China

Can the Chinese economy match Aruba’s?
23Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

Can the Chinese economy match Aruba’s?

Xi Jinping has lofty goals for 2035. But China faces a real problem he island of Aruba, off the coast of Venezuela, has a population of just 108,000. Its economy, once dependent on breeding horses, pivoted into sifting gold then refining oil. Now it relies on attracting tourists to its white beaches, 24-hour casinos and daily games of bingo. An island just 32km long would not seem to have many bragging rights over the world’s second-biggest economy. But tiny Aruba has achieved something China’s leaders would dearly love to emulate. It more than doubled its GDP per person in less than 15 years. And it accomplished that feat even after reaching the income per person that China has recently attained.
Read More
China has lent more to US than any other country since 2000, report finds
21Nov mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China

China has lent more to US than any other country since 2000, report finds

China’s lending since the turn of the century has been “vastly” larger than previously understood, with loans and grants increasingly going to developed countries including the United States – the largest recipient – according to a new report by an American university research team. Of the US$2.2 trillion disbursed by China’s “official sector” between 2000 and 2023, nearly US$202 billion went to projects in the US, the AidData research lab at Virginia-based university William & Mary found. “Our data demonstrate that the US – a high-income country – is the single largest recipient of official sector credit from China. This finding is both unexpected and counterintuitive,” wrote researchers of the study released on Tuesday. “This is an extraordinary discovery, given that th...
Read More
<strong>China’s new 5-year plan: A high-stakes bet on self-reliance that won’t fix an unbalanced economy</strong>
12Nov mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China

China’s new 5-year plan: A high-stakes bet on self-reliance that won’t fix an unbalanced economy

Every few years since 1953, the Chinese government has unveiled a new master strategy for its economy: the all-important five-year plan. For the most part, these blueprints have been geared at spurring growth and unity as the nation transformed from a rural, agrarian economy to an urbanized, developed powerhouse. The task that faced China’s leaders as they met in early October 2025 to map out their 15th such plan was, however, complicated by two main factors: sluggish domestic growth and intensifying geopolitical rivalry. Their solution? More of the same. In pledging to deliver “high-quality development” through technological self-reliance, industrial modernization and expanded domestic demand, Beijing is doubling down on a state-led model that has powered its rise in recent ...
Read More
China’s Ant International Eyes Fintech In Saudi Arabia
11Nov mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China

China’s Ant International Eyes Fintech In Saudi Arabia

Ant International, the digital payments division of Ant Group from Hangzhou, China, has agreed with Abdul Latif Jameel Finance from Riyadh to jointly identify fintech projects in the Kingdom. The timing is no coincidence. Ant International, a global provider of digital payment and financial technologies headquartered in Singapore, and Abdul Latif Jameel Finance, a leading provider of innovative financing solutions regulated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The aim of the partnership is to promote the growth and competitiveness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Saudi Arabia (population 35.3 million) through advanced digital services. According to SAMA, by the end of the second quarter of 2025, 79 percent of paymen...
Read More
China’s path to strong national finance
11Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

China’s path to strong national finance

Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the Fourth Plenum in Beijing last month outlined the guidelines for the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). There was a clear determination to focus on technological self-reliance, building a “high-quality productive forces” economic model based on innovation and a strong industrial base that would be resilient against external threats and headwinds. At the Beijing Finance Street Forum at the end of October, Vice Premier He Lifeng stressed the need for China's financial system to advance risk prevention, strengthen regulation, promote high-quality development and push for high-standard opening-up. Since 2026-30 will be a key period for basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, a high-quality productive real economy model wil...
Read More
Key factors influencing success and failure of public-private partnerships in China
9Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

Key factors influencing success and failure of public-private partnerships in China

As an important instrument for infrastructure financing, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have been widely utilised by the Chinese government. China Finance Review International (CFRI) brings you an article titled “Determinants for the Desirability of Public-Private Partnership Mode in Infrastructure Development”, which examines the factors that influence the success and failure of PPP projects in China. With nearly 14,000 PPP projects proposed between 2009 and 2022, representing over 20 trillion yuan in investment, the study addresses growing concerns about local government implicit debt and the need for more sustainable partnership models. Methodology and Scope Using a manually collected dataset of over 12,000 PPP projects from 2019 to 2022, the author analyse...
Read More
China-US ties find ‘stable equilibrium’ but tech disruptions loom: financial leaders
4Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, USA, World

China-US ties find ‘stable equilibrium’ but tech disruptions loom: financial leaders

Global trade tensions, stoked by China-US tariffs, are settling into a steadier balance as the world braces for fresh challenges from rapid technological disruptions, financial leaders said on Tuesday at a summit in Hong Kong. The China-US relationship had entered into a more “stable equilibrium” after last week’s talks between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, despite the noise on the surface over tariffs and other trade disputes, said William Ford, chairman and CEO of US private equity firm General Atlantic, at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit. “Below the water line, there was actually a much more constructive engagement, as evidenced by [US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent] and some of the Chinese leaders in their five m...
Read More
Starbucks to sell majority stake in China business
4Nov mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
China

Starbucks to sell majority stake in China business

Starbucks says it is selling a 60% stake in its business in China as part of a $4bn (£3.04bn) deal with investment firm Boyu Capital. Under the agreement, the world's biggest coffee chain will have a 40% stake in the Chinese retail operation and retain ownership of the Starbucks brand there. Starbucks entered Chinain 1999 and the country is now its second-largest market outside the US, but has struggled in recent years with the rise of homegrown brands like Luckin Coffee. The business will continue to be headquartered in Shanghai and will own and operate 8,000 outlets in the Chinese market, with plans to grow to as many as 20,000 locations, the firm said on Monday. The partnership with Boyu is a "significant milestone" and signals its plans for long-term growth in Chi...
Read More
China Boosts Cross-Border Financial Services
3Nov mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
China

China Boosts Cross-Border Financial Services

China's financial regulator plans to support Chinese banks and insurers to use Hong Kong as a hub for international financial services. Zhou Liang, vice minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, announced improved regulatory cooperation to mitigate cross-border financial risks between the mainland and Hong Kong. China's financial regulator is set to enhance support for Chinese banks and insurers, leveraging Hong Kong as a gateway for expanding financial services to Chinese enterprises venturing overseas. The announcement was made by Zhou Liang, the vice minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, on Tuesday. In an effort to address financial challenges that could arise from cross-border business, the regulator is committed to improving the f...
Read More
China sets ‘technological self-reliance’ as a key goal for the next 5 years
30Oct mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China

China sets ‘technological self-reliance’ as a key goal for the next 5 years

China’s top leadership has made “technological self-reliance and self-strengthening” a key goal in a proposal for the next five-year plan, as it grapples with export controls from the West amid an intensifying global tech race. It is the first time in at least a decade that technological self-reliance has been set as a major goal for the country’s social and economic development. The goal was included in a detailed proposal for China’s 15th five-year plan from 2026 to 2030, which was released on Tuesday by the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party following its fourth plenum last week. The full plan will be unveiled in March during the annual session of the top legislature. The proposal was released following a key political meeting last week....
Read More