https://www.scmp.com/rss/513770/feed Chengxin Zhang is a doctoral candidate at the School of Politics and International Relations of Lanzhou University, China. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The US’ “reciprocal tariffs” resemble an indiscriminate attack, hitting not only industrial nations like China and Japan but also highly agricultural economies like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Laos. On April 4, China took the lead in retaliating by announcing 34 per cent tariffs. On April 10, the US raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125 per cent, prompting China to match the US rate increase. Trump later clarified that the tariff rate on China was 145 per cent. As the situation... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3306733/china-has-secret-weapon-us-trade-war-renminbi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3306733/china-has-secret-weapon-us-trade-war-renminbi?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Apr 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Chengxin Zhang Chengxin Zhang Since 2022, China’s economy has been haunted by a weak recovery. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth has fallen below 5 per cent for two consecutive quarters this year, posing challenges for Beijing to achieve its annual growth target of around 5 per cent. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the proportion of China’s nominal GDP in US dollars relative to that of the US will be around 62.6 per cent in 2024. How can China get out of its current economic dilemma? Domestic... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3291378/china-cant-rely-technology-panacea-economic-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3291378/china-cant-rely-technology-panacea-economic-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2024 01:30:09 +0000 Foreign direct investment (FDI) in actual use in China totalled 580.2 billion yuan (US$82 billion) in the first eight months of 2024, down 31.5 per cent year on year. Notably, this downward trend in China’s FDI inflow has shown no sign of changing since 2023, when there was an 8 per cent fall. The withdrawal of foreign investment has become an extensively-discussed issue, accompanied by pessimism about China’s economy. For a long time, foreign investment has been a key driving force of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3279867/why-falling-fdi-china-may-be-no-bad-thing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3279867/why-falling-fdi-china-may-be-no-bad-thing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Sep 2024 08:30:08 +0000 Chengxin Zhang Chengxin Zhang The global automotive industry is undergoing profound changes and China may be the most important driver. In the first half of 2023, Chinese carmakers exported 2.14 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, surpassing their Japanese counterparts (2.02 million). It’s the first time China has captured the crown as the world’s largest car exporter. While a noteworthy achievement, this does not mean China is ready to dominate the global auto industry. To lead... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3231918/title-top-car-exporter-wont-make-chinas-auto-industry-no-1-world-heres-what-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3231918/title-top-car-exporter-wont-make-chinas-auto-industry-no-1-world-heres-what-will?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Aug 2023 17:00:10 +0000 The United States has stepped up its chip war against China over the past year. The Chips and Science Act blocked China’s access to advanced semiconductor technologies through restrictions on US companies, and this was followed by sweeping US export controls on high-end chips and chipmaking technology. The US has even pressured countries such as the Netherlands and Japan to restrict their hi-tech shipments to China. All of this is a step up from 2020, when Washington merely targeted specific... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3206470/greatest-challenge-facing-chinas-chip-drive-its-neither-funding-nor-talent-resource-allocation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3206470/greatest-challenge-facing-chinas-chip-drive-its-neither-funding-nor-talent-resource-allocation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2023 17:30:14 +0000 The international community has recently renewed its focus on China’s economic presence in Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, as world leaders gathered in Bali for the G20 summit, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway completed its test run, witnessed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. With a targeted speed of 350km/h, Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway aims to cut the travel time between the two metropolises from around three hours to just 40... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3200884/soft-power-fdi-china-must-work-its-economic-ties-asean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3200884/soft-power-fdi-china-must-work-its-economic-ties-asean?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Nov 2022 23:45:08 +0000 September 29 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. Unfortunately, the outlook for China-Japan relations is bleak at present, from the perspective of both official ties and civilian interactions. There have been no meetings, either face-to-face or online, between the leaders of China and Japan since the end of 2019. Public perceptions are worsening, especially in Japan. According to a June poll by the US Pew Research Centre, 87 per cent of Japan’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3194116/china-japan-relations-dismal-low-it-clear-which-side-blame?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3194116/china-japan-relations-dismal-low-it-clear-which-side-blame?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Sep 2022 07:45:07 +0000