Bloomberg (February 2)
“The US president’s stance toward the greenback may help Xi Jinping realize his dream of making the yuan a global reserve currency.” At the top of President Xi’s wish “list is a ‘powerful currency’ with global-reserve status that punches its weight in international trade and foreign-exchange markets.” China now looks “well positioned to benefit from any long-term shift away from the dollar.” Despite Trump’s America First bluster, his “disruptive policies may be playing into the hands of rivals like China, who are only too eager to exploit US weakness wherever they see an opening.”
Tags: America first, Disruptive policies, Dollar, Exploit, Forex, Global reserve currency, Greenback, International trade, Powerful, President, U.S., Xi, Yuan
Time (November 24)
Only half a month after Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi “met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what both sides said affirmed bilateral ties,” a growing “rift” has emerged that “could cost both countries.” The pain is already being felt in Japan, where lost tourism during the remainder of the year could deal an economic blow of between $500 million and $1.2 billion, while China is likely to share in the pain if “the dispute drags out.”
Tags: $1.2 billion, Affirmed, Bilateral ties, China, Cost, Dispute, Economic blow, Pain, Rift, Takaichi, Tourism, Xi
Reuters (September 25)
“Hopes that the People’s Republic would step up to be the leader in battling global warming… appeared to take a hit when Xi said the country would cut its emissions by a measly 7% to 10%. But this looks like a clear case of consciously underpromising in order to overdeliver.” China is likely to “breeze past its target. Hitting Xi’s 2035 goal of 3,600 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity would, for example, mean adding just 200 GW a year. That’s 44% lower than the 360 GW installed in 2024.” The publicly stated “climate goal also downplays the role electric and hybrid vehicles already play” with plans “that new energy vehicles would be mainstream in a decade, yet they already make up around half of all new car sales.”
Tags: 2035 goal, China, Climate goal, Downplays, Emissions, Global warming, HEVs, Hopes, Leader, Mainstream, Overdeliver, Solar, Target, Underpromising, Wind, Xi
Bloomberg (May 12)
“Xi Jinping’s decision to stand his ground against Donald Trump could hardly have gone any better for the Chinese leader…. The Trump administration’s retreat from sky-high tariffs wouldn’t have occurred if China hadn’t responded so forcefully, not only with retaliatory duties but also export controls and other steps.”
Tags: China, Decision, Duties, Export controls, Forcefully, Leader, Responded, Retaliatory, Retreat, Sky-high tariffs, Trump, U.S., Xi
Wall Street Journal (March 21)
“At this point you have to ask: Is China’s economy real anymore?” While recent “economic news out of Beijing sounds so good,” it is driven by non-sustainable “subsidies for upgrades of business and household equipment.” Mr. Xi has fallen “back on the export dependence that so irritates trading partners while leaving China’s economy as vulnerable as ever to foreign protectionism.”
Tags: Beijing, Business, China, Economy, Equipment, Export dependence, Household, Irritates, Protectionism, Subsidies, Sustainable, Trading partners, Upgrades, Vulnerable, Xi
Barron’s (January 26)
“A chilling effect has spread throughout the Communist Party ranks as President Xi Jinping intensifies his crackdown on corruption. Those fears are beginning to extend into China’s business world” where the private sector is increasingly “nervous because of the size and scope of Xi’s campaign to rid insubordination or perceived enemies throughout the government and public sector.” In 2024, the campaign’s scope expanded by roughly 46%, with authorities disciplining 889,000 people, “the highest annual total since the party began releasing such data nearly 20 years ago.”
Tags: Authorities, Chilling, China, Communist party, Corruption, Crackdown, Disciplining, Enemies, Fears, Government, Insubordination, Nervous, Private-sector, Xi
Foreign Affairs (April 24)
Assuming Peak China has arrived is “both ill advised and premature.” Chinese President Xi Jinping “still believes China is rising, and he is acting accordingly.” He remains determined to achieve his “China Dream” by 2049. In fact, Xi and most Chinese elites “believe it is the United States that is in terminal decline. For them, even if China is slowing down, the power gap between the countries is still narrowing in China’s favor.”
Tags: 2049, Dream, Elites, Ill advised, Narrowing, Peak China, Power gap, Premature, Rising, Slowing down, Terminal decline, U.S., Xi
The Economist (March 6)
“So far the signals” from China’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress “are not reassuring. They suggest that China lacks a robust plan to deal with its economic slump and that some of its targets are drifting from reality. Power is concentrating even further in the hands of President Xi Jinping.”
Tags: Annual meeting, China, Concentrating, Economic slump, Lacks, National People's Congress, Power, Reality, Reassuring, Robust plan, Signals, Targets, Xi
Wall Street Journal (March 5)
“It is the end of the Chinese growth miracle as we know it, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping seems fine with that. The question now is whether he can steer the country onto a new course— and keep the rest of China on board.”
The Week (January 5)
Taiwan’s January 13 presidential election “will have major implications for domestic and global politics.” Current president Tsai Ing-wen is limited to two terms and must step down. Current favorite Vice President Lai Ching-te is likely to continue cozy relations with the U.S., further distancing Taipei and Beijing. His victory might “rankle Xi’s government and increase pressure in the form of military activities around the island.”
Tags: Beijing, Favorite, Implications, January 13, Lai, Military activities, Politics, Presidential election, Pressure, Rankle, Successor, Taiwan, Tsai, U.S., Victory, VP, Xi
