BBC (February 21)
“Chinese President Xi Jinping last year officially opened a bridge connecting Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai—the world’s longest sea crossing bridge—as part of China’s plan to connect Greater Bay Area.” This ambitious plan seeks to spur economic development and “lays out strategic visions for the major cities in the region to become hubs in different sectors.” For example, “Hong Kong would strengthen its status as a finance and trade hub” while Shenzhen would be a tech hub and “Macau would focus on tourism.” An impressive plan, but “analysts question whether its lofty goals can be achieved.”
Tags: Ambitious, China, Finance, Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Tech hub, Trade, Xi, Zhuhai
The Economist (December 8)
“Already at risk of unraveling,” the unsteady truce between China and the U.S. has just become more precarious. “Even before news of Ms Meng’s arrest, global stocks see-sawed as investors wondered if hostilities might resume.” For China, at least her arrest “looks like a political salvo. Huawei is a pillar of the Chinese economy—and Ms Meng is the founder’s daughter. The fate of the trade talks could hinge on her encounter with the law.”
Tags: Arrest, China, Hostilities, Huawei, Investors, Meng, Risk, Stocks, Trade, Truce, U.S., Unraveling, Unsteady
Bloomberg (November 2)
China’s belt and road master plan “to project Chinese power, influence and trade across much of the world could well undermine all three.” The trillion-dollar global infrastructure scheme has gotten out of control. “A scaled-down, better-managed Belt and Road—guided more by economics and less by politics—should, as intended, promote growth and trade across the region and beyond. That would serve everybody’s interests.”
Tags: Belt and road, China, Economics, Growth, Influence, Infrastructure, Politics, Power, Trade
Wall Street Journal (October 17)
“Facing U.S. trade sanctions, the world’s largest exporting nation, China, is cultivating a new image—as an importer.”
Wall Street Journal (September 19)
“If Mr. Trump wants to change Chinese behavior, he should first finish a new Nafta, drop his blunderbuss steel tariffs on allies, forget new auto tariffs, negotiate a zero tariff deal with Europe, and re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Then he could “lead a coalition to confront Xi Jinping from a position of strength with targeted trade enforcement rather than scattershot tariffs. The real worry is that Mr. Trump supports tariffs for their own sake, and he may not want a China deal. With Donald Trump and trade, you never know.”
Straits Times (September 18)
On Monday, Donald Trump “effectively broadsided one of the world’s largest trade relationships, announcing plans to proceed with tariffs on another US$200 billion in US imports of Chinese goods.” Combined with previous tariffs, “this means roughly half of everything Americans buy from China…is now subject to punitive import duties. Whole industrial sectors stand to feel the effects, including agriculture, manufacturing, textiles and retail.”
Tags: Agriculture, Broadsided, China, Duties, Import, Imports, Manufacturing, Punitive, Relationships, Retail, Tariffs, Textiles, Trade, Trump, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (July 18)
To “counter U.S. protectionism, the EU and China are drawing closer together.” While the EU remains at odds with China on certain trade issues, Trump’s tariffs have helped to paint China in a better light globally. “China has increasingly used the mounting trade spats to portray itself as a protector of the rules-based international order, while chastising the U.S. for disrupting global commerce…. China’s engagement with the EU is driven by its desire to keep open world markets that its manufacturers need to thrive.”
Tags: China, Commerce, EU, Manufacturers, Markets, Protectionism, Protector, Tariffs, Trade, Trump, U.S.
South China Morning Post (July 6)
As the U.S. and China begin to “spar over trade, Japan may avoid a direct hit – for now.” While the first round of tariffs is “expected to have limited impact,” the dispute “could lead to further appreciation of yen and punitive duties on Japanese cars” if it continues to spiral out of control.
Reuters (July 5)
“Investors watching the trade tit-for-tat between the United States and China may well have reason to fear the havoc a full blown conflict between the world’s two biggest economies could wreak on the global economy.” Furthermore, the collateral damage could be worse than that done to the principals. Due to global supply chains, countries like Taiwan, Hungary, the Czech Republic, South Korea, and Singapore could be equally if not more vulnerable” to fall out from the spat between the U.S. and China.
Tags: China, Collateral damage, Conflict, Czech Republic, Global economy, Hungary, Investors, Singapore, South Korea, Supply chains, Taiwan, Tit-for-tat, Trade, U.S., Vulnerable
The Independent (July 3)
“Any plan to rely on American trade to make up for the loss of EU benefits caused by Brexit are now merely a fantasy. Ironically, the push to remain in the EU might benefit from the US’s lurch toward insanity; the Brexit vote came when people assumed America would have a rational leader at the helm.”
