China's machinery industry witnesses robust growth in H1

The machinery industry in China experienced a notable surge in the first half of this year, according to a report from the China Machinery Industry Federation on Wednesday.

The industry's value added recorded a remarkable 6.1 percent year-on-year growth, surpassing the national industrial growth rate by 0.1 percentage points. All five major sectors within the machinery industry witnessed positive growth during this period.

Since the beginning of the second quarter, China's machinery industry has been exhibiting a favorable operational trend, marked by increased production efficiency. This growth can be attributed to the industry's concerted efforts in embracing digitization, driving intelligent transformations, and promoting the modernization of traditional sectors. Additionally, the industry has focused on cultivating and developing new quality productive forces to further enhance its overall performance.

Simultaneously, the successful implementation of large-scale equipment upgrades and a program encouraging the replacement of old consumer goods have played a vital role in stimulating market demand and spurring the machinery industry's growth. As a result, the production speed of the industry has significantly accelerated. Notably, 122 major machinery products saw their cumulative production growth in the first half of the year reaching an impressive 61.5 percent, surpassing the corresponding period last year.

In breakdown, the domestic production and sales of new energy vehicles had already surpassed 30 million units by the end of June, indicating a promising trajectory for this emerging market segment. The electrical equipment sector has demonstrated sustained high-level production, while the engineering machinery sector has witnessed stabilization after a period of decline. Additionally, the recovery of consumer and tourism markets has fueled the growth of products such as cameras and specialized packaging equipment.

China's machinery industry witnesses robust growth in H1

China's machinery industry witnesses robust growth in H1

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠U.S. President Donald Trump's 25-percent car tariffs, which took effect on Thursday, have spurred confusion and concern in Canada's automotive capital of Windsor.

As the latest duties came into force, carmaker Stellantis, which owns marques including Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, confirmed it will shut down its assembly plant in the Canadian border city of Windsor for two weeks starting April 7.

Fear and anxiety are running high among Stellantis workers.

"It's hard to comprehend at first and then it's hard to see where things are going to go from here. I think that everyone is hoping that it won't be long, but I have a feeling that it could be years," said a worker.

"Little nervous to be honest. Right now, with the way things are going over in the United States, it definitely affects us and if we're not selling cars, we're not going to have a job," another worker said.

Stellantis also announced it would pause production at a plant in Mexico, and temporarily lay off some 900 workers in Midwestern states of Michigan and Indiana. 

Experts warn that the tariffs will be likely to severely disrupt global supply chains and lead to production cutbacks and layoffs if they remain in place for any length of time. 

"If vehicle sales stall, manufacturing will stop. The car companies will not keep building cars if they can't sell them. They just can't do that, and they won't. So if they're not building cars, they will lay the workers off. This will snowball through the entire economy of the globe," said Peter Frise, a professor of automotive engineering at the University of Windsor.

On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will be responding by matching the U.S. approach with 25-percent tariffs on all vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Canadian auto workers on edge following US tariffs