Washington Post (November 4)
“This week has brought a flurry of speculation over the possibility that Beijing might alter course nearly three years into the pandemic. Investors are watching for signs of recovering demand in China, the world’s second-largest economy, and an end to disruptions to manufacturing and transport that have affected global supply chains.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Disruptions, Economy, Investors, Manufacturing, Pandemic, Possibility, Recovering demand, Signs, Speculation, Transport
Nikkei Asia (October 31)
“A record sell-off of China stocks has revealed investors’ fears over the country’s largest companies after Xi Jinping secured his third term,” cementing his grip on leadership. Any hopes “that China’s down-beaten tech sector would revive” or that more open borders might “boost the economy were apparently dashed” when the CCP’s national congress affirmed a Politburo Standing Committee most “notable for a lack of reform-minded top leaders.”
Tags: Borders, CCP’s, China, Companies, Dashed, Down-beaten, Economy, Fears, Grip, Hopes, Investors, Leadership, Politburo Standing Committee, Record, Reform, Sell-off, Stocks, Tech sector, Xi
The Times of India (October 30)
“The developed world’s depletion of global atmospheric commons has led to extreme climatic events across the planet. Climate change is already upon us due to industrialisation in Europe and North America in the past, and in China more recently. Countries that have contributed the least towards historical global emissions — countries that are still developing and poor — are left to fend for themselves. Global poverty has underwritten the riches of the developed world.” India cannot “be expected to pay for climate sins of the West.”
Tags: China, Climate change, Depletion, Developed, Developing, Emissions, Europe, Extreme climatic events, Global atmospheric commons, India, Industrialisation, North America, Poor, Riches
Financial Times (October 30)
Empty housing poses an increasing threat to both Japan and China. The former already grapples with surplus units while the latter “may already have enough housing to meet its future needs.” Nomura Research Institute has forecast that in Japan, “even as the number of empty units roughly doubles between 2023 and 2038, construction will add more than 8mn new ones.” Due to the rise of single person households, the total number of households will only peak next year. From that point, “the housing surplus will rise more acutely and the downward pressure on property prices strengthen.” The major demographic issue facing China, “may be how to avoid a Japan-style property crisis.”
Tags: China, Construction, Demographic, Downward pressure, Empty, Households, Housing, Japan, NRI, Peak, Property crisis, Surplus, Threat, Units
The Guardian (October 23)
“As the leader enters his third term, there are increasing signs that the country is turning inwards, replacing the outside world with cyber ‘reality.’” It looks like “the China of the 2020s may be considerably less open than the one we have known for some four decades from the 1980s to 2020.”
Tags: 2020s, China, Cyber ‘reality’, Inwards, Leader, Open, Outside world, Signs
South China Morning Post (October 20)
“China faces an urgent need to devise a counterplan in the face of sweeping new tech controls imposed by the United States, as the implications of its unprecedented moves are seen extending far beyond China’s semiconductor industry and into advanced sectors that Beijing deems critically important drivers of future economic growth.”
Tags: Advanced sectors, China, Counterplan, Future economic growth, Implications, Semiconductor industry, Sweeping, Tech controls, U.S., Unprecedented, Urgent
Reuters (October 17)
“Local governments have long been a pump-primer of China’s growth, but declining state land sales revenue in the wake of an ongoing crackdown on debt in the sector has severely eroded their financial power – a situation exacerbated this year by China’s feeble growth, weak tax income and crippling COVID restrictions.” These bodies now face budget shortfalls of roughly $1 trillion. Amid China’s wobbly economy, “the timing couldn’t be worse.”
Tags: Budget shortfalls, China, COVID restrictions, Crackdown, Debt, Declining Land sales revenue, Economy, Eroded, Feeble, Financial power, Growth, Local governments, Pump-primer, Tax income
The Economist (October 13)
“The Communist Party has always been obsessed with control. But under President Xi Jinping that obsession has deepened. After three decades of opening and reform under previous leaders, China has in many ways become more closed and autocratic under Mr Xi.” The obsessive control is, however, weakening China.
Tags: Autocratic, China, Communist party, Control, Leaders, Obsessed, Opening, Reform, Xi
Investment Week (October 12)
Aside from shipping difficulties and “maritime headwinds” hitting China, “the property crisis, fuelled by debt defaults from property developers, has dented the likelihood of Chinese GDP hitting growth targets as local authority revenue takes a hit from land sale income decline. Sentiment has followed suit and many wonder when and where respite will arise.”
Tags: China, Debt defaults, Decline, GDP, Growth targets, Headwinds, Income, Land sale, Maritime, Property crisis, Property developers, Revenue, Sentiment, Shipping
The Guardian (October 12)
“Within a decade, the US will need to deter two major nuclear weapons powers for the first time,” as can be seen from “the Russian arsenal that is increasingly being brandished by Moscow and an expanding Chinese stockpile.” President Biden’s “new national security strategy (NSS) depicts China as the most capable long-term competitor, but Russia as the more immediate, disruptive threat.”
Tags: Arsenal, Biden, Brandished, Capable, China, Competitor, Deter, Expanding, Moscow, National security, Nuclear weapons, Russia, Stockpile, Strategy, U.S.
