Crucial weeks for China’s economy

China’ struggle against the coronavirus has been on the front pages worldwide on the past weeks. Western CEO’s of companies with operations in China have been calling for calm and try to convince their audiences all is well for those operations. The question is whether that is more than wishful thinking.

China has been into lunar festival mode over the past weeks and all offices and factories would have been closed anyway. Damage might have been obvious in the consumer industry as even outside Wuhan many inhabitants kept off the streets. But the major question is now, as the lunar festival holidays end, whether China’s massive work force returns to their workplaces.Read More →

US pay the price on intellectual property and tariffs – Harry Broadman

The US gained very little in its trade agreement with China, says trade veteran Harry Broadman on NBC News. The text on trade secret does not add any value, and the US firms and consumers pay the price for tariffs, he says.Read More →

China spends 20 times more on mobile payments vs the US – William Bao Bean

The US is catching up to China, VC-veteran William Bao Bean jokes at AppsFlyer’s MAMA Minsk 2019 about the mobile payments in both countries. The US spends 50 billion US dollars per year on their mobiles, Chinese 12.5 trillion US dollar.Read More →

The US should not have taken on China alone – Harry Broadman

By trying to take on China alone on trade, the US failed to achieve real results in its first trade deal, says trade-veteran Harry Broadman to Bloomberg. China did not adhere to the multilateral trade deal it closed by joining the WTO, but Donald Trump failed to address the issues related to that.Read More →

Part 1 trade deal: just the start of real negotiations – Sara Hsu

China and the US might be signing a first trade deal, but that is just the start of prolonged negotiations, as even most tariffs will remain on the table, says financial analyst Sara Hsu in The Heat.Read More →

How China uses the Iran-US crisis – Victor Shih

China is profiling itself as a stabilizing actor on in world politics, after the US killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, says political analyst Victor Shih at the South China Morning Post. However, China’s presentation of itself as respectful of the sovereignty of other nations does not square with numerous examples of China looking to use its economic sway to influence other nations’ diplomacy or politics, Shih said.Read More →

Why “uncoupling” the US from China is not feasible – Arthur Kroeber

China and the US might be signing a first trade deal this month, economist Arthur Kroeber does not see much change. Uncoupling with economies is not possible, he argues, and the trade deal does not deal with the real problems, he tells in The New Yorker.Read More →

Why is China’s tech rise unsettling the US? – Kaiser Kuo

China tech expert Kaiser Kuo discusses why China tech rise is unsettling the US. He calls back two narratives that did not work out as expected: tech did not liberate us, and did not lead to more political freedom, but rather the opposite.Read More →

Irregularities hinder trade deal – Harry Broadman

Analysts watched the ‘announcement’ of a first trade deal between China and the US with amazement. Former US trade negotiator Harry Broadman points out that typically you wait till you have something in writing, in both languages, to avoid hiccups before the signing, he explains to Reuters.Read More →

Trade war, phase 2 – Arthur Kroeber

After a first symbolic truce, the world should brace for the next phase in the trade war between China and the US, warns leading economist Arthur Kroeber, according to Barron’s. China has stalled its economic reforms and mechanisms to contain the US power fail, and the technology war is likely to resume, he stresses.Read More →

Doubling US imports sounds not feasible for China – Arthur Kroeber

While a signing ceremony seems likely for January, some of the arrangements in the phase one trade deal between China and the US sound impossible to achieve, says economist Arthur Kroeber at Money Week. It “still has some hoops to pass through”, he says.Read More →

Is China a threat or just a tough competitor? – Sara Hsu

Financial analyst Sara Hsu compares on her weblog China and the US in trying to see if they are using different methods for getting a competitive advantage. Both do spy on each other and third countries, and China uses the One Belt, One Road (BRI) program to expand its power.Read More →