China Economics Weekly Leadership signals fiscal priorities for 2026 Improving the allocation of fiscal spending, rather than significantly increasing the scale, looks set to be the government's priority going into next year. That's something that's clearly needed –... 5th December 2025 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly Waning support for developers may drag on construction Vanke's plan to delay repayment of an onshore bond points to fading state support for non-SOE developers. The risk this poses to financial stability is probably manageable. But it threatens to... 28th November 2025 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly Property stimulus plans, Japanification of the bond market Policymakers are mulling a new property stimulus package, including mortgage subsidies for new homebuyers. But this is unlikely to revive demand, as most households remain reluctant to buy in a... 21st November 2025 · 4 mins read
China Economics Weekly Concerns about bank margins don’t preclude easing As the tailwind from fiscal loosening diminishes, the case for more monetary support will increase. And while the PBOC’s latest policy report flags narrowing bank margins as a concern, this may... 14th November 2025 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Lower growth targets, more barriers to foreign chips China’s leadership appears to be quietly de-emphasizing a target to double the size of the country’s economy between 2020 and 2035, focusing instead on a slightly less ambitious per capita goal that... 7th November 2025 · 8 mins read
China Economics Weekly Tariff cut isn’t the biggest trade truce win for China The halving of fentanyl tariffs won’t have much of an impact on China's economy. More consequential for China is the suspension of the Entity List Affiliates Rule, which buys thousands of firms time... 31st October 2025 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly Five-Year Plan teasers suggest rebalancing will be slow Officials have pledged to significantly increase the consumption share of GDP. But the wider messaging on China’s upcoming Five-Year Plan suggests that efforts to further expand the supply-side of the... 24th October 2025 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly Trade war flashpoints, PBOC holds renminbi steady The recent escalation in US-China trade tensions seems to have resulted in an impasse, with both sides looking to the other to initiate deescalation. For now, the Xi-Trump meeting at the APEC summit... 17th October 2025 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly Soft holiday data underscore weak consumption outlook Retail sales growth slowed over the summer and there were no signs of a revival in consumer activity during the recent National Day holiday. With property prices still falling and the labour market... 10th October 2025 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly Early signals of Five-Year Plan priorities China's 15th Five-Year Plan will be finalised at the Fourth Plenum later this month. There are limited signs so far of a significant shift in the leadership's priorities – it seems likely that... 3rd October 2025 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Ceding developing country perks is a geopolitical play China's decision this week to forgo its developing country benefits at the WTO won't have significant economic implications, not least because the WTO has little power these days to compel members to... 26th September 2025 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly MoF signals that fiscal policy will stay supportive The fiscal deficit across China’s two main budgets expanded almost 40% y/y over the past three months. This isn’t sustainable, and the pace of fiscal loosening will almost certainly slow over the... 19th September 2025 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Government bond yields rising, tariff barriers climbing We're sceptical that the government's supply-side reform will succeed in pulling the economy out of deflation, suggesting the recent rise in government bond yields won't be sustained. And, while... 12th September 2025 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly Export resilience is a symptom of domestic weakness We are re-sending this Weekly due to a technical error. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. Policymakers in China seem more concerned about the overcapacity problem than the trade war with the US... 5th September 2025 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly China spurns Nvidia as it plans domestic AI boom Rather than welcoming improved access to Nvidia chips, Chinese officials are discouraging purchases and focusing on boosting domestic chip output. This dovetails with a wider AI+ plan, fleshed out... 29th August 2025 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly Millions are about to see their take-home pay fall From 1st September onwards, companies in China and their employees will no longer be able to avoid making social security contributions. This will pave the way for higher pay-outs over the medium-term... 22nd August 2025 · 5 mins read
