China’s economy is not doing as well as it used to do, but hiding the financial data during the recent Party Congress was a bad move, says financial analyst Victor Shih, author of Coalitions of the Weak,  at ANI. “The very likely reason the numbers were delayed was the State Council leaders were afraid the numbers would detract from the triumphant tone of the party congress,” he added.Read More →

Many analysts took a negative view of Xi Jinping’s more centralized grip on China’s policies, but leading economist Arthur Kroeber looks at it differently, at least in the short run. Major problems like the zero-covid approach and the downturn of property have already benefited from Xi’s more coherent approach, Kroeber says at the Starr forum at MIT.Read More →

The German government has become much more assertive about the country’s wheeling and dealing with China. Veteran China lawyer Mark Schaub visited over the past few weeks Berlin and Munich and felt the pulse of the German business communities toward China, he reports in his China Chit-chat. “Politicians in Germany have limited ability to influence or pressure German business. Consumers can be upset … but will become upset about something else 5 minutes later,” he writes.Read More →

Political analyst Ian Johnson answers some basic questions on the upcoming 5-yearly meeting of the Chinese Communist Party at the website of the Council of Foreign Affairs. Most Polit bureau members will retire, Premier Li Keqiang will prepare for his replacement in March, and secretary-general Xi Jinping will be re-elected for his third term. What will it mean for Xi’s position?Read More →

China veteran lawyer Mark Schaub looks back at the three decades he was involved with China and assesses how the country might look like in 2023, in his China chit-chat. What can larger foreign companies and the smaller ones expect? And of course: what is happening to the joint ventures?Read More →