Multiple foreign-funded financial institutions have released their financial results for 2023, reporting remarkable performances in the Chinese market while expressing confidence in the growth opportunities in the market in the medium to long term.
Analysts said that the resilience of the world's second-largest economy, massive market size and earnest implementation of policies in promoting high-level opening-up have stabilized foreign enterprises' expectations, adding that foreign capital will continue to flow into China in 2024 amid a positive GDP forecast of around 5 percent this year.
By continuing to seize opportunities in China, Standard Chartered said that profit before tax generated from its onshore and offshore China business reached $1.3 billion in 2023, nearly achieving the $1.4 billion target a year ahead of the group's plan. Onshore income in China hit a record high last year, up 4 percent year-on-year, according to a press release the bank sent to the Global Times on Friday.
The group expressed confidence in seizing the long-term opportunities that China's opening-up generates for its business.
"By continuing to give play to the unique advantage of foreign banks and putting a focus on areas including cross-border finance, green finance and wealth management in 2024, we will fully play the role as 'superconnector' between China and the rest of the world to contribute to the real economy and support China's high-quality development," Zhang Xiaolei, head of Standard Chartered China, was quoted as saying.
HSBC data showed that the group's profits grew significantly in 2023 in China and other fast-growing economies, with the Chinese mainland, India and Singapore each contributing in excess of $1 billion of profits to the group.
"We remain confident in the resilience of the Chinese economy, and the growth opportunities in the Chinese mainland over the medium to long term," Noel Quinn, group chief executive of HSBC, said in the company's financial report.
Hong Kong's connectivity, both globally and to the Chinese mainland, is helping us to grow our franchise. We have increased our market share in trade in Hong Kong by 6.6 percentage points over the last three years, Quinn said, citing data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday that China's remarkable economic growth of 5.2 percent in 2023 as well as stepped-up macro-policies to ensure a stable economic recovery and the earnest implementation of a flurry of measures in promoting high-level opening-up have increased foreign financial institutions' confidence in the economy.
The net inflow of equity-based foreign direct investment in 2023 stood at $62.1 billion, with the net inflow in the fourth quarter reaching a two-year high, showing that more foreign investors have invested in China and allocated yuan-denominated assets, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Sunday.
As one of the world's most vibrant economies, China is expected to post GDP growth of about 5 percent in 2024. Its stable economic recovery and the implementation of support policies are expected to attract more foreign enterprises to invest in China, Cao said.
The Bank of East Asia said in its 2023 financial report that from electric vehicles to major retail brands, Chinese champions are forging into the lead both domestically and abroad. The bank is targeting the future by developing a wide range of clients in the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong who will profit from these exciting trends.
In January 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission launched the seventh batch of landmark foreign-invested projects. With total planned investment of more than $15 billion, the new batch of 11 foreign-funded projects involve biomedicine, automobile manufacturing, batteries for new-energy vehicles and chemicals. After the Spring Festival holidays, the construction of these projects reportedly got a fast boost.
This year will be important for the recovery of the economy, during which China is expected to expand opening-up in more sectors and at higher levels, Wei Jianguo, former Chinese vice minister of commerce and executive deputy director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times.
In recent years, China has implemented a series of measures to encourage foreign investment, for example, clearing manufacturing items on the negative list for foreign investment in pilot free-trade zones, and supporting foreign companies in setting up research and development centers, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday said that it will continue to give full play to the role of a roundtable meeting system for foreign-funded enterprises this year to effectively enhance mutual trust between the government and enterprises, while enhancing the predictability and transparency of policies.
China's Foreign Ministry (FM) said on Friday that US claims about national security concerns related to China-made cranes are completely unfounded, and vowed to protect the legal rights of Chinese enterprises.
Mao Ning, spokesperson for the FM, made the comments during a regular press conference on Friday following a claim from a senior executive at Los Angeles Port that China-made cranes pose a potential risk to US national security.
China firmly opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to go after Chinese products and companies, said Mao, adding that weaponizing economic and trade issues will exacerbate security risks in global industrial and supply chains and inevitably backfire.
"The US needs to respect the principles of the market economy and fair competition, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies. China will continue to firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies," said Mao.
A Wall Street Journal report said that the administration of President Joe Biden plans to invest billions in the domestic manufacturing of cargo cranes used at US ports. The administration aims to replace China-built cranes, which it claims contain advanced software that poses a so-called potential national security risk.
However, observers believe that Biden's domestic manufacturing replacement plan is unlikely to succeed as it would require a huge amount of investment from the federal government. In addition, the senior executive from Los Angeles Port also noted a shortage of other countries that build the giant container-moving machines.
According to senior administration officials, 80 percent of ship-to-shore cranes moving trade at US ports were manufactured in China, CNBC reported.
Chinese airlines are planning to add more flights to cope with surging outbound travel demand with the implementation of visa reciprocity policies between China and many countries.
China Eastern Airlines plans to launch a route from Beijing Daxing to Kuala Lumpur on January 31, with four flights every week, Guo Ting, a market manager from China Eastern Airlines told the Global Times on Friday.
The number of overseas routes operated by China Eastern at Daxing airport will reach eight by then, Guo added.
The outbound travel is expected to reach a new peak during this year's Spring Festival period brought by more overseas destinations implementing visa-free policies to Chinese travelers, Guo said.
The remarks came at the first day of China's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which the airport predicted that it will handle 5.5 million passenger trips for the travel rush until March 5. Our outbound travel demand is surging recently, for example, the demand for the route between Beijing Daxing to Doha launched in October of last year is rising, and we deploy wide-body aircraft to cope with the demand, Liu Zheng, a manager from Xiamen Airlines told the Global Times.
Both inbound and outbound travel at Beijing Daxing International Airport has continued to increase as the airport has formally restarted such services on January 17, 2023. The inbound and outbound passenger trips in 2023 reached 2 million, and the airport has opened more than 30 overseas routes by the end of 2023.
The inbound and outbound passenger trips in 2024 of the airport are expected to exceed four million, Wang Qiang, deputy general manager of aviation business department of Beijing Daxing International Airport told the Global Times.
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines also told the Global Times on Friday that it will resume, add or increase 64 routes in this Chinese Lunar New Year travel rush, most of which are international routes.
Beijing Capital International Airport expected that overseas passenger flow will reach 1.41 million passenger trips during the period, with an average of 35,000 per day.
Chinese market watchers attributed to the rising demand to the visa exemption launched by more countries, and the latest example is that China and Singapore on Thursday agreed on mutual visa exemption, which will officially come into effect on February 9, 2024.
To date, China has established mutual visa exemption agreements with 157 countries, covering various types of passports. It has also reached agreements or arrangements to simplify visa procedures with 44 countries and has achieved comprehensive mutual visa exemption with 22 countries, including Singapore, the Maldives, and Kazakhstan.
In addition, over 60 countries and regions offer visa-free entry or visa-on-arrival facilities to Chinese citizens.
Various airlines have proposed to arrange more than 2,500 new international scheduled flights and overtime charter flights during the Spring Festival travel period, and the most of newly planned will be the markets in Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and other surrounding countries and regions, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on January 8.
The Chinese stock market rallied on Tuesday after hitting the three-year low, boosted by a State Council meeting vowing to take "stronger, more effective measures" to stabilize the capital market and improve market confidence.
Analysts are generally positive about the prospect of China's stock market, which has become one of the most attractive markets globally in terms of valuation of shares.
The Shanghai Component Index closed up 0.59 percent to 2,770.98 on Tuesday, the Shenzhen Composite Index rose by 1.38 percent to 8,596.28. The tech-heavy ChiNext index went up by 1.24 percent to 1,687.61.
Stocks of many Shanghai State-owned enterprises staged a stellar performance, with companies including Shanghai Phoenix Enterprise (Group) Co, Shanghai Material Trading Co, Capital Securities Co and China Television Media rising by the daily limit.
A meeting of the State Council, the cabinet, held on Monday pledged "stronger, more effective measures" to stabilize the market and improve market confidence.
Efforts will be made to enhance the innovation and coordination of policy tools, consolidate and strengthen the trend of economic recovery, and promote the stable and healthy development of the capital market, according to meeting notes.
According to a report by Bloomberg Tuesday, relevant Chinese authorities are seeking to mobilize about 2 trillion yuan ($278 billion), mainly coming from offshore accounts of state-owned enterprises, as part of a stabilization fund to buy shares onshore through the Hong Kong exchange link.
In Hong Kong market, the Hang Seng Index rose by 3.26 percent to 15,448.54 points as of 2:30 pm Tuesday, regaining the psychological threshold of 15,000.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is closely following Hong Kong equity market fluctuations, and considers the market still operating in an orderly fashion without abnormal phenomenon, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.
As an international financial hub, Hong Kong SAR remains competitive and attractive. Hong Kong enjoys free capital flows, highly transparent operations and sound supervision system, according to Lee. He said the equity market fluctuations are mainly due to market factors, calling for investors to make decisions by closely following market changes.
The Chinese stock market has become one of the most attractive markets across the world in terms of share valuation. The valuation of A-shares is about half that of US market stocks, Zhu Liang, chief investment officer of AllianceBernstein's office in China, said in a note sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.
China is the world's largest foreign trade country and its capital market is a venue that could provide good yields. Currently, investors across the globe are quietly paying attention to A-share market, Zhu said, noting that they are "waiting for wind." In 2024, listed Chinese companies are expected to maintain a good profit growth, with the growth rate of earnings per share (EPS) expected to be around 17 percent, Zhu said.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.2 percent in 2023, down 0.4 percentage points year-on-year, official data showed on Wednesday. An official said that the employment situation will remain stable in 2024 thanks to the economic recovery, accelerated industrial upgrading and other positive factors.
In December, the rate in urban areas was 5.1 percent, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). On Wednesday, the NBS also resumed the release of data on youth unemployment after a four-month suspension.
The surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged 16 to 24 (excluding students) was 14.9 percent in December.
"In 2023, we managed to keep employment stable, with an overall improvement," Kang Yi, head of the NBS, told a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Kang said that 11.8 million urban jobs were added in the first 11 months of last year, up 350,000 year-on-year. Thanks to policies to stabilize employment and expand hiring, the employment of key groups and groups in difficulty was effectively ensured.
As of the end of November, 32.94 million people had been lifted out of poverty through employment, exceeding the target of 30 million, he said.
The improved employment situation underscored the economic recovery in 2023, as well as the implementation of pro-employment policies. That was especially true of those supporting private enterprises, which create about 80 percent of the country's jobs, Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told Global Times on Wednesday.
A report Chinese job-hunting platform Zhilian Zhaopin sent to the Global Times showed that wages offered to new hires in the fourth quarter rose from the third quarter.
Salaries in such sectors as new-energy vehicles (NEVs) and consumer services rose quickly, driven by booming sales and the consumption rebound.
China still faces employment pressure, with structural problems involving some groups and industries. "However, our employment situation is expected to remain stable thanks to the economic recovery, our accelerated industrial upgrading and other positive factors," Kang said.
Kang said that China's incremental economic growth this year will likely outpace that of last year, providing strong support for expanding employment. Also, the number of people leaving the labor force this year will outnumber those who are entering, providing more opportunities for job-seekers.
"The growth of the consumption sector will continue to be a major force creating jobs this year," Kang said, and policies to stabilize employment will also continue to produce effects.
Li called for more efforts to strengthen vocational training, optimize recruitment services and ensure the stable employment of key groups. "More policies should be announced to support sectors that could create more jobs for young people - for example, rural revitalization, Chinese companies 'going global' and digital transformation," Li said.
A Shenzhen-based fresh graduate named Wang Xinyun told the Global Times on Wednesday that there are still many opportunities in sectors that quickly recovered from the pandemic, and young people should find a job first and then continue to improve their competitiveness.
Wang works at a tourism agency in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, and said she hopes to ride on the wave of booming tourism to carve out a niche in the field.
The Red Sea, once a bustling waterway that attracted a large number of cargo ships from around the world, is now in turmoil. Amid all the intricacy and complexity, China has raised a fair voice.
In the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed grave concern over the escalating tensions in the Red Sea. He called for an end to the harassment of civilian vessels in the Red Sea, while noting that the UN Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen. Wang called for refraining from taking any actions that will "add fuel to the fire" in the Red Sea and raise the overall security risks in the region.
China's fairness lies in not taking sides or showing bias. This is in stark contrast to how Western countries touch upon on the Gaza war, in which they tend to overwhelmingly blame Hamas without mentioning the reasons behind Hamas' attacks. China, on the other hand, does not support the Houthis' use of violence to disrupt the trade route in the Red Sea, but it also disagrees with the US-led biased approach and double standards in the hostilities between Israel and Palestine, as well as the use of violence to counter violence.
Wang said the UN Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen. To be straightforward, the Western alliance's attack in the region is unauthorized and illegal.
Houthis'attacks in the Red Sea is a protest against Israel's actions in the Gaza war, which actually has caused widespread opposition from the international community, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times.
When the Houthis vowed to attack ships in the Red Sea that are linked to Israel, how did the US respond to that? Escalation. The US first launched a multinational coalition against the Yemeni militants. After seeing the effectiveness of the operation was unsatisfactory, the US and UK militaries launched strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The missions failed to stop Houthis from attacking shipping, and now Houthis are targeting US ships. A Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile struck a US-owned and operated cargo ship on Monday. What's the point of that escalation?
This retaliation and counter-retaliation are snowballing in the Red Sea. It is now evident that the US and the UK have underestimated the military capabilities of the Houthi militants. Experts believe that the US will find it difficult to contain the Houthis, and that the Red Sea crisis won't be resolved any time soon.
Against this backdrop, media outlets from various countries have noticed an interesting phenomenon: Maritime ships are signaling their Chinese identity in the Red Sea to avoid being targeted by the Houthis.
This is a reflection of China's soft power. "The Houthi militants have no interest in attacking Chinese ships. The reason is simple - China makes fair remarks and takes fair actions concerning Middle East affairs. China does not have any special interests in the region and cares only about regional peace, security, and stability," Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times.
China has played a constructive role in fostering peace in the Middle East. The Chinese-mediated detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia has driven a "wave of reconciliation" in the Middle East. The Arab League decided to re-admit Syria after shunning it for 12 years. Turkey and Egypt realized full normalization of relations, ending nearly a decade of diplomatic hostility.
After the Gaza conflict broke out, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun visited a number of Middle East countries calling for ceasefire and creation of conditions for the resumption of the peace process. China has also joined in the co-sponsorship of the draft UN Security Council resolution aimed at removing bottlenecks to humanitarian access and alleviating the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
In contrast, US' comprehensive and overt support for Israel has directly led to the prolongation and escalation of the war. It is also due to the obstruction by the US that the UN Security Council has repeatedly postponed the draft resolution aimed at bringing in some form of ceasefire. The biggest difference between China and the US in Middle East affairs is that China is a responsible major power, and its responsible actions have been recognized by all parties, Shen said.
As Wang mentioned in Egypt, the priority now is to stop the conflict as soon as possible to prevent it from further escalation or even getting out of control.
If Washington and London genuinely want an end of the crisis in the Red Sea, the only way out is to end the Gaza crisis, withdraw what should be withdrawn, end wrong support, and apply pressure where it's needed.
China and the US resumed the previously suspended defense policy coordination talks with a meeting this week, in which the Chinese side stressed its positions on the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue, as well as maritime and air security issues.
Although differences remain and cannot be resolved anytime soon, such talks can lower the risks of misjudgments which will prevent escalating accidents into conflicts, experts said on Wednesday.
The 17th China-US Defense Policy Coordination Talks was held in Washington from Monday to Tuesday, China's Ministry of National Defense (MOD) said in a press release on Wednesday.
It marks the first meeting of the Defense Policy Coordination Talks since the annual talks were suspended after then-US house speaker Nancy Pelosi provocatively visited the island of Taiwan in August 2022, observers said.
The Chinese side said that China is ready to develop healthy and stable military ties with the US side on the basis of equality and respect, and work together to implement the important consensus related to military affairs reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in San Francisco in 2023, the MOD press release reads.
Zhuo Hua, an international affairs expert at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the latest meeting is a reflection of smooth progress in China and the US' gradual resumption of military exchanges.
The defense policy coordination talks came after senior officials of the two militaries' joint staff departments had a virtual meeting in December 2023. It is an indication that other military communication channels, including Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, telephone conversations between theater commanders and meetings between defense ministers could also resume soon, marking the complete resumption of the two militaries' exchanges at all levels, Zhuo said.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday that direct communication between the two countries' militaries are conducive to preventing misjudgments, which could cause unpredictable conflicts and frictions that bring tremendous harm not only to the two countries, but also to peace and stability in the region.
As long as the US aims to maintain its global hegemony, it is unrealistic to expect the US to make fundamental changes, and China needs to maintain high vigilance in safeguarding its own national security, Song said.
This means it is vital that the two militaries manage differences and defuse crises should they arise, Song said.
In the meeting, the Chinese side urged the US side to take seriously China's concerns and take more actions that are conducive to the development of the two countries' military relations, according to the MOD press release.
The Chinese side stressed that China will not make any concessions or compromises on the Taiwan question, and demanded that the US side abide by the one-China principle, implement relevant commitments, stop arming the island of Taiwan, and not support "Taiwan independence."
The Chinese side urged the US side to reduce military deployments and provocations in the South China Sea, and stop supporting infringing, provocative actions by a certain country.
The US side should fully recognize the root cause of maritime and air security issues, strictly discipline its frontline troops, and stop sensationalizing and hyping relevant issues, the Chinese side said.
The Chinese side also elaborated China's stern positions and major concerns on issues concerning China's core interests and international hotspot issues.
According to a readout on the talks published by the US Department of Defense, the US side highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication "in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict."
While the US side reiterated the US' commitment to its one-China policy and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, it also claimed that the US will "continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows," and accused China of repeatedly harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.
Analysts said that China repeatedly made its core interests and red lines clear in communicating with the US, and the US will have to understand that if it insists on making provocations in those aspects, China will have to take resolute measures to resolve the questions.
A Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Wednesday that the remarks from the Chinese side and the US side show that there are still many differences, which is normal given that the military serves politics, and as long as the US is determined to strategically contain China, military exchanges between the two countries will only have limited effects. This is to avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment as much as possible, and prevent potential accidents and their escalation into conflicts, analysts said.
China-US military relations still face uncertainties, and there might be frictions from time to time, but the two major countries must shoulder their responsibilities in managing differences to safeguard peace and stability, the expert said.
Tiny particles of plastic have been found everywhere — from the deepest place on the planet, the Mariana Trench, to the top of Mount Everest. And now more and more studies are finding that microplastics, defined as plastic pieces less than 5 millimeters across, are also in our bodies.
“What we are looking at is the biggest oil spill ever,” says Maria Westerbos, founder of the Plastic Soup Foundation, an Amsterdam-based nonprofit advocacy organization that works to reduce plastic pollution around the world. Nearly all plastics are made from fossil fuel sources. And microplastics are “everywhere,” she adds, “even in our bodies.” In recent years, microplastics have been documented in all parts of the human lung, in maternal and fetal placental tissues, in human breast milk and in human blood. Microplastics scientist Heather Leslie, formerly of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and colleagues found microplastics in blood samples from 17 of 22 healthy adult volunteers in the Netherlands. The finding, published last year in Environment International, confirms what many scientists have long suspected: These tiny bits can get absorbed into the human bloodstream.
“We went from expecting plastic particles to be absorbable and present in the human bloodstream to knowing that they are,” Leslie says. The findings aren’t entirely surprising; plastics are all around us. Durable, versatile and cheap to manufacture, they are in our clothes, cosmetics, electronics, tires, packaging and so many more items of daily use. And the types of plastic materials on the market continues to increase. “There were around 3,000 [plastic materials] when I started researching microplastics over a decade ago,” Leslie says. “Now there are over 9,600. That’s a huge number, each with its own chemical makeup and potential toxicity.”
Though durable, plastics do degrade, by weathering from water, wind, sunlight or heat — as in ocean environments or in landfills — or by friction, in the case of car tires, which releases plastic particles along roadways during motion and braking.
In addition to studying microplastic particles, researchers are also trying to get a handle on nanoplastics, particles which are less than 1 micrometer in length. “The large plastic objects in the environment will break down into micro- and nanoplastics, constantly raising particle numbers,” says toxicologist Dick Vethaak of the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, who collaborated with Leslie on the study finding microplastics in human blood.
Nearly two decades ago, marine biologists began drawing attention to the accumulation of microplastics in the ocean and their potential to interfere with organism and ecosystem health (SN: 2/20/16, p. 20). But only in recent years have scientists started focusing on microplastics in people’s food and drinking water — as well as in indoor air.
Plastic particles are also intentionally added to cosmetics like lipstick, lip gloss and eye makeup to improve their feel and finish, and to personal care products, such as face scrubs, toothpastes and shower gels, for the cleansing and exfoliating properties. When washed off, these microplastics enter the sewage system. They can end up in the sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, which is used to fertilize agricultural lands, or even in treated water released into waterways.
What if any damage microplastics may do when they get into our bodies is not clear, but a growing community of researchers investigating these questions thinks there is reason for concern. Inhaled particles might irritate and damage the lungs, akin to the damage caused by other particulate matter. And although the composition of plastic particles varies, some contain chemicals that are known to interfere with the body’s hormones.
Currently there are huge knowledge gaps in our understanding of how these particles are processed by the human body.
How do microplastics get into our bodies? Research points to two main entry routes into the human body: We swallow them and we breathe them in.
Evidence is growing that our food and water is contaminated with microplastics. A study in Italy, reported in 2020, found microplastics in everyday fruits and vegetables. Wheat and lettuce plants have been observed taking up microplastic particles in the lab; uptake from soil containing the particles is probably how they get into our produce in the first place.
Sewage sludge can contain microplastics not only from personal care products, but also from washing machines. One study looking at sludge from a wastewater treatment plant in southwest England found that if all the treated sludge produced there were used to fertilize soils, a volume of microplastic particles equivalent to what is found in more than 20,000 plastic credit cards could potentially be released into the environment each month.
On top of that, fertilizers are coated with plastic for controlled release, plastic mulch film is used as a protective layer for crops and water containing microplastics is used for irrigation, says Sophie Vonk, a researcher at the Plastic Soup Foundation.
“Agricultural fields in Europe and North America are estimated to receive far higher quantities of microplastics than global oceans,” Vonk says. A recent pilot study commissioned by the Plastic Soup Foundation found microplastics in all blood samples collected from pigs and cows on Dutch farms, showing livestock are capable of absorbing some of the plastic particles from their feed, water or air. Of the beef and pork samples collected from farms and supermarkets as part of the same study, 75 percent showed the presence of microplastics. Multiple studies document that microplastic particles are also in fish muscle, not just the gut, and so are likely to be consumed when people eat seafood.
Microplastics are in our drinking water, whether it’s from the tap or bottled. The particles may enter the water at the source, during treatment and distribution, or, in the case of bottled water, from its packaging.
Results from studies attempting to quantify levels of human ingestion vary dramatically, but they suggest people might be consuming on the order of tens of thousands of microplastic particles per person per year. These estimates may change as more data come in, and they will likely vary depending on people’s diets and where they live. Plus, it is not yet clear how these particles are absorbed, distributed, metabolized and excreted by the human body, and if not excreted immediately, how long they might stick around.
Babies might face particularly high exposures. A small study of six infants and 10 adults found that the infants had more microplastic particles in their feces than the adults did. Research suggests microplastics can enter the fetus via the placenta, and babies could also ingest the particles via breast milk. The use of plastic feeding bottles and teething toys adds to children’s microplastics exposure.
Microplastic particles are also floating in the air. Research conducted in Paris to document microplastic levels in indoor air found concentrations ranging from three to 15 particles per cubic meter of air. Outdoor concentrations were much lower.
Airborne particles may turn out to be more of a concern than those in food. One study reported in 2018 compared the amount of microplastics present within mussels harvested off Scotland’s coasts with the amount of microplastics present in indoor air. Exposure to microplastic fibers from the air during the meal was far higher than the risk of ingesting microplastics from the mussels themselves.
Extrapolating from this research, immunologist Nienke Vrisekoop of the University Medical Center Utrecht says, “If I keep a piece of fish on the table for an hour, it has probably gathered more microplastics from the ambient air than it has from the ocean.” What’s more, a study of human lung tissue reported last year offers solid evidence that we are breathing in plastic particles. Microplastics showed up in 11 of 13 samples, including those from the upper, middle and lower lobes, researchers in England reported.
Perhaps good news: Microplastics seem unable to penetrate the skin. “The epidermis holds off quite a lot of stuff from the outside world, including [nano]particles,” Leslie says. “Particles can go deep into your skin, but so far we haven’t observed them passing the barrier, unless the skin is damaged.”
What do we know about the potential health risks? Studies in mice suggest microplastics are not benign. Research in these test animals shows that lab exposure to microplastics can disrupt the gut microbiome, lead to inflammation, lower sperm quality and testosterone levels, and negatively affect learning and memory.
But some of these studies used concentrations that may not be relevant to real-world scenarios. Studies on the health effects of exposure in humans are just getting under way, so it could be years before scientists understand the actual impact in people.
Immunologist Barbro Melgert of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands has studied the effects of nylon microfibers on human tissue grown to resemble lungs. Exposure to nylon fibers reduced both the number and size of airways that formed in these tissues by 67 percent and 50 percent, respectively. “We found that the cause was not the microfibers themselves but rather the chemicals released from them,” Melgert says.
“Microplastics could be considered a form of air pollution,” she says. “We know air pollution particles tend to induce stress in our lungs, and it will probably be the same for microplastics.”
Vrisekoop is studying how the human immune system responds to microplastics. Her unpublished lab experiments suggest immune cells don’t recognize microplastic particles unless they have blood proteins, viruses, bacteria or other contaminants attached. But it is likely that such bits will attach to microplastic particles out in the environment and inside the body.
“If the microplastics are not clean … the immune cells [engulf] the particle and die faster because of it,” Vrisekoop says. “More immune cells then rush in.” This marks the start of an immune response to the particle, which could potentially trigger a strong inflammatory reaction or possibly aggravate existing inflammatory diseases of the lungs or gastrointestinal tract. Some of the chemicals added to make plastic suitable for particular uses are also known to cause problems for humans: Bisphenol A, or BPA, is used to harden plastic and is a known endocrine disruptor that has been linked to developmental effects in children and problems with reproductive systems and metabolism in adults (SN: 7/18/09, p. 5). Phthalates, used to make plastic soft and flexible, are associated with adverse effects on fetal development and reproductive problems in adults along with insulin resistance and obesity. And flame retardants that make electronics less flammable are associated with endocrine, reproductive and behavioral effects.
“Some of these chemical products that I worked on in the past [like the polybrominated diphenyl ethers used as flame retardants] have been phased out or are prohibited to use in new products now [in the European Union and the United States] because of their neurotoxic or disrupting effects,” Leslie says. Concerning chemicals Bits of plastic floating in the world’s air and water contain chemicals that may pose risks to human health. A 2021 study identified more than 2,400 chemicals of potential concern found in plastics or used in their processing. Here are a few of the most worrisome.
Short-chain chlorinated paraffins are used as lubricants, flame retardants and plasticizers. They can cause cancer in lab rodents, but the mechanisms may not be relevant for human health. The chlorinated compound mirex was once used as a flame retardant and can persist in the environment. It’s suspected of being a human carcinogen and may affect fertility. 2,4,6-Tri-tert-butylphenol is an antioxidant and ultraviolet stabilizer, added to plastics to prevent degradation. There’s evidence that it causes liver damage in lab animals with prolonged or repeated exposure. Benzo(a)pyrene is a polyaromatic hydrocarbon that can be released when organic matter such as coal or wood burns. It is also produced in grilled meats. It has been shown to cause cancer, damage fertility and affect development in lab animals. Dibutyl phthalate is a plasticizer that is known to cause endocrine disruption, may interfere with male fertility and has been shown to affect fetal development in lab animals. Tetrabromobisphenol-A is a flame retardant that can cause cancer in lab animals and may be an endocrine disruptor. It is chemically related to bisphenol A, which has been linked to developmental effects in children. SOURCE: H. WIESINGER, Z. WANG AND S. HELLWEG/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021 What are the open questions? The first step in determining the risk of microplastics to human health is to better understand and quantify human exposure. Polyrisk — one of five large-scale research projects under CUSP, a multidisciplinary group of researchers and experts from 75 organizations across 21 European countries studying micro- and nanoplastics — is doing exactly that.
Immunotoxicologist Raymond Pieters, of the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University and coordinator of Polyrisk, and colleagues are studying people’s inhalation exposure in a number of real-life scenarios: near a traffic light, for example, where cars are likely to be braking, versus a highway, where vehicles are continuously moving. Other scenarios under study include an indoor sports stadium, as well as occupational scenarios like the textile and rubber industry.
Melgert wants to know how much microplastic is in our houses, what the particle sizes are and how much we breathe in. “There are very few studies looking at indoor levels [of microplastics],” she says. “We all have stuff in our houses — carpets, insulation made of plastic materials, curtains, clothes — that all give off fibers.”
Vethaak, who co-coordinates MOMENTUM, a consortium of 27 research and industry partners from the Netherlands and seven other countries studying microplastics’ potential effects on human health, is quick to point out that “any measurement of the degree of exposure to plastic particles is likely an underestimation.” In addition to research on the impact of microplastics, the group is also looking at nanoplastics. Studying and analyzing these smallest of plastics in the environment and in our bodies is extremely challenging. “The analytical tools and techniques required for this are still being developed,” Vethaak says.
Vethaak also wants to understand whether microplastic particles coated with bacteria and viruses found in the environment could spread these pathogens and increase infection rates in people. Studies have suggested that microplastics in the ocean can serve as safe havens for germs.
Alongside knowing people’s level of exposure to microplastics, the second big question scientists want to understand is what if any level of real-world exposure is harmful. “This work is confounded by the multitude of different plastic particle types, given their variations in size, shape and chemical composition, which can affect uptake and toxicity,” Leslie says. “In the case of microplastics, it will take several more years to determine what the threshold dose for toxicity is.”
Several countries have banned the use of microbeads in specific categories of products, including rinse-off cosmetics and toothpastes. But there are no regulations or policies anywhere in the world that address the release or concentrations of other microplastics — and there are very few consistent monitoring efforts. California has recently taken a step toward monitoring by approving the world’s first requirements for testing microplastics in drinking water sources. The testing will happen over the next several years.
Pieters is very pragmatic in his outlook: “We know ‘a’ and ‘b,’” he says. “So we can expect ‘c,’ and ‘c’ would [imply] a risk for human health.”
He is inclined to find ways to protect people now even if there is limited or uncertain scientific knowledge. “Why not take a stand for the precautionary principle?” he asks.
For people who want to follow Pieters’ lead, there are ways to reduce exposure.
“Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate,” Melgert says. She recommends not only proper ventilation, including opening your windows at home, but also regular vacuum cleaning and air purification. That can remove dust, which often contains microplastics, from surfaces and the air.
Consumers can also choose to avoid cosmetics and personal care products containing microbeads. Buying clothes made from natural fabrics like cotton, linen and hemp, instead of from synthetic materials like acrylic and polyester, helps reduce the shedding of microplastics during wear and during the washing process.
Specialized microplastics-removal devices, including laundry balls, laundry bags and filters that attach to washing machines, are designed to reduce the number of microfibers making it into waterways.
Vethaak recommends not heating plastic containers in the microwave, even if they claim to be food grade, and not leaving plastic water bottles in the sun.
Perhaps the biggest thing people can do is rely on plastics less. Reducing overall consumption will reduce plastic pollution, and so reduce microplastics sloughing into the air and water.
Leslie recommends functional substitution: “Before you purchase something, think if you really need it, and if it needs to be plastic.”
Westerbos remains hopeful that researchers and scientists from around the world can come together to find a solution. “We need all the brainpower we have to connect and work together to find a substitute to plastic that is not toxic and doesn’t last [in the environment] as long as plastic does,” she says.
