China Economics Weekly Blue wave makes a lasting US-China reset even less likely While Trump still has relatively free rein over trade and foreign policy, his weakened position in Washington means that Republicans in Congress may be more willing to join the Democrats in resisting... 6th November 2026 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly A worrying shift in corporate loan demand On the surface, bank loans to corporates are still growing at a healthy clip, with weaker lending for property development and infrastructure largely offset by stronger lending elsewhere. But a... 30th October 2026 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly China’s long chase after the US AI Goliath China’s AI computing capacity is expanding rapidly, but the gap with the US remains substantial and could widen further. Chinese AI models are likely to remain competitive. But limited access to... 23rd October 2026 · 4 mins read
China Economics Weekly Bond market déjà vu for the PBOC The PBOC again faces the question of whether to intervene as China’s 10-year government bond yield approaches its historic low, a situation that prompted the central bank to suspend bond purchases in... 16th October 2026 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly PBOC pushes back against RMB undervaluation claims The PBOC has attempted to set the record straight on the nature of its FX intervention and refute claims that currency depreciation is driving China’s soaring trade surplus. While we agree that a... 9th October 2026 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly AI trade surplus rising, despite surge in chip imports China's trade deficit in chips and computing equipment has increasing significantly over the past year as imports have surged. But an even larger pick-up in exports of other goods required to build... 2nd October 2026 · 4 mins read
China Economics Weekly President Xi’s US visit: Little beyond a short reprieve The lack of any tangible outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit, beyond a shorter-than-expected extension of the current trade truce, highlights the deep distrust between the two sides. While more... 25th September 2026 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly President Xi’s US visit: What’s on the table? We doubt that next Thursday’s summit between Presidents Trump and Xi in Washington will deliver any major breakthroughs that change the trajectory of US-China relations. The two leaders will discuss a... 18th September 2026 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Another rare earths crunch China's rare earth exports have been falling ever since Presidents Trump and Xi met in May, despite US suggestions that China had committed to keep shipments flowing. There has been no public pushback... 11th September 2026 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly US-China AI gap widens again The release of several new US models this week has pushed Chinese AI further away from the frontier. US AI labs appear to be eroding China's cost advantage too. But it is too soon to conclude that... 4th September 2026 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly PBOC leans against RMB gains, sanction risks limited The premium between the renminbi spot rate and the PBOC’s daily fix is now at its largest in over a decade, a sign that the central bank is becoming more resistant to further appreciation. The PBOC is... 28th August 2026 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Fiscal tweaks, labour market holding up In a press conference today, officials from China's Ministry of Finance pledged to ramp up the pace of fiscal spending in the second half of the year. This will mainly come from better use of existing... 21st August 2026 · 4 mins read
China Economics Weekly PBOC won’t defer rate cuts indefinitely In its Q2 monetary policy report published earlier this week, the PBOC vowed to make timely adjustments to policy but stopped short of signalling rate cuts. For now, the central bank seems focussed on... 14th August 2026 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly US import bans are a double-edged sword The US is considering banning imports of Chinese optical transceivers, according to a Reuters report published this week. While a transceiver ban alone wouldn't do much to dent exports, the risk for... 7th August 2026 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly Chipmaking progress doesn’t change bigger picture While news this week that a Chinese firm has started to mass-produce advanced lithography machines is a momentous development for chipmaking in China, China's hardware lag is still significant. As a... 31st July 2026 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Fiscal spending slows again Government spending has now been contracting for four months, according to data published this week, as local governments appear to be channelling bond proceeds into restructuring off-balance sheet... 24th July 2026 · 6 mins read
