China

<strong>Meltdown in real estate sector exposes the Achilles heel of Chinese economy</strong>
6Feb mmBy 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 mmBy 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 mmBy 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 mmBy 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 mmBy 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 mmBy 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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<strong>China gets restricted Nvidia computer based intelligence chips through dim business sectors</strong>
19Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, Market

China gets restricted Nvidia computer based intelligence chips through dim business sectors

Despite US export controls, China’s military and research sectors can still get Nvidia’s advanced AI chip. Experts say the US has not stopped the illegal trade of these chips in China. Proof has amassed that, in spite of the US's commodity controls, China's military-related firms, research focuses and colleges can in any case get Nvidia's very good quality man-made brainpower (computer based intelligence) chip. Innovation specialists say the Biden administration has bombed such a long ways to prevent little wholesalers from exchanging and sneaking the chips into the Chinese black business sectors. The US Trade Division's Department of Industry and Security (BIS) restricted the commodity of the A100 and H100 chips to China in October 2022 and the product of the A800 and H800 chips to the n...
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The Gavekal perspective: China investment and the Taiwan survey
18Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, World

The Gavekal perspective: China investment and the Taiwan survey

For once, the opinion polls were on the money. In Taiwan’s election, the Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Ching-te won the presidency with just over 40% of the vote, but the DPP lost its parliamentary majority. Of course, the reason the world was watching had little to do with Taiwan per se and everything to do with China. Taiwan is a key reason – although certainly not the only reason – why the majority of international investors today perceive China to be ‘uninvestible’. This perception is a marked turnaround from a year ago, when most investors – myself included – thought China’s post-Covid reopening would lead to a bounce similar to those seen in the US, the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia and elsewhere. Except the bounce might be even more potent, since China had been l...
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Many in China believe that the country’s economy is in a recession.
18Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, World

Many in China believe that the country’s economy is in a recession.

The night before China's civil service exam, Melody Zhang anxiously paced up and down the corridor of her dormitory, rehearsing her answers. Only when she got back to her room did she realise she had been crying the whole time.Zhang was hoping to start a career in state propaganda after more than 100 unsuccessful job applications in the media industry. With a record 2.6 million people going for 39,600 government jobs amid a youth unemployment crisis, she didn't get through."We were born in the wrong era," said the 24-year-old graduate from China's top Renmin University."No one cares about their dreams and ambitions anymore in an economic downturn. The endless job-hunting is a torture."A crisis of confidence in the economy is deterring consumers from spending and businesses from hiring and...
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China’s demographic dilemma and its effects on the world population
17Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, World

China’s demographic dilemma and its effects on the world population

GILLIAN TETT in Fool’s Gold, her fabulous book on the Global Financial Crisis, wrote that “silo thinking” was behind the collective failure to see the scale of the looming disaster. The regulators worked in silos and were thus unable to see the big picture, as they were also hoodwinked the Masters of the Universe. The same silo behaviour applied to the buyers and sellers of credit derivatives, who spectacularly failed to see the wood for the trees. The river flowing through the wood was, of course, polluted by highly toxic debt. When the river burst its banks, the trees were almost completely submerged. Several major petrochemical companies were close to bankruptcy in late 2008 and early 2009 because of the sudden collapse of petrochemical pricing happened, which left them with very...
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