China Economics Update Bond rollout intended to prevent infrastructure slump Policymakers are reportedly bringing forward some planned government bond issuance from next year to support infrastructure investment in the second half of 2022. This will help avert the slump in... 8th July 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update The limitations of China’s “new infrastructure” push Spending on high-tech “new infrastructure” should result in higher returns than adding more highways and railway lines. But it is not as effective a channel for cyclical policy stimulus. And a state... 7th July 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update What impact would removal of Trump tariffs have? Cancelling all of the Trump tariffs on China would give a smaller direct boost to China’s export sector than many might think. More important would be the signal a unilateral rollback would give that... 9th June 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update Why won’t the government help households? The view that policy support is best directed towards investment rather than consumption is deeply rooted in China. A few token consumer voucher schemes aside, this doesn’t seem to be changing. 8th June 2022 · 5 mins read
China Economics Update We think the renminbi will fall further While it has rebounded over the past couple of weeks, we expect the renminbi to resume its fall against the US dollar as China’s economy underwhelms, interest rate differentials continue to shift... 1st June 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update Policy easing stepping up The State Council has announced support measures totalling 1.7% of GDP. Most of this comprises incentives for banks to lend to struggling firms, rather than fiscal stimulus. The People’s Bank has also... 24th May 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update A helping hand for the housing market Today’s reduction to the five-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) should help drive a revival in housing sales, which have gone from bad to worse recently. But the lack of any reduction to the one-year LPR... 20th May 2022 · 3 mins read
China Economics Update No good options Officials are struggling to balance a raft of conflicting goals spanning everything from GDP growth, zero-COVID, exchange rate stability, deleveraging and regulation. We don’t expect much compromise... 12th May 2022 · 6 mins read
China Economics Update The PBOC disappoints again Despite calling on banks to nudge down borrowing costs, the PBOC stopped short of requiring that they lower the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) benchmarks this month. For now, policymakers are mostly relying on... 20th April 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update RRR cut alone will do little to boost credit growth The People’s Bank (PBOC) has just announced a cut to the reserve requirement ratio (RRR). This will help nudge down bank lending rates. But in order to make much difference to credit growth it needs... 15th April 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update PBOC shows surprising restraint amid downturn The People’s Bank (PBOC) forwent the opportunity to lower its policy rates today. That’s somewhat surprising given the sharp economic downturn and recent calls from China’s leadership for monetary... 15th April 2022 · 2 mins read
China Economics Update COVID-19 derails China’s domestic recovery yet again The current virus wave will deal the biggest blow to China’s service sector since the original outbreak. If the lockdowns already imposed can suppress infections quickly then disruption to industry... 16th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update China’s export hubs in worst outbreak since Wuhan Half of China’s exports are produced in areas that are now experiencing COVID outbreaks and three quarters of its exports are shipped from them. It is still possible that infections can be suppressed... 16th March 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update China stands to lose not gain from war in Ukraine As Russia becomes increasingly isolated, it will lean more heavily on China as a trading partner. That will present some opportunities for Chinese firms to take market-share from western suppliers and... 2nd March 2022 · 6 mins read
China Economics Update China can’t shield Russia from sanctions The financial sanctions that have been imposed on Russia by the West put significant practical constraints on China’s dealings with Russia even where they don’t restrict them directly. There is little... 2nd March 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update China won’t hurt itself to help Russia China’s leadership is trying to straddle a geopolitical divide. Russia is an ally, but being seen to take its side would hasten China’s decoupling from the West. Most likely, China will support Russia... 24th February 2022 · 3 mins read
