Sep 28, 2017

China’s commodities sector is flashing red

Axios

China's promises to cut capacity have been a mirage and demand for key commodities in China has faltered, according to new third quarter China Beige Book data.

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Data: China Beige Book; Chart: Lazaro Gamio / Axios

Why it matters: A commodities reversal would reignite skepticism over the Chinese economy with implications that go far beyond China, says CBB's president Leland Miller. A sustained fall of commodity prices due to China would impact confidence in the global economic recovery and could affect central bank interest rate policies.Go deeper: CBB pulls data from thousands of Chinese firms, including hundreds across the commodities sector. Bloomberg reports that data from CBB shows China's economy may be a "darker story" in 2018.

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Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

We're entering a new golden age of China journalism

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

A growing number of investigative journalists and news organizations around the world are investing more resources in covering China from afar.

Why it matters: The Chinese Communist Party claims China's rise offers the world an alternative to western leadership and values. In the coming decade, journalism is vital to understanding exactly what kind of global leader China will be.

Go deeperArrowJan 7, 2020 - World
Axios

China to cut import tariffs on 850 products

A port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China on Dec. 4. Photo: Wang Chun/VCG via Getty Images

China is lowering import tariffs on more than 850 products, the country's finance ministry said in a statement Sunday night.

Driving the news: Goods to benefit from the Jan. 1 tariffs cuts include medication, tech and frozen pork — which could help China's meat shortages, driven by swine fever swine fever, Bloomberg reports.

Go deeperArrowDec 23, 2019
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

FBI spied on Chinese students and scientists, new book reveals

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios; Credit: Riverhead

In 1967, at the height of the Cold War, the FBI began collecting information on thousands of Chinese scientists and students in cities across the U.S. The Scientist and the Spy, a book publishing in February, reveals the existence of this former program for the first time.

Why it matters: Recent FBI indictments and investigations, targeting Chinese researchers in the U.S. and aimed at stemming the unauthorized flow of science and tech secrets to China, have raised fears among Chinese-Americans that another period of racially tinged suspicion is upon them.

Go deeperArrowJan 13, 2020 - World