Trade

China and U.S. prepare for micro-managed trade war

4 May 2018

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has delivered a list of tough demands to the Chinese government, including a $200 bln trade deficit cut, the WSJ reported. Beijing rewarmed its offer of lower tariffs and increased imports. Neither side gave an inch, so things will get messy.

U.S.-China trade gap adds spice to tariff talks

3 May 2018

The American trade deficit fell in March, yet the goods gap with China, $106 bln this year so far, keeps widening. That gives Steven Mnuchin more ammunition for meetings in Beijing. Threats of levies on imported goods may, more usefully, help prise open China’s service markets.

The Exchange: China’s one-man revolution

27 Apr 2018

President Xi Jinping wants to make China great again – but his “third revolution” has brought censorship, protectionism and military standoffs. China scholar Elizabeth Economy’s new book explains Xi’s muscular new approach, and offers suggestions on how the West should respond.

U.S. squeeze could rally China tech behind Beijing

26 Apr 2018

Like rival ZTE, Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei could also be in trouble over sanctions. The duo’s woes show how vital U.S. parts are to global supply chains. Beijing, which has long dreamt of self-sufficiency in technology, could enlist help from the likes of Alibaba.

Viewsroom: America puts ZTE in the sin bin

25 Apr 2018

The Trump administration’s decision to ban U.S. companies from selling to the Chinese telecom giant is seriously hurting the company's business. And there’s no easy plan B for ZTE. Also: China has a new way to measure unemployment. Should investors take it seriously?

Japan would take turn for worse without Abe

20 Apr 2018

Allegations of cronyism could bring Shinzo Abe’s five-year run as deflation killer to an end. While ultra-loose monetary policies may live on, one potential successor is more focused on North Korea than structural reforms. Markets are being sanguine about the potential fallout.

KPMG woes force South Africa to consider Big Three

18 Apr 2018

The audit firm’s future in the country is in doubt after it was sacked by the government – its biggest client – following the second scandal in under a year. Regulators have long worried about losing one of the Big Four global firms. South Africa provides a reluctant test case.

Savory European fare feeds China’s M&A cravings

18 Apr 2018

Property developer Kam Fung may buy Spanish meat producer Incarlopsa, valuing it at 1.2 bln euros. Combining bricks and ham offers no clear benefits, and the price looks rich. But Beijing isn't guiding against food investing, and the Trump era forces a change of deal direction.

China backlash could unravel 5G network effect

18 Apr 2018

Huawei's retreat and ZTE being cut off from U.S. vendors will slow telecom infrastructure development in both America and China. And given how instrumental the two companies are to 5G technology and the power of supply chains, the whole global rollout is likely to be impeded.

Cox: Belt and Road paving way to worrying excess

17 Apr 2018

Hallmarks of speculative exuberance abound with China's plan to recreate modern Silk Road trade routes. There are fancy new banking jobs, silly conferences and creative investment ideas. The danger is the $1.5 trln initiative devolves into an epic era of capital misallocation.

U.S. regulators ask if ZTE can hear them now

17 Apr 2018

The Commerce Department barred domestic companies from selling to the $20 bln Chinese telecoms equipment maker for years. It's a big blow given how much ZTE sources from the United States. Things could get worse depending on how fast political winds shift against it in Europe.

China’s two-track money policy hangs over economy

17 Apr 2018

Even as GDP grew 6.8 pct, industrial activity looks cooler, auguring a softer government line on bad debt. Higher official interest rates are being offset by short-term injections that keep the real cost of cash down. That could weaken the yuan and stir up more trade trouble.

Russia’s banks could once more be its airbag

16 Apr 2018

The Kremlin has already authorised short-term liquidity to metals group Rusal. If the U.S. sanctions net gets cast wider, Moscow could use its control of the big Russian banks to prop up stricken companies. After all, that’s what it did when things last got dicey in 2014.

Trump spins trade wheel in friendlier direction

13 Apr 2018

The U.S. president is thinking of rejoining the TPP – an 11-member group set up in part as a bulwark against Trump's trading bugbear, China. Sharing should make that easier, while also appeasing American farmers. The question is whether Trump can compromise for long – or at all.

Watch Singapore rate decision for trade war signal

12 Apr 2018

As one of the world’s most open economies, the city-state is caught in U.S.-China crossfire. Domestic growth is strong enough to encourage the central bank to tighten policy on Friday. A decision to stay neutral will hint at the damage that rate-setters expect tariffs to inflict.

Opacity makes U.S. sanctions on Russia more potent

11 Apr 2018

Rusal aluminium will be barred from London’s Metal Exchange, and the Russian group and parent En+ will be deleted from some stock indices. In theory, non-Americans should be able to deal with both. But fear of how rules will be enforced is compounding the pain of tough sanctions.

HSBC donates top banker to China’s soft power push

11 Apr 2018

The bank created a new role sure to please Beijing: Head of Belt and Road Initiative. The job will be to coordinate efforts serving the $1 trln overseas infrastructure plan. The nomenclature will burnish HSBC's cred in China. And it may catch on with the rest of Wall Street.

Viewsroom: The biggest loser, China or the U.S.?

10 Apr 2018

A volley of words threatens a trade war between PRC leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. Developing China has much at risk in fighting with the world’s largest economy. But American businesses are vulnerable too. Plus: Meituan goes all-in with local services.

Trump trade war risks European carmaker backfire

10 Apr 2018

BMW and Daimler sell a surprising number of American-made vehicles in China. Were the U.S. president’s tariff-war rhetoric to become reality, carmakers could shrink stateside production. If Trump wants to keep rather than lose jobs, he should seize Beijing’s latest olive branch.

U.S. companies in China prepare to be squeezed

6 Apr 2018

President Trump is aiming new tariffs at $100 bln of Chinese exports after Beijing threatened duties against U.S. products. American firms have invested over $250 bln into China in the past 25 years. Their assets are now exposed to regulatory harassment and shifting trade flows.