The Biggest Threat To China’s Economy

Fitch Ratings downgraded China’s long-term local currency debt one notch, from AA- to A+.  The primary reason for the move was the country’s too-rapid expansion of credit, one of the “underlying structural weaknesses” the agency cited in its announcement.  Many analysts in fact think the debt resulting from then Premier Wen Jiabao’s borrowing binge, which began to accumulate in earnest […]

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Politics as Damage Control for China?

This month’s session of China’s National People’s Congress probably wasn’t one for the history books. Talk of reform continued, but the new government positions don’t go past a number of small-bore reforms that aim to centralize the management of a range of hot-button issues. Read Here – The Diplomat

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What Have We Learned About Xi Jinping?

Xi Jinping is already far better understood than his predecessor, Hu Jintao. By the time he ascended to the presidency on March 5, completing the trifecta of the three most important roles in China (he’s also the chairman of the Communist Party and chair of the Central Military Commission), foreign observers had long known where […]

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China Has Its Own Debt Bomb: WSJ

Six years ago, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cautioned that China’s economy is “unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable.” China has since doubled down on the economic model that prompted his concern. Mr. Wen spoke out in an attempt to change the course of an economy dangerously dependent on one lever to generate growth: heavy investment in the […]

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China’s Leaders Plan Government Revamp as Xi Set to Take Reins

China’s new leaders will this week consider plans to revamp the central government as part of efforts to streamline bureaucracy and boost an economy that’s recovering from the slowest growth in 13 years. The Communist Party’s 25-member Politburo endorsed draft reforms that will be discussed by the broader Central Committee on Feb. 26-28, the official Xinhua News Agency reported […]

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Why Is The Chinese Dragon Trembling?

As luck would have it, I was in Beijing when word came of China’s apparent hacking of the New York Times. The newspaper says it became the target of sustained cyber-attack immediately after it had revealed the vast fortune – estimated as “at least $2.7bn” – amassed by the family of China’s outgoing premier, Wen Jiabao. Among the […]

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