China’s export surge amid trade tensions
CNN
China’s exports gained momentum in December, with imports also showing recovery, though strength at the year-end was in part fueled by factories rushing inventory overseas as they braced for heightened trade risks under a Trump presidency.
China’s exports gained momentum in December, with imports also showing recovery, though strength at the year-end was in part fueled by factories rushing inventory overseas as they braced for heightened trade risks under a Trump presidency. Exports have been a vital growth engine for the $18 trillion economy, which is still burdened by a prolonged property crisis and shaky consumer confidence. While policymakers can find solace in recent policy measures keeping the economy on track for an “around 5%” growth target, challenges such as potential US tariff hikes cloud the outlook for 2025. US President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House next week, has proposed hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, sparking fears of a renewed trade war between the two superpowers. Adding to the challenges, unresolved disputes with the European Union over tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese electric vehicles threaten to hinder China’s ambitions to expand its auto exports and help address deflationary overcapacity concerns. “Trade front-loading became more visible in December as a result of both Chinese New Year effects and Donald Trump’s inauguration,” said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. China’s biggest festival runs from January 28 to February 4. “Import growth could be underpinned by stockpiling of commodities like copper and iron ore, as part of (China’s) ‘buy low’ strategy,” he added.
March has been a dizzying month for US markets. The S&P 500 just posted two days of back-to-back gains, but the benchmark index is still down almost 5% this month.
Volkswagen’s Audi luxury brand has announced it will cut thousands of jobs over the next few years, in the latest sign of trouble in Germany’s auto sector.
Americans are cutting back on Doritos, Goldfish and Hostess cakes. It’s not for their health, however – it’s a sign that even small indulgences have gotten too expensive for many to afford.
Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong spoke out Tuesday against a proposal to sell ports in the Panama Canal to a consortium led by BlackRock, sending shares in the Hong Kong-based conglomerate that owns the ports plummeting.
Markets are on the fritz, and investor sentiment has slumped into “extreme fear” territory.
Electric vehicle giant BYD unveiled a new charging system in China on Monday, intensifying already fierce competition in the world’s largest auto market and propelling it further ahead of rivals such as Tesla.
Hong Kong property magnate Lee Shau Kee, one of the city’s richest men, died on Monday at the age of 97, Henderson Land, the group that he founded, said in a statement.
The Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel’s lawsuit against a U.S. national security panel to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms, a filing showed on Monday.
PepsiCo is buying Poppi, the popular prebiotic soda brand, in a $1.65 billion deal.
Spending at US retailers last month was much weaker than expected, in a troubling sign that the American shopper could be starting to tap out.
President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are slowing economic growth in the United States and around the world while sending prices higher again, creating a toxic stew for the global economy that could grow even worse if tensions escalate, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said Monday.
President Donald Trump has said he doesn’t intend to create exemptions from steel and aluminum tariffs and that additional sectoral, as well as reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on April 2.
China has announced a wide-ranging “special action plan” to promote domestic spending, in an effort to counter the economic impact of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.