Consumer spending in China might be in the doldrums, but a remarkable exception is the movie industry, says business analyst Ben Cavender in the Wall Street Journal. Visiting film theaters has become an affordable time out for friends and families of more tight-fisted consumers, he says. The planned expansion of the number of theaters to 5,000 per year shows the industry’s optimism. Also: domestic movies are doing better than the previously popular foreign competitors.Read More →

Despite the hope of the international financial community, China is not heading for structural reforms, says leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of  China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, to CNBC. Pushing up demand is not high on the agenda for China’s leadership, he says, and they do not want to push up debts levels to new heights.Read More →

Business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The Split: Finding the Opportunities in China’s Economy in the New World Order, explains why China’s mini-bazooka will not help its economy in the long run. People need a serious fiscal stimulus, so they are confident about the economy again, he argues in a talk with David Lin. “People have to feel safe again before they are going to spend the money they made again,” he adds.Read More →

Some e-commerce firms in China have profited from a rally of their stocks, triggered off by a major financial stimulus, but that might not help the economy to really improve, says financial analyst Shaun Rein at CNBC. It’s a rally of exuberance, he adds, and might only triple down into the economy in six to nine months. The real problem is for example companies cannot fire their staff very easily, and make their lives hard, hoping they will leave by themselves, he says.Read More →

China’s massive financial stimulus is good for the short term, but the economy needs more structural change, away from real estate, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein to CNBC. While it is good Xi Jinping moves away from politics and ideology and turns to the economy, more is needed to restore long-term confidence in the economy by the consumers, he adds.Read More →

China’s electric car makers are doing pretty well, certainly domestically and – perhaps except the US – also internationally, says leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know. Excess capacity seems mainly a problem for traditional car makers, as demand for EV vehicles is only picking up. Internationally EV makers might face some restrictions, but they seem able to manage those, Kroeber adds in a debate organised by the Asia Society.Read More →

Pinduoduo (PDD) suffered an unprecedented 30% decline in its share value at the start of this week, but business analyst Shaun Rein sees here an opportunity for investors. Buy PDD, he tells them on CNBC. The company has hit a wall through China’s consumer decline in trust, but he sees enough possibilities to grow overseas, especially with Temu, he adds.Read More →

China’s eateries have been slashing their prices up to half to woo consumers, but marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok warns that this trend might hurt the businesses, as their costs do not go down, she tells Channel News Asia. Business models and their effects do vary a lot, depending on the age group the industry is focusing on, she adds.Read More →