China

Xi Jinping

China Briefing

Allianz GI | The market reaction to the conclusion of China’s Party Congress is telling. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (a gauge of key China stocks listed in Hong Kong) fell more than 7% on the first day of trading after the Congress. The CSI 300 (onshore China’s equivalent of the S&P 500) as well as the broader Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges saw a far more muted reaction.1…


Xi Jinping

China’s Party Congress: doubling down on the direction of travel

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | After months of preparation and concerning sentiment stemming from a deteriorating external environment, Covid-related restrictions and the plummeting real estate sector, the Communist Party’s 20th Congress has started with President Xi Jinping delivering the work report. Below are some key take-aways: 1. Dynamic zero Covid policies remain in place, sealed by the success in saving lives during the past few years. No clear exit strategy has been…


Arcelor Mittal

China: Overcapacity Remains A Problem In The Steel Sector

Crédito y Caución (Atradius) | About 700 small steel mills, with 140 million tons of steel capacity deemed sub-standard, have shut down since 2016. Another 150 million tons of inefficient capacity at larger firms has also gone. However, steel production continues to climb, outpacing demand


photovoltaic energy in Spain

China’s Three Gorges Buys 619 MW Of PV In Spain

Three Gorges (CTG) has reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 619 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic assets from Nexwell Power in what is its largest transaction to date in Spain in terms of capacity, according to market sources quoted today by the newspaper Expansión. Details of the price have not yet been disclosed, but sources suggest that the value of the deal is in excess of EUR 200 million.CTG…


US elections, Joe Biden

Xi, Biden Switching Strategies For Dominance

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | US President Joe Biden’s long-awaited trip to Asia got off to a poor start, after ASEAN leaders’ official visit to the White House saw hardly any relevant policy decisions, and Biden’s stingy pitch of $150 million to ASEAN economies. Based on that example and Biden’s difficult political situation at home, the stakes for his trip to Asia were low. But reality has proved the pessimism…


china happy

Lockdowns Around Shanghai Are Especially Painful For Cars, Electronics And Chip-makers

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | When the Chinese economy sneezes, the global supply chain catches a cold. After the successful containment at the initial stage, China has decided to maintain its dynamic zero-covid strategy against a more contagious albeit milder variant of the virus, namely Omicron. The approach has initiated the lockdown in Shanghai. Given its economic size, trading role, and the contagion risk of lockdowns in the surrounding provinces,…


car makers europe

The Playbook For Chinese Carmakers To Mitigate Waning Domestic Demand And Higher Costs

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | After three years of sluggish performance, China’s car sales finally reverted to positive growth in 2021. The auto industry is essential for the Chinese economy as it forms 28% of retail sales and 7% of industrial revenue. Without a recovery in car sales, it is hard to imagine a solid rebound in consumption. In this note, we analyze the demand for passenger cars in China…


China Services PMI

What Does China’s 2021 Energy Crunch Mean For Its 2022 Macroeconomic Outlook?

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | Even with more than two years after the first outbreak of COVID-19, China, as well as the rest of the world, still faces the impact of the pandemic. While the economy has surged from the bottom since the middle of 2021 after China’s successful containment of the domestic spread of the virus, the recovery’s momentum has slowed down quite rapidly, especially since the second quarter…


china blues 1

Can China Bail Out Putin?

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | The unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine are likely to have devastating consequences. But this will depend on whether Russia manages to bypass the sanctions or, at the very least, mitigate them. One important consideration to answer this question is China’s potential role in offering a helping hand to the Russian economy. China’s economic size and financial clout,…


china central bank

China Continued To Deleverage Towards The End Of 2021 Thanks To The Corporate Sector But With An Increase In Government Debt

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | China’s debt-to-GDP ratio continued to decrease in Q4 2021 to 264.3% from 266.5% in Q3. Notwithstanding the deleverage path in 2021, the debt is still much higher than the pre-pandemic one (247.5% in Q4 2019). Chinese corporates contributed the most to the deleveraging process, as their debt to GDP ratio further dropped to 155.1% in Q4 2021 from 158.3% in Q3 2021. Because of the…