Washington Post (February 8)
China’s President Xi Jinping would like the renminbi to become a globally recognized reserve currency. He “seeks to capitalize on the dollar’s value slipping to a four-year low and gold recently hitting an all-time high amid uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, threats to Federal Reserve independence and myriad geopolitical crises.” However, China appears to be “in no position to achieve his vision absent self-sabotage by the United States and free market reforms he is hesitant to undertake.”
Tags: Capitalize, China, Dollar, Fed, Geopolitical crises, Gold, Independence, Renminbi, Reserve currency, Self-sabotage, Tariffs, Threats, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty, Vision, Xi
European Business Magazine (February 2)
“Xi Jinping wants the renminbi to become a global reserve currency to reduce China’s dependence on the US dollar, strengthen financial sovereignty and expand Beijing’s influence over global trade and capital flows. While the currency’s use in trade settlement is growing, capital controls and limited market access remain key barriers to full reserve-currency status.”
Tags: Barriers, Capital controls, Capital flows, China, Currency, Dependence, Dollar, Financial sovereignty, Global trade, Influence, Limited market access, Renminbi, Reserve currency, Trade settlement, U.S., Xi
Wall Street Journal (January 29)
A “deflation doom loop” is “trapping China’s economy.” Despite the nation’s “extraordinary leaps in cutting-edge technology, from artificial intelligence to robotics,” China’s “relentless pursuit of growth through manufacturing has also created a lopsided economy, with much of it stuck in a deflationary spiral. China’s GDP deflator, a broad price gauge, has been negative since 2023, a sign of inadequate demand at home.”
Tags: 2023, AI, China, Deflationary spiral, Doom loop, Economy, GDP deflator, Growth, Lopsided, Manufacturing, Negative, Robotics, Technology
CNN (January 15)
“For China, the record $1.2 trillion annual trade surplus its authorities reported Wednesday is resounding proof of the resilience of its economy in the face of US trade friction.” The record surplus “also tells another story: one of the far-reaching potential for China’s massive export engine to reshape the global economy – and help Beijing win more leverage in its rivalry with the United States.”
Tags: $1.2 trillion, China, Economy, Export engine, Friction, Global economy, Leverage, Potential, Proof, Record, Resilience, Trade surplus, U.S.
Fortune (January 11)
“2026 begins with sharper risks for China: Geopolitical uncertainty, a struggling real estate sector, strained public finances, and elevated youth unemployment. Yet what draws companies to China—scale, innovation, and global influence— remain as compelling as ever.” The economics have changed and competition has increased. Success now requires greater discipline, but “for global businesses prepared to operate with this level of discipline, China can still be a lucrative market in the Year of the Horse.”
Tags: 2026, China, Competition, Discipline, Geopolitical uncertainty, Global influence, Innovation, Lucrative, Public finances, Real estate, Risks, Scale, Struggling, Year of the Horse, Youth unemployment
Wall Street Journal (January 9)
China drifting “closer to its own lost decade…. The Japanification of China still isn’t inevitable. But it’s more than five years since the property correction began. Absent a dramatic rethink in Beijing, China’s hopes of avoiding a lost decade are fading rapidly.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Drifting, Fading, Five years, Inevitable, Japanification, Lost decade, Property correction, Rethink
New York Times (December 28)
“Breaking China’s dominance will require creativity and patience…. The United States and its allies must solve their rare earth problem. The world’s democracies cannot depend on the most powerful authoritarian state — and an increasingly aggressive one — for critical minerals. The potential costs, to prosperity and freedom, are too great.”
Tags: Aggressive, Allies, Authoritarian, China, Costs, Creativity, Critical minerals, Democracies, Dominance, Patience, Prosperity, Rare earth, U.S.
Reuters (December 22)
“China will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on dairy products imported from the European Union, the latest in a series of measures against EU exports widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.” There are a range of duties on “unsweetened milk and cream and fresh and processed cheeses, including the iconic French Roquefort and Camembert,” but “most companies will pay just under 30%.”
Tags: Camembert, China, Cream, Dairy products, Duties, EU, EV, Exports, Milk, Processed cheeses, Provisional duties, Retaliation, Roquefort, Tariffs
Barron’s (December 19)
“Tencent Holdings has secured access to high-end Nvidia artificial-intelligence chips that remain restricted to Chinese buyers even after President Donald Trump’s recent semiconductor agreement with the country.” The arrangement exploits a loophole. Tencent will not own the chips outright, but instead access them “through a cloud service operated by Tokyo-based Datasection, which recently announced a deal to buy Nvidia’s flagship Blackwell chips” for use in its data centers. The loophole “undermines a recent assurance by Trump that Nvidia’s top technology would remain off limits to China.”
Tags: Access, AI chips, Assurance, Blackwell chips, Buyers, China, Cloud service, Data centers, Datasection, Loophole, Nvidia, Off limits, Restricted, Semiconductor, Tencent, Tokyo, Trump, Undermine
South China Morning Post (December 19)
“China reduced its US Treasury holdings in October to its lowest level in 17 years, as mounting concerns over US debt sustainability and the Federal Reserve’s independence further eroded confidence in dollar-backed assets. The country’s stockpile fell to US$688.7 billion in October, down from US$700.5 billion in September.” At the peak in 2013, China held approximately US$1.32 trillion in Treasuries.
Tags: 2013, Assets, China, Concerns, Confidence, Debt sustainability, Federal Reserve, Independence, Lowest, Peak, S, Treasuries, U
