development of tourism.
An example of high-quality development is the continuation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an effort by China to have an expanded economic, political, and technological market.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is mainly concentrated in Central, Southeast, and South Asia.
There is less focus and investment in Europe and Latin America.
The two (2) major high-quality development projects thus far are the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the China-Europe Railway Express.
The China Real Estate Market 2023
China plans to have better debt-to-asset ratios in the real estate sector and new development models.
The usual real estate development model in China was to have high-leverage funding (i.e., having more debt than equity), high-speed growth (i.e., increase in property value in a short time), and operations with quick turnovers (i.e., selling many properties in a short time).
This real estate development model helped to advance China's real estate market quickly.
However, during downturns in the market, the above development model in the real estate market in China resulted in the economy being saddled with debt and led to entities like Evergrande and Kaisa Group Holdings having financial difficulties.
By late 2021, Evergrande had a default crisis as its liabilities were estimated to be more than approx. US$300 billion, and it failed to make interest payments consistently.
Evergrande’s debt crisis resulted in losses, layoffs, etc., and negatively impacted other companies like construction firms, interior decorators, etc.
Evergrande Real Estate was reported to have more than about one thousand three hundred (>1,300) major undertakings in more than approximately two hundred and eighty (>280) cities in China.
Consequently, China implemented the “three red lines” policy to restrict lending money to companies that did not reduce their outstanding loans if they appeared to have too much debt.
The “three red lines” policy involves having limits on the debt-to-cash, debt-to-equity, and debt-to-assets ratios of firms that do property development.
CHINA REAL ESTATE MARKET OVERVIEW
The China real estate market accounts for approximately twenty-five percent (~25%) of the gross domestic product (GDP).
By August 30, 2022, property prices in the China real estate market had declined by about thirty percent (~30%) compared to last year.
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