China economy

China faces a paradox: structural challenges and slowing growth associated with the old economy, and a high-tech, globally competitive industrial sector in the new economy.

American companies caught in the middle of China-U.S. competition should remember: all geopolitics is local.

After years of attempts to increase the role of state-owned enterprises in the Chinese economy, Xi now hopes entrepreneurs will bail him out.

China’s leader attempted to downplay the country’s economic issues while seeking to boost private sector confidence.

The “whitelist” policy was supposed to restore financing to stalled projects. So why have housing completion and financing rates both dropped?

How China manages the challenges it faces, and how the region responds, will shape Asia’s future trajectory.

China’s economic woes, and a general lack of trust exacerbated by corruption scandals, are driving a downward trend in charitable giving.

Contrary to popular belief, Chinese consumers already spend much more of what they earn than their American counterparts. Low wages are to blame for stagnant consumption.

As economic integration falters, social ties also weaken. Without maintaining these connections, mistrust and misunderstanding will only grow.

Xi Jinping attempted to spin slower growth as a “remarkable” achievement.

Changes in the local cadre incentive structure are a crucial yet often overlooked factor in the performance of the Chinese economy.

The voices shaping economic strategy extend beyond the Communist Party’s inner circle to include a select “brain trust” of prominent economists.

If China is able to seize the opportunity to revitalize its domestic economy and invigorate the multilateral system, Trump’s trade war 2.0 could end up a strategic gift to Beijing. 

Despite comprehensive plans, market skepticism persists amid limited consumer stimulus and lingering long-term fiscal challenges.

Viewing the Chinese government through a prism of exceptionalism makes it hard for China bulls to imagine that the authorities might be unpredictable, capricious, and often wrong.

While not as dramatic as China’s abandonment of the zero-COVID policy in late 2022, the underlying reasons for the surprising turn in economic policy are quite similar. 

Liquidity isn’t enough – China needs fiscal action and structural overhaul for a sustainable recovery.

Will Beijing's new focus on finished homes and financial lifelines for developers bring stability, or are these just temporary fixes to a deeper crisis?

The CCP leadership pledged to prioritize domestic consumption and demand, but markets remain skeptical.

Insights from Benjamin Tsai.

The Third Plenum outcome suggests a mismatch between what the Chinese economy needs to recover quickly and what policymakers are prepared to deliver. 

The long-awaited economic-focused meeting of the CCP’s governing body emphasized Beijing’s commitment to growth centered on technology – and CCP control.

The second quarter’s 4.7 percent growth was far below the 5.3 percent pace seen in the first quarter of 2024.

China watchers should temper their expectations and anticipate incremental changes building off of existing policy rather than deep reform.