China places state investigators in Didi’s offices to conduct security probe July 16, 2021 Beijing’s heavyweight state spy industry and six other government departments have swooped on ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing’s offices to conduct a security investigation. The bold move comes after Chinese authorities opened an investigation into Didi for allegedly violating user privacy, just days after its $4.4bn listing in New York last month. As of yet, there [...]
China’s post-pandemic economic rebound slows July 15, 2021 The recovery of China’s economy from the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down, official figures have shown. Gross domestic product increased by 7.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2021. Compared to last year, this was less than half the rate seen in the previous quarter. It also missed economists’ forecasts of 8.1 per cent [...]
China’s post-pandemic growth slows as government aims for more stable course July 15, 2021 China’s fast rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic has now slowed, according to official figures. The nation’s GDP for the second quarter of 2021 was up 7.9 per cent on the same period in 2020, falling short of economist’s forecasts of 8.1 per cent growth. It was less than half the growth seen in the first [...]
US issues warning over doing business in China’s Xinjiang province July 14, 2021 The US has issued a warning to companies doing business in China’s Xinjiang province. The Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory said that businesses and firms who still have supply chains and investment ties in the Chinese region ‘could run a high risk of violating US law.’ Washington cited evidence of genocide and other human rights [...]
Global investors snap up more than $800bn Chinese assets July 14, 2021 Investors around the world have bought more than $800bn Chinese stocks and bonds at a record pace, despite Beijing’s geopolitical rivalry with international states. Global investors have poured into Chinese markets, in spite of huge political tensions stemming from Beijing’s repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, erosion of Hong Kong freedoms, and battles with the US [...]
City A.M. TV: A market snapshot (video) July 2, 2021 US markets have continued their grind higher this week with the S&P500 eking out gains on all four trading sessions so far. Across the globe, though, the strength in other equity markets has been less marked: In the Euro zone most equity markets have traded sideways or even lower over the course of June; in [...]
China crackdown sends Bitcoin tumbling below $30,000 June 22, 2021 The price of Bitcoin tumbled below $30,000 for the first time since January, wiping out all its gains for the year. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency plummeted by as much as 12 per cent to $28,893 on Tuesday, after China’s central bank intensified a crackdown on cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has fallen 50 per cent from its April peak [...]
The damning case against China over Covid-19 deserves proper attention June 1, 2021 As John Stuart Mill so eloquently wrote: “the only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” Fortified by this moral admonition, I went on to write an April 2020 piece in CapX, charging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with direct culpability in the spread of [...]
Growth narrative may shift as pre-pandemic challenges reappear May 10, 2021 Two major events took place in the world’s two largest economies recently that have the potential to directly impact us here in the UK. The first is the passage of President Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill in the US last month. The second is the recent meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing. Taken together, [...]
China records best ever GDP growth in post-Covid bounce-back April 16, 2021 China’s economy grew by the fastest rate in its history as the country left last year’s lockdowns far behind. The world’s second biggest economy saw GDP grew 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period the year before. It is the fastest rate of growth since China began tracking [...]