China

<strong>China’s AI ambitions: A path to global dominance or domestic instability?</strong>
25Mar mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

China’s AI ambitions: A path to global dominance or domestic instability?

China is rapidly emerging as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), leveraging its vast data resources, government-backed initiatives, and a highly competitive technology sector to challenge the dominance of Western tech giants.  Beijing’s aggressive push into AI has fuelled a high-stakes global showdown, with the United States and other nations scrambling to keep pace.  While AI dominance could secure China’s place as the world’s foremost technological power, it also poses significant risks—both for its domestic workforce and for global economic stability.  Experts warn that while AI promises unparalleled efficiency and innovation, it may also exacerbate mass layoffs at home and deepen geopolitical tensions abroad.China’s data advantage: The fuel for AI s...
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<strong>Mold, Metal, and More: China’s Food Safety under Fire</strong>
24Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Asia, China

Mold, Metal, and More: China’s Food Safety under Fire

The troubling reality of China's food safety scandals has reached alarming proportions, with pre-packaged bread and chain restaurants under intense scrutiny. This affordable and convenient staple, a favourite among consumers, has become a breeding ground for food safety disasters. While the market for pre-packaged bakery products is booming, the consequences of its rapid growth are impossible to ignore. The numbers tell a story of skyrocketing demand and a corresponding rise in safety issues. Between 2019 and 2023, China's pre-packaged bakery market doubled, growing from 124.8 billion Yuan (approximately $17 billion) to 243.8 billion Yuan (approximately $33 billion). Projections suggest this market will double yet again by 2028, reaching 773 billion Yuan (approximately $107 bil...
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<strong>China’s New Frontiers: Mapping Oceans, Dominating Space</strong>
21Mar mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

China’s New Frontiers: Mapping Oceans, Dominating Space

The reach of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) extends far beyond its borders, infiltrating oceans, space, and cyberspace. This multifaceted expansion has raised alarms globally, as nations grapple with the implications of China's strategic manoeuvres. From mapping the seabed to deploying advanced satellites and launching cyberattacks, the CCP's activities are reshaping the geopolitical landscape. The CCP's maritime ambitions are evident in its extensive seabed mapping operations. Under the guise of scientific research, Chinese fleets have been systematically charting waters near nations such as Myanmar, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These efforts, ostensibly conducted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, have sparked protests from n...
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The CCP’s Manoeuvring of Delivery Riders into Paying Social Insurance: Filling the Deficit Hole?
17Mar mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
China

The CCP’s Manoeuvring of Delivery Riders into Paying Social Insurance: Filling the Deficit Hole?

In mainland China, as unemployment continues to worsen across various industries, a growing number of individuals are turning to work as food delivery riders. Despite the gruelling nature of the job, its low entry barrier makes it an attractive option for many unemployed individuals facing desperate circumstances. However, with China's economy struggling, delivery riders' incomes have shrunk, and the pressure on them has intensified. One delivery rider expressed his frustration, mentioning that he works tirelessly from morning till night, earning just over 200 yuan (about $27). He noted that it was already 8:00 p.m., and he still had numerous future responsibilities, such as buying a car, a house, getting married, and having children. He felt overwhelmed by the chaos of these oblig...
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China’s Debt to Africa: A Balancing Act Between Development and Dependency
8Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
China, Market

China’s Debt to Africa: A Balancing Act Between Development and Dependency

China’s financial engagement with Africa has increased significantly over the past few decades, making it one of the continent’s most influential economic partners. This relationship, characterized by extensive loans and investments, has fuelled infrastructure development across Africa but has also sparked intense debate over the risks associated with rising debt levels. Critics warn of potential economic dependency and “debt-trap diplomacy,” while proponents argue that Chinese financing has been a crucial driver of Africa’s modernization. As of 2020, Chinese lenders accounted for approximately 12% of Africa’s external debt, which had grown more than fivefold since 2000, reaching $696 billion. Between 2000 and 2023, Chinese financial institutions extended 1,306 loans, to...
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China Rejects Pakistan’s $2 Billion Loan
8Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
China, Market

China Rejects Pakistan’s $2 Billion Loan

China rolled over a $2 billion loan to Pakistan, the adviser to the finance minister of Pakistan, Khurram Schehzad, told Reuters in a text message on Saturday. Pakistan is working to strengthen its finances after securing a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout in September 2024. The first installment of the loan is currently under review, and if successful, Pakistan will receive an additional $1 billion. Securing external financing has previously been a key condition for the IMF to approve bail-out deals for the cash-strapped nation. The South Asian nation needs to repay over $22 billion in external debt in fiscal year 2025, including nearly $13 billion in bilateral deposits, Fitch said
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China is expected to experience a protracted slump.
4Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
China, Market

China is expected to experience a protracted slump.

The risk of China spiralling into an unprecedentedly prolonged recession is increasing. Its economy is experiencing deflation, with the price level falling for a second consecutive year in 2024, according to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. It’s on track for the longest period of economy-wide price declines since the 1960s. Coupled with the collapse of the property sector, a looming trade war with the United States and demographic and debt overhang challenges, much of the Chinese public has lost confidence in the economy and its leadership. The country has the ingredients for a recession, and not a short one. It has spent too much on investment and needs to turn to consumption as a source of demand, but people are unwilling to spend. They have long had...
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As utilization of China’s C919 airplane grows, it passes the Lunar New Year test.
24Feb mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

As utilization of China’s C919 airplane grows, it passes the Lunar New Year test.

China’s first home-grown narrowbody aircraft, the C919, has taken another step towards proving its reliability, after handling a surge in flights during the Lunar New Year travel rush. The big three Chinese state-owned airlines used their C919 fleets more intensively than ever before, with each C919 staying in the air for an average of 6.5 hours per day over the 40-day holiday period. Though the airlines deployed their Airbus and Boeing aircraft even more, the holiday still represented a test for the C919, as its utilisation rate soared by 40 per cent compared with the same period last year. “The C919 demonstrated its reliability as a daily-use aircraft, and there are no significant weaknesses when compared with Airbus and Boeing,” said Li Hanming, a civil aviation analyst. Th...
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A veteran Treasury official cautions that although Trump’s tariffs threaten upheaval, China’s Xi Jinping may pose the greatest threat to the world economy.
23Feb mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

A veteran Treasury official cautions that although Trump’s tariffs threaten upheaval, China’s Xi Jinping may pose the greatest threat to the world economy.

China’s lopsided trade flows and Xi Jinping’s focus on manufacturing may represent the biggest danger to the global economy, according to former Treasury official Brad Setser. But he added that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are not the solution and could even make matters worse, especially if US trade policy remains unpredictable.China’s policies and the flood of exports it’s unloading around the world could pose the worst threat to the global economy, even eclipsing President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a former Treasury official. To be sure, Trump’s aggressive tariff stance has caused so much unpredictability that US trade partners don’t know how to react and businesses can’t plan, said Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a deputy assistan...
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China opens up as the United States erects barriers around its economy and threatens tariffs.
23Feb mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

China opens up as the United States erects barriers around its economy and threatens tariffs.

The United States is threatening to impose tariffs on its major trading partners. In the meantime, China is consolidating its position as the world’s manufacturing and technological innovation hub by increasing trade with the Global South. If the American role in globalization has been to consume the world’s products and resources by building on a foundation of ever-increasing debt, China’s has been to make tangible goods for the international market. China is opening up its economy, especially to the nations of the Global South. Effective December 2024, China eliminated all tariffs on goods from the least developed countries. Chinese Premier Li Quang has also described China as an economic opportunity for global investment. The centre of Asian tradeChina’s trade surplus with ...
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