South China Morning Post (May 17)
“A larger fall of property investment and a slowdown of consumption continued to haunt China’s economic activities in April, despite Beijing having stepped up actions to boost consumer goods sales, upgrade equipment and solve the widely watched property slowdown.”
Tags: April, Beijing, Boost, China, Consumer goods, Consumption, Economic activities, Equipment, Fall, Haunt, Investment, Property, Sales, Slowdown
New York Times (May 14)
President Biden unveiled “a wave of new tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese products, ramping up duties on industries like electric cars and solar energy that are core to his economic agenda.” The new duties cover roughly $18 billion of annual Chinese imports and are in addition to the $300 billion worth of Chinese imports already covered by existing tariffs. The new tariffs will “appeal to voters in battleground states,” but it’s unclear if they will be “enough to rebuild America’s industrial base in a global race with China to lead in the new economy.”
Tags: $18 billion, $300 billion, Battleground states, Biden, China, Duties, Economic agenda, EVs, Imports, Industrial base, Solar energy, Tariffs, U.S., Unveiled, Voters
AP (May 13)
“The rapid emergence of low-priced EVs from China could shake up the global auto industry in ways not seen since Japanese makers exploded on the scene during the oil crises of the 1970s. BYD, which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams,’ could be a nightmare for the U.S. auto industry.” So far tariffs have shielded the U.S. market, but “Detroit needs to quickly re-learn a lot of design and engineering to keep up while shedding practices from a century of building vehicles.”
Tags: 1970s, BYD, China, Design, Detroit, Emergence, Engineering, EVs, Global auto industry, Japanese makers, Low-priced, Nightmare, Oil crises, Rapid, Shielded, Tariffs, U.S. market
The Hill (April 22)
“Anyone doubting that China is well on its way to a Japanese-style lost economic decade has apparently missed the bursting of its massive housing and credit market bubble and the souring of U.S. and European trade relations with that country.” Make no mistake, China’s fall “would constitute a major headwind for world economic recovery.”
Tags: Bubble, Bursting, China, Credit market, Europe, Fall, Headwind, Housing, Japan, Lost decade, Trade relations, U.S., World
Hong Kong Standard (April 10)
“The share price of Tianrui (1252), China’s ninth largest cement manufacturer, “slumped 99 percent in the 15 minutes before the market closed yesterday,” creating a penny stock. The “free fall…also slashed the company’s market capitalization to just HK$141 million from HK$14.6 billion – meaning HK$1 billion evaporated every minute.”
Tags: Cement manufacturer, China, Free fall, Market, Market-cap, Penny stock, Share price, Slashed, Slumped, Tianrui
Wall Street Journal (April 8)
“Japan knows the Ukraine stakes.” In contrast, U.S. critics, especially Republican members of Congress are wavering on Ukraine aid, suggesting “the war in Europe is a distraction from more serious threats in Asia.” Tokyo realizes “a Russian victory may encourage Chinese imperialism.” Hopefully, during his visit next week, Prime Minister Kishida “can disabuse” Republicans of their errant notion. His government’s foreign policy “reflects the seriousness of the current geopolitical moment. Japan recognizes that the threat to the well-being of free nations is global.”
Tags: Aid, Asia, China, Congress, Critics, Europe, Free nations, Japan, Kishida, Republican, Russia, Stakes, Threats, U.S., Ukraine, War, Wavering, Well-being
Fortune (March 23)
“Foreign businesses’ direct investment into China last year increased by the lowest amount since the early 1990s, underscoring Beijing’s challenges to spur its economy. It also has to contend with a steadily accelerating outflow of manufacturing as Apple and other American brands begin to position new capacity in countries from India to Southeast Asia to mitigate risks from US-China tensions.”
Tags: 1990s, Accelerating, Apple, Beijing, Brands, Capacity, Challenges, China, Economy, FDI, India, Investment, Manufacturing, Mitigate, Outflow, Risks, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (March 19)
“Foreign investors have increasingly shifted their investments to India from China in recent years, partly because of concerns over Beijing’s unpredictable policy moves and China’s sputtering economy.” The shift doesn’t necessarily shield them. “A recent clampdown on one of India’s biggest financial technology companies rattled investors and serves as a reminder that New Delhi can also make sudden moves with a hefty impact on companies and market value.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Clampdown, Concerns, Economy, Financial, Foreign, Impact, India, Investments, Investors, Shift, Shifted, Sputtering, Technology, Unpredictable
Forbes (March 15)
“As the Bank of Japan mulls its biggest policy pivot in roughly 25 years, no major economy may benefit more than China,” helping to counter the headwinds zooming China’s way.” Hoping to supplant the dollar as the global currency, China is hesitant to devalue its own currency. Yet, “for China, falling prices will just further undermine business and household confidence. It’s here where a rising yen could counter the headwinds zooming China’s way. And make China the real winner as the BOJ calls it quits on QE next week.”
Tags: BOJ, Business, China, Confidence, Devalue, Dollar, Falling, Global currency, Headwinds, Household, Major economy, Policy pivot, Prices, Rising yen, Undermine
Foreign Policy (March 11)
Some question China’s 5.2% GDP growth figure for the final quarter of 2023, but even assuming “the figures are accurate, the wider trends of the Chinese economy suggest a worrying state of affairs.” China’s real GDP figure exceeded its nominal figure. This “indicates that Beijing’s gross value of output in real terms was amplified thanks to negative inflation…. If not for deflation, China’s real GDP growth in 2023 would have been even lower and would have certainly missed the national target of 5 percent.”
Tags: 2023, Accurate, China, Deflation, Economy, GDP, Gross value, Growth, Negative inflation, Nominal, Output, Real GDP, Trends, Worrying
