Tag: Economic Conditions and Trends

Biden Describes China as a Time Bomb Over Economic Problems

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President Biden warned on Thursday that China’s struggles with high unemployment and an aging work force make the country a “ticking time bomb” at the heart of the world economy and a potential threat to other nations. “When bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” the president told a group of donors at a fund-raiser in Park City, Utah. Mr. Biden’s comments are the latest example of the president’s willingness to criticize China — often during fund-raising events with contributors to his presidential campaign — even as his administration…

China’s Economy Battles Debt, Slowing Trade and Specter of Deflation

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For more than a quarter-century, China has been synonymous with relentless development and upward mobility. As its 1.4 billion people gained an appetite for the wares of the world — Hollywood movies, South Korean electronics, iron ore mined in Australia — the global economy was propelled by a seemingly inexhaustible engine. Now that engine is sputtering, posing alarming risks for Chinese households and economies around the planet. Long the centerpiece of a profit-enhancing version of globalization, China has devolved into the ultimate wild card in a moment of extraordinary uncertainty…

Deflation Becomes a Threat to China’s Economy

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The United States has spent much of the past 18 months struggling to control inflation. China is experiencing the opposite problem: People and businesses are not spending, pushing the economy to the verge of a pernicious condition called deflation. Consumer prices in China, after barely rising for the past several months, fell in July for the first time in more than two years, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday. For 10 straight months, the wholesale prices generally paid by businesses to factories and other producers have been…

Country Garden Is Latest Property Giant in China to Run Into Trouble

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Remember China Evergrande, that Chinese property behemoth whose mountain of debt sent global markets spiraling in 2021? Its collapse later marked the start of a crisis for China’s housing market, where sales of apartments ground to a halt and developers big and small found themselves unable to pay their bills. Now, financial troubles at Country Garden, another property giant, are raising fresh concerns. It is also a flashing warning sign about China’s economy. Country Garden, the country’s biggest property developer by sales, has been pummeled in the markets twice in…

China’s Exports Fall Again, Imperiling Its Economic Recovery

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The News China’s trade numbers dropped in July, according to government data released Tuesday, a sign that the country’s economic rebound was lagging despite efforts by officials in Beijing to revive growth. Exports from China, which has the world’s second-largest economy after the United States, have now declined for three months in a row while imports have fallen for five consecutive months. The numbers reflect declining demand for Chinese-made products, falling domestic demand, a real estate crisis and geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine. The Numbers China’s exports dropped…

As China’s Youth Unemployment Soars, Pressure on Colleges Grows

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At this year’s commencement ceremony for the Chongqing Metropolitan College of Science and Technology in southwestern China, the graduating class did not receive the usual lofty message to pursue their dreams. Instead, they were dealt a harsh dose of reality. “You must not aim too high or be picky about work,” said Huang Zongming, the college’s president, to more than 9,000 graduates in June. “The opportunities are fleeting.” A record number of Chinese college graduates are entering the job market, exacerbating an already bleak employment outlook for the country’s young…

Saudi Arabia to Extend Oil Production Cut by a Month

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In a move to support oil prices, Saudi Arabia said Thursday it would extend its decision to cut oil production by one million barrels a day for another month, to September. Oil prices have recovered strongly in recent weeks partly because of smaller stockpiles of fuel in the United States, but China’s tepid economic recovery has kept oil prices under pressure for most of the year. Saudi leaders need oil prices to stay high because the money from energy sales pays for government spending and ambitious plans to diversify the…

The Global Economy Is Fracturing. What Comes Next?

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Produced by ‘The Ezra Klein Show’ The world economy has experienced many shocks over the past few years: A pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Skyrocketing inflation. These are the stories that have dominated headlines — and for good reason. But they’ve also overshadowed a set of deeper, more fundamental shifts — the rise of China as an economic superpower, the fracturing of trade relations, the realities of the climate crisis — that are transforming the global economic order and prompting ambitious policy responses from leaders across the world. [You can…

China Details Plans to Stimulate Consumer Spending

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Chinese drivers who trade in older cars for newer models will be eligible for subsidies, as will rural households that buy insulation and other home renovation materials to improve energy efficiency. Entrance fees at scenic sites will be cut to promote tourism. Those were a few of a long list of measures detailed on Monday by the Chinese government in an effort to stimulate consumer spending. Attempts by officials in Beijing to juice the economy have taken on greater urgency as it has become clear that the recovery is flagging.…

China’s Government Offers Love, but Entrepreneurs Aren’t Buying It

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In the darkest moments of the financial crisis in 2008, former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lectured a group of U.S. government officials and business executives in New York. “In the face of economic difficulties,” he said, “confidence is more precious than gold.” The Chinese economy then was teetering. Today it’s sputtering, facing the dimmest prospects in decades, and China’s leaders are learning the hard way exactly what Mr. Wen meant. Beijing unveiled a 31-point set of guidelines on Wednesday to bolster the confidence of the private sector. After three years…