China

16Feb By Michael SmithNo Comments
China, World

China’s Economy in the Year of the Dragon: It’s a bleak place

At the end of January, a Hong Kong judge ordered the liquidation of the heavily-indebted Chinese real estate giant Evergrande. It was just the latest piece of bad news for China’s economy, after a year of disappointing growth, high youth unemployment, and various surveys and media reports that show a lack of confidence amongst China’s entrepreneurs and consumers. Some observers have been predicting an economic collapse in China for decades. Others have long predicted that China would be stuck in a middle-income trap or some other type of economic stagnation. Might some of these predictions come true this time? What does the Year of the Dragon have in store for consumers, companies, and markets? What should we look out for this year to understand both China’s real economy and its financ...
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A think tank claims that while the collapse of Evergrande is not China’s “Lehman moment,” it does make economic recovery more difficult.
14Feb By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

A think tank claims that while the collapse of Evergrande is not China’s “Lehman moment,” it does make economic recovery more difficult.

China's crumbling property sector, its stock market crash, and its gummed-up economy have drawn some comparisons to the 2008 crash in the US. A few weeks ago, the Chinese property giant Evergrande received a liquidation order from a Hong Kong court, forcing the sale of its assets to repay the company's $300 billion worth of debt. This has spurred on the question: is the Evergrande collapse China's "Lehman moment?" The answer, according to one think tank, is no. But it does pose an obstacle to an economic rebound. "Evergrande's bankruptcy is not China's Lehman moment; its downfall is unlikely to immediately trigger a contagion across the entirety of China's financial system," Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a Council of Foreign Relations expert, wrote on Tuesday. Back in 2008, Lehman Brot...
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A <strong>$278 billion stimulus failed to revive China’s manufacturing growth</strong>
12Feb By Michael SmithNo Comments
China

A $278 billion stimulus failed to revive China’s manufacturing growth

According to 'Trading Economics,' the deposit Interest Rate in China averaged 1.03% from 1990 to 2023. The highest was 3.15% in July 1993 and is now ruling at 0.35%. This is like the developed nations. However, China is not a developed nation. It was definitely not so in 1990. Yet China's central bank kept the deposit rates low. Manufacturing and real estate were top gainers. The common people of China paid the price. Their hard-earned money didn't earn interest from the bank. They do not trust their capital market. They had no safe choice to grow money. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forced them to buy apartments as a means of investment. Property builders enjoyed every bit of it. They had both access to dirt-cheap project finance from banks and assured flow of customers. The bu...
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Beijing is strongly hit by the Economic downturn
8Feb By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China

Beijing is strongly hit by the Economic downturn

These days there is a common scene on the Beijing streets and this is quite shocking that every household skips New Year’s shopping online article.  Beijing never been this desolate, gets banned outside the street service centre, in Chaoyang District there is a queue of nearly 100 people dressed in thick coats, they slowly move forward. They are all selling blood to a blood donation vehicle parked in the courtyard. They are selling at RMB 800 for 200 cc and RMB 1200 for 300 cc.     China’s economy continues to decline with many foreign companies leaving and numerous private business closing down leading to a wave of unemployment.As the new year approaches reduction in wages become more common worsening the situation among the crowd selling blood, some struggle to pa...
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<strong>Meltdown in real estate sector exposes the Achilles heel of Chinese economy</strong>
6Feb By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China

Meltdown in real estate sector exposes the Achilles heel of Chinese economy

With a Hong Kong court ordering on January 29, 2024, the real estate giant of China Evergrande to undergo liquidation following a failed effort to restructure $300 billion in debt owed to banks and bondholders, it is clear that the crisis in the real estate sector in China is far from over. With the growth rate in the Gross Domestic Product in China restricted to only 5.2 percent in 2023 amid mounting concerns, waning investor confidence and a protracted property market slump, it is evident that there is no chance of an immediate recovery either in the real estate sector in China or of the Chinese economy. In this situation, the assertion made by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos on January 17 that India’s is an “extraordinary success story’ will not be music to the ears ...
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<strong>Chinese economy continues to remain in distress</strong>
5Feb By Michael SmithNo Comments
China

Chinese economy continues to remain in distress

The struggling Chinese economy has received another jolt after the annual exports reported a fall of around 5 percent in 2023-- which is the lowest since 2016.[1] Property crisis, lower manufacturing, and high unemployment rate have posed challenges to China's economy. All this does not sound well for the Chinese economy which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said is going to witness a slowdown for the next four years.   The exports in 2022 were worth USD 3,554 billion, which declined to USD 3,380 in 2023.[2] China is no longer the top exporter to the US as its share reduced to 13.9 percent in 2023 from 21 percent in 2017.[3] About 180 million Chinese people are dependent on export-related activities for their livelihood.[4] “Exports conditions remain fragile,” said Ding Shua...
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<strong>Stricter control measures in 2024 intensifies economic storm in China</strong>
30Jan By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

Stricter control measures in 2024 intensifies economic storm in China

China’s economy faced many challenges in 2023, such as fiscal deficits, real estate defaults, financial closures, and export decline. These affected the citizens’ welfare, causing lower property values, higher unemployment, and less spending. The situation did not improve, and more defaults were feared. However, at the Davos Forum, Chinese Premier Le Qiang claimed a 5.2% growth for China in 2023, exceeding the government’s target of 5%. This sparked doubts about its validity, and some even said that China had negative growth last year. What is China’s economic outlook for this year, and can it recover from the previous difficulties? Cai Shenkun, a prominent Chinese media figure in the US, said on the elite Forum that Le Qiang was deceiving himself and the world. He said that the 5.2% f...
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<strong>Elon Musk: China’s EV dominance a threat to local players</strong>
29Jan By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Market, World

Elon Musk: China’s EV dominance a threat to local players

Tesla maker Elon Musk has been critical of China’s rising authority in the EV market. He has called for global trade barriers in the EV market otherwise Chinese player BYD will demolish the local players. Musk’s comments are in response to “unimaginable” performance by Warren Buffett’s backed Chinese automaker BYD. BYD has surpassed Tesla as the world’s top-selling EV company in the last quarter. Tesla has been marred by slowing sales in the United States even after a price cut in 2023, while BYD’s cheaper EVs has propelled the Chinese automaker at the top spot. Musk while addressing a group of analysts accepted the competitive nature of Chinese carmaker BYD and predicted its success outside China, unless there are suitable trade barriers in place. He feels without any trade barrier...
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<strong>Deep in economic woes, China finds EU’s de-risking strategy too painful to bear</strong>
29Jan By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

Deep in economic woes, China finds EU’s de-risking strategy too painful to bear

After the 27-member European Union on January 24 unveiled a series of steps to de-risk itself from China, in an attempt to protect key sectors and emerging technologies from any possible security threat, Beijing, upset with the move of the 27-member bloc, has voiced its concern that it will have “profound implications for a wide range of areas, including investment, trade and technological cooperation.” But while in the expression of its frustration towards the EU’s de-risking strategy, China’s Foreign Ministry appears to be relatively restrained with spokesperson Wang Wenbin terming it as “protectionist and unilateral” move, Global Times which is mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, has been indisputably harsh in its comment against the 27- member bloc’s stand. “The EU’s pla...
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<strong>Will ‘Year of Dragon’ change China’s worry on Declining Population</strong>
22Jan By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

Will ‘Year of Dragon’ change China’s worry on Declining Population

According to Yuan Xin, the vice-president of the Population Association of China, there is a silver lining to the decline in China’s population this year: the cultural inclination to conceive a child during the Year of the Dragon. Many Chinese families believe that having a dragon baby will bring them luck and prosperity, and the statistics support this: the last Year of the Dragon, 2012, saw a surge in new births. However, it's important to acknowledge that while this cultural preference for giving birth in a fortunate year is cherished, it may not be sufficient to reverse the long-term downward trend in population growth, which requires urgent and effective measures to increase the birth rate. This is the message from demographic experts, as the latest data shows that China experienc...
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