China Q1 2026: Five Key Economic Indicators
1️⃣ GDP CNY 33.4tn (EUR 4.5tn), +5.0% YoY, above expectations
2️⃣ Industrial output +6.1% YoY despite external uncertainty
3️⃣ Exports +20%+ Jan–Feb → 3% March (slowdown)
4️⃣ Retail sales +1.7% YoY March, weak consumption
5️⃣ Unemployment 5.4%, moderate recovery

Candid exchange at the German Chamber of Commerce in China East on China’s Two Sessions and the 15th FYP.

Focus: tech self-reliance, industrial upgrading, sustainability, domestic demand → key questions: where to invest, which sectors?

Thanks to all speakers and organizers.

🐑🍵Shanghai’s sheep latte: “Matcha Wang” serves vanilla matcha with sheep foam @ 550 Huaihai Middle Road
▪️Viral via TikTok
▪️40–60 min queues, many tourists | 550 Huaihai Rd
▪️Cute design + playful ritual
▪️Modern tea twist
▪️Visa-free policy boosts such micro-spots

Tried it?

A warm welcome to Michael Kern, new DIHK delegate and Executive Director of the German Chamber East China!

Great meeting and exchange with RÖDL China (Sebastian Wiendieck, Xiaomei Fu, Qing Cheng, Frances Gu).

Wishing success, prosperity and lots of 福 (fú)! Looking forward to our collaboration.

🇨🇳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 meets 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸: China’s 500-ton VSBM drills >1,000 m

1️⃣ Ø ~8.1 m, full-face disc cutters
2️⃣ by China Railway Construction Corporation
3️⃣ Vertical (not TBM) continuous excavation
4️⃣ Built for deep hard rock shafts
5️⃣ Integrated: drilling + hoisting + support

www.scmp.com/news/china/s...

Blue sky, clear air, great view. Not a bad way to ease back into Shanghai work after the holiday.

Gap targeting 50 new stores as chain expands Clothing brand Gap plans to open about 50 new stores in China this year, as its local operator Baozun Inc accelerates expansion to sustain double-digit growth in the world's second-largest apparel mar...

🛍️🇨🇳 Back to offline: China retail is evolving

GAP plans 50 new China stores via Baozun after 20% growth. Zara & H&M upgrade formats.

Shift after “online-first”: stores = experience hubs, flagships build brand, hybrid models scale fast, digital drives traffic. Offline strengthens positioning.

🐰 🌸 The very best wishes for Easter! 🌸 🐰
May the spirit of renewal, reflected in both Easter and the Chinese spring season 春天, translate into continued health, progress, and success for you and your company!

🍲🇨🇳 You need a larger hot pot?
▪️ 17 m diameter, 25 tons.
▪️ Star attraction at the China Food & Drinks Fair.

A striking showcase of Sichuan hot pot culture, and how China turns tradition into large-scale, viral food branding.

China Daily👇
www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202604/03/...

🇨🇳✈️ Chinese airlines propose fuel surcharge hikes (up to 6×):
▪️ ≤800 km: 10→60 yuan
▪️ >800 km: 20→120 yuan
Civil Aviation Administration of China has not approved yet, balancing airline costs vs. demand.

SCMP👇
www.scmp.com/economy/chin...

Honored to again serve on the Board of the German Chamber China | East for 2026–2029, together with Thomas Zimmerle, Dr. Gang Yang, Gregor Koch, Anna An, Heiko Lässig, Frank Schulze, Tony Zhang and Michael Kern. Looking very much forward to working closely with all of them and with Daisy Zhu!

April 14 (online): Compliance in China Business – Understand, Implement, Recalibrate (German), organized by IHK Frankfurt

Honored to represent RÖDL China with a legal session on compliance for managers, board members and shareholders:

Other experts cover IP, semiconductors & CBAM.

Inside China's wildest cave basketball court Many of these natural caverns feature distinct acoustics and stable temperatures, making them sanctuaries for gatherings, performances and even sports activities.

🇨🇳 🏀 China’s cave court: Guizhou’s Fengming karst cave hosts basketball underground.
▪️Community hub in Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County
▪️Intl-friendly game on March 28 drew global & local players
▪️Unique vibe: echoes through a vast limestone cavern

China Daily👇(photos)

🤖 GCC Robotics Day Beijing: honored to explain China’s Encouraged FDI Catalogue for robotics.

15% CIT, duty + land incentives, strong support for humanoids, medical, construction & industrial robots, plus extra regional incentives in central/western China. PM for PPT.

Great to join the ABC Spring Edition by ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA in Shanghai. A relaxed evening at Abbey Road, good conversations, and a strong Austrian business crowd back together in the year of the fire horse. Many thanks Christian Fuchssteiner, Magdalena Junez, Deputy Consul General Teresa Bauer!

‼️From Mar 20: China pilots online registration for foreigners staying outside hotels in 7 provinces.
▪️Shanghai already has this
▪️24h deadline
▪️Via website / 12367 app / WeChat / Alipay
▪️Host or foreigner can register
▪️Offline still possible
▪️Nationwide rollout likely
www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741...

March 25, Hamburg: Investing in China: spotting opportunities, gaining direction. Sebastian Wiendieck will share a concise overview of opportunities, what really drives success.

China’s new 5-Year Plan sets clear priorities: from MedTech to Green Tech
events.handelskammer-hamburg.de/b?p=2026-2123

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 at the German School Shanghai with many outstanding institutions – from RÖDL China to Infineon, Porsche, Bosch, Volkswagen, BASF and others.

Great pleasure to present the legal profession to 10th–12th graders – thoughtful questions, lively exchange, and maybe a few future lawyers 😊

Pop Mart’s Labubu headed to big screen in collaboration with Sony Pictures The Chinese toymaker’s star character will appear in a film co-written and helmed by the director of Paddington and Wonka.

🎬 Labubu goes big screen: Pop Mart + Sony Pictures
▪️Shift from toy maker to IP-driven entertainment company
▪️Labubu among its most successful characters
▪️Part of trend: turning collectibles into movies & content ecosystems
▪️Boost to global reach & brand value

SCMP👇
www.scmp.com/business/com...

Vielen Dank für den Besuch des China Competence Training Center (CCTC) der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin bei RÖDL China! Inspirierender Austausch zu #Innovation & #Zusammenarbeit 🇨🇳🇩🇪
Besonderer Dank an Xiaomei Fu & Dr. Huini Li. Safe travels durchs Yangtze-Delta!

🇨🇳 China’s Shenzhen has put a robotic traffic police commander on duty at a road intersection. It performs traffic gestures in sync with lights and uses AI vision to detect violations, showing how humanoid robots are moving from demo stage into real urban management.

🇨🇳 China’s CPI rose 1.3% YoY in Feb 2026, the fastest increase in 3 years.
▪️Driven by Spring Festival spending and stronger demand for travel, hotels and transport.
▪️Core CPI +1.8% YoY.
▪️Food and service prices increased.
▪️PPI −0.9% YoY, but the decline narrowed.
www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202603/09/...

🏞️ 905 m outdoor escalator system starts trial in Chongqing’s Wushan County
▪️Vertical rise: 242 m
▪️21 escalators, 8 elevators, 4 walkways
▪️Links riverside with hillside districts
▪️Cuts travel time: 60 → 20 min
▪️Possibly world’s longest outdoor escalator system
Trial operation: Feb 2026

Deutsche Bank prices record 5.5 billion yuan panda bond issuance

🇨🇳🇩🇪 Deutsche Bank issued RMB 5.5bn (≈€700m) in Panda bonds in China — the largest single issuance by a foreign bank and first EU FI deal in 2026.
Two tranches: 3-yr (1.95%) & 5-yr (2.13%).
Orders reached RMB 8.66bn, showing strong demand for RMB assets in China’s onshore bond market.

Policies to lift spending in focus this year China will scale up efforts to boost consumer spending this year by pairing measures to stimulate the financial capacity of households with continued pro-consumption policies, economists said, as the ...

Which measures aim to boost consumption in China in 2026?
1️⃣ Stabilize real estate & stock markets to strengthen household wealth.
2️⃣ Raise household incomes, improve social security.
3️⃣ RMB 250bn trade-in program for consumer goods.
4️⃣ RMB 100bn fund with interest subsidies & guarantees.

🇨🇳 China’s NPC opens today in snowy Beijing. Key items:
1️⃣ Government Work Report (growth, jobs, priorities)
2️⃣ 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030)
3️⃣ 2026 budget & economic targets
4️⃣ Major laws incl. Eco-Environmental Code
5️⃣ Reports from courts & NPC bodies
6️⃣ Ministerial policy briefings

China (2026–2030) grants import tariff & VAT exemptions to public science museums and research venues for foreign science films and advanced equipment not available domestically. Goal: boost scientific literacy, innovation capacity, long-term competitiveness.
shanghai.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfw/zcfgk/z...

🧧China’s robot demand surged after the 2026 Spring Festival Gala:
▪️JD.com searches +300% within 2 hours
▪️Customer inquiries +460%
▪️Orders +150%
▪️New orders from 100+ cities nationwide

China Daily👇
www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202602/21/...

🧧We pave the way. Worldwide. Like the horse that moves with a clear direction. Happy New Year 新年快乐 from RÖDL China!

Creating paths where others see obstacles. Turning ambition of our clients into measurable progress.

May the Year of the Horse bring you energy, clarity and confident forward motion.

🏮Year of the Horse! 🐎

妈妈骂马吗？Māma mà mǎ ma?
马骂妈妈! Mǎ mà māma!

Same “ma” — different tones, different meanings. Mandarin has 4 tones (+ neutral): mā 妈 mother, má 麻 hemp, mǎ 马 horse, mà 骂 scold, ma 吗 question.

New zodiac memory stamps by China Post celebrate the Horse’s vitality & momentum.