Clàudia Canals and Jordi Singla Caixabank Research | The new technology restrictions that the US has imposed on China represent an escalation of the decoupling policy pursued by the current US Administration. Although the distancing between the two powers has a long history, under Trump’s presidency it has become a fully-fledged conflict.
Chinese equities are responding positively to the macro tailwinds. The S&P China 500 Index – a diversified index which includes both onshore and offshore listings – is up nearly 31% year-to-date. This compares to the S&P 500 Index which is up around 13% over the same period. These are encouraging signs for those interested in Chinese equities – strategic and tactical investors alike.
Jinyue Dong, BBVA Research ! On November 15th, Asia Pacific nations including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand plus 10 countries of ASEAN signed the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement which is the so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, with the member countries encompassing 2.2 billion people that is nearly a third of the world’s population and USD 26.2 trillion GDP as around 1/3 of the world GDP as well as 1/3 of world’s total trade volume. Top officials from 15 nations inked the RCEP nearly a decade in the making on the final day of the 37th ASEAN Summit hosted virtually by Vietnam this year. The completion of negotiations is a strong message affirming China, Eastern Asia and ASEAN’s role in supporting the multilateral trade system. In addition, the agreement will contribute to developing supply chains that have been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the China-US decoupling, as well as supporting the regional and world economic recovery. Obviously, the signing of RCEP which has experienced eight years of negotiations among member countries has essential implications on Chinese and regional economy…
Unemployment in China, which rose to 6.2% in February, is down to 5.4% in September – only marginally higher than 5.2% in December 2019. Industrial production increased 6.9% year on year in September – the highest increase since December 2019. This data point has vindicated the strong recovery in Purchasing Managers Indices (PMIs) – which are important, but only show month on month change in activity. Retail sales – an important barometer of consumer wellbeing – have also bounced back and risen by 3.3% year on year in September after being negative between January and July this year.
Jinyue Dong / Betty Huang (BBVA Research) | A batch of economic activity indicators announced yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics pointed to a continuing growth momentum in August. Industrial production, fixed-asset investment and retail sales all showed remarkable improvement from their previous month’s readings and beat the market consensus.
Daniel Wagner | China’s footprint in global foreign direct investment has increased notably since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. That served to bring Chinese overseas FDI closer to a level that one would expect, based on the country’s weight in the global economy. However, China actually invested more in countries outside the BRI during the period, given that Chinese investment in developed countries tends to have larger market values, particularly for mergers and acquisitions.
Escalating tension between the United States and China will encourage volatility as the Presidential Election approaches and measures taken against Chinese technology will be the focus. Investors underestimate domestic policy support for Chinese technology, as well as the political risks to American technology, explains Evan Brown, Head of Multi Asset Strategy at UBS AM.
Heidi Wang-Kaeding via TheConversation | The pervasive influence of red capital in Hong Kong shows the impossibility of putting politics aside when doing business with China. Now, the US’s new Hong Kong Autonomy Act has shattered the illusion of Chinese political and business elites that it is sustainable to take advantage of Hong Kong’s “two systems” when “one country” undermines them.
Mainfirst |The January outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in China had a severe impact on the Chinese real estate market, compared to 2019, property sales in February 2020 dropped by 65 percent. The market has now almost recovered from this. This is due to both the special features of the Chinese market and government intervention. Chinese real estate sales have been on the rise since March and April and are now already back to 80 percent of the previous year’s level.
Mobin Tahir (Wisdom Tree) | The S&P China 500 Index is up 17.7% and the CSI 300 Index is up 16.8% year-to-date.Breakneck gains in stock markets create excitement, but also raise fears of bubbles. There are good reasons for the strong ongoing rally in Chinese equities, and – although risks lurk on the horizon – we aren’t in bubble territory.