China’s economic situation has deteriorated over the past two months, says business analyst Shaun Rein in a discussion on CNBC. The hope for a financial bazooka to boost the economy by the government has not materialized and is unlikely to do so. The government seems fine with the current 4/5% growth and also lacks the money to spend as tax income has remained poor, while geopolitical challenges forces the Chinese government to be prudent too.Read More →

Days are gone when Chinese consumers carried large plastic bags of cash to pay for houses, cars, international trips, and other big-ticket purchases. Credit cards are big among especially younger consumers, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein at the WSJ.Read More →

Financial expert Victor Shih dives into the 2024 figures at the annual NPC and concludes China cannot roll over debts anymore and finance its budget like it did before. He tells Bloomberg that central state policies have increasingly replaced a market-driven economy.Read More →

China is the only economy that has survived in history several downturns successfully, is the second largest economy, and as the largest country in population, we should focus on it, says Singapore-based super-investor Jim Rogers in an interview with FSC Board Member Andrew Pancholi.Read More →

One of the major nuisances for foreign visitors to China might be gone as the country’s major payment giants, Tencent (operating WeChat Pay) and the Ant Group (operating Alipay) agreed to accept foreign credit cards on their platforms. Up to now, visitors needed to have a Chinese bank account to use those common payment tools in China.Read More →

China’s real economic problem: they increase capital spending, but are not able to improve productivity that is already at a shockingly low level, says leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, at a panel at CSIS discussing with Thomas Orlik, Chief Economist for Bloomberg Economics, and author of the book, China: The Bubble That Never Pops. While an economic collapse is unlikely, a grinding halt to economic development might be its largest danger, Kroeber adds.Read More →

Almost half a year ago the real estate giant Evergrande started to fall apart under its 300 billion US dollar debts, but the collapse – expected by many – has not yet emerged. Financial analyst Sara Hsu explains in the Commercial Observer why this collapse has not happened.Read More →

China faces not only its most prominent problem Evergrande but a range of issues, says leading economist Arthur Kroeber in the New York Times. Shortage of electricity, dealing with its big tech companies and many other in-debted giants offer similar challenges. “The common feature of these crises: All were triggered by government policies,” he writes.Read More →