The two sides were due to review their phase one trade deal after six months, but one observer said the delay was ‘no bad thing’.

‘We expect more market participants will accept yuan as settlement and payment currency,’ People’s Bank of China says in annual report.

Experts say China’s state-owned financial institutions could be the first group hit by American sanctions similar to those that have been imposed on North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Russia.

Hidden bad loans threaten to wipe out bank profits and erode capital bases, especially at China’s small and regional banks that have come under fire for years of undisciplined balance sheet expansion and fraud.

As risk of an all-out financial war between United States and China grows, heavyweight economist Yu Yongding says Beijing must prepare for worst-case scenario.

Customs Minister Ni Yuefeng says China’s global exports rose by 0.1 percentage points in the first four months of 2020 after showing strong recovery from the coronavirus and the threat of decoupling from the United States.

China plans to reduce reliance on exports and state-led investment, and instead focus on its huge domestic market, but instead of a response to a hostile outside world, it actually involves attracting investment and signing trade deals, Beijing advisers say.

Beijing’s intention to continue honouring trade deal, requiring China to significantly increase purchases of US goods and services, reflects the Chinese government’s efforts to keep US-China ties from deteriorating further.

China’s weak consumer spending, already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, could undermine President Xi Jinping’s inward-looking economic strategy, experts say.

With concerns growing that Washington could impose sanctions on Chinese financial institutions over Hong Kong’s national security law, economists and former officials offer possible countermeasures to promote the yuan and mitigate risks to China.

Stronger investment in Shenzhen, with hundreds of new construction projects in the first half of 2020, helped offset weak domestic spending and a decline in exports amid the pandemic.

He Keng says announcing this year that China has successfully built up a ‘comprehensive well-off society’ would not be very convincing if most people have not felt a noticeable improvement in their quality of life or income.

East China megacity needs to step up as uncertainties grow over Hong Kong’s status due to rising US-China tensions, according to research by Renmin University.

China’s Supreme Court and top economic planning agency say the interest rate ceiling protected by law will be slashed in a crack down on ‘usurious loans’.

China’s official statistics paint a picture of a sound financial system, but cracks are appearing in the banking system at a grass-roots level.

Midyear meeting of China’s top decision-making body is worth watching, analysts say, as a rosy domestic situation may be overshadowed by a gathering storm abroad that threatens to have far-reaching implications in post-pandemic relations.

Xi Jinping has called on Chinese tech titans to align their business strategies with national needs, as the threat of decoupling with the US weighs on the economy.

China says its economy rebounded strongly in the second quarter with a growth rate of 3.2 per cent from a year earlier, but some analysts say the numbers don’t add up.

Cinemas in areas deemed low-risk for coronavirus infections will be allowed to open again from Monday, but must follow strict rules, while those in medium and high-risk regions will remain closed.

Hong Kong’s proximity to China means global financial managers will continue to flock to the city for access to the mainland, says prominent ex-financial regulator Andrew Sheng.

China is set to release its June unemployment figure on Thursday, along with the headline gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.

Liu Mingkang, one-time chairman of the CBRC, says the rule of law and personal freedom are foundations of the city’s status.

US restrictions on the flow of American technology to China have exposed weak links in the domestic economy, former industry minister Li Yizhong says.

Survey offers a glimpse into China’s perception of its growing rivalry with the US over the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.

China has rolled out a three-year plan to boost the standing of state firms, despite complaints from trade partners that these companies have unfair advantages.

Hong Kong adopted the national security law on Tuesday, and US lawmakers responded on Thursday by passing the Hong Kong Autonomy Act that requires sanctions against individuals and banks over the erosion of the city’s autonomy.

China is expanding financial schemes in Hong Kong to cement its status as a commercial gateway amid concerns about the impact of the new national security law.

As questions linger over Hong Kong’s status as a global finance hub, China’s decades-old quest to make Shanghai the country’s premier financial centre has gained a bit of momentum, but large obstacles remain.

The US dropped nine places from last year to 27th on the list of 114 countries assessed for their risk to Chinese investors by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Debt levels in China are rising quickly amid the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, reflecting the growing risk if Beijing fails to achieve a high enough nominal growth rate to help with repayments.