Yuan reaches 10 year high against strengthening dollar
The Dollar is rising and so is the Yuan!
Andrew C Johnston
Congress considers China ban on investment, key technology transfers
In anticipation of President Trump's return, Congress is considering a spending bill that includes a ban on technology transfers to and private investments with Chinese entities. The bill sets out broad prohibitions on outbound investment, and invokes national emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)
Weak Domestic Demand
Another weak economic report from China, where prices are hovering near deflation. Since late September, Beijing has ramped up stimulus announcements in a bid to prop up the faltering economy, including several interest rate cuts and loosened property purchase rules. On the fiscal front, the finance ministry unveiled a five-year
China is the big winner in the Ukraine-Russian war
China continues to benefit from Russia's desperate need for supplies to prosecute its quixotic war in Ukraine. Russia is unable to stop in its offensive goals (despite those goals repeatedly shrinking) because to do otherwise would be to acknowledge the failure of the entire enterprise. Which, in turn,
What the "Around 5%" growth target means
Xi Jinping, Paramount Leader of China, has often criticized the focus on growth rates, emphasizing 'quality growth' over a headline number, and this is a good point certainly. Still, the government is deeply committed to their process: Growth is targeted and achieved. This decision to aim for "
Housing Overhang
I enjoyed this excellent article from Architectural Digest on China's abandoned developments very much, it's a really great piece of reporting. The article spotlights a development of hundreds of mini-mansions in Shenyang, dating back to 2010. Construction stopped in 2012. They've been sitting there
Media-Driven 'Positivity'
Another day, another media-driven outrage in China. The government wants positivity, but the state media seems unable to deliver anything but anger and distrust. This time, it's all about Messi. The famous footballer didn't feel up for the match in Hong Kong, and the 'people&
Working together through hard times
In light of reporting that the US and China have had talks on fentanyl, I've been thinking about other areas that the US and China can work on. As China works through this economic rough patch, there would be big benefits in working together with global partners. The
Micro-enterprises then and now: Why I left China
I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw that China plans to encourage or subsidize small private businesses. The government’s attitude towards small businesses was very, very different back in 2013. The Bo Xilai case in 2012 had made it quite clear that China’s leadership was not
Liquidation, finally!
That Evergrande would end up in liquidation was never much in doubt, but here we finally are! Huge news out of Hong Kong, and the next few months will certainly be filled with interesting tidbits about the process unfolding. This is very much a story of how authoritarian governments don&
Political Imperatives
A lot of big news today on China's continuing economic problems. One thing I've been thinking about is the interesting news that China's football team was made to watch the confession video of their former coach. On the eve of the tournament, China’s
Krugman on China
Paul Krugman writes an excellent piece on China's economic woes. He hits most of the major issues, starting at the very top with bad leadership. Krugman writes that Xi Jinping is starting to look like a "poor economic manager". Over his 10 years in power, he&