Vaccine impact, tech crackdown, renminbi

The coming week’s retail sales data are likely to signal that consumer spending, the part of China’s post-lockdown recovery that has lagged the most, is back to health. China is a rare example of a country that wouldn’t see major economic benefits, at least initially, from an effective coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, the past week has brought further evidence of campaigns to rein in China’s tech giants and to constrain the autonomy that underpins Hong Kong’s success as an international financial centre.   We’ll be holding a pair of webinars on Tuesday to discuss the near-term outlook, Five-Year Plan, US-China relations and long-run prospects, all in 45 minutes. We hope you can join us. Sign up here.