A group of violent protesters in Hong Kong organized a series of illegal rallies and violent protests that have had devastating effects on the local economy and people's well-being.
The China-US trade war began over a year ago, the US' economic bullying has since spread to the financial and currency sectors as the US has designated China as a currency manipulator.
Against the backdrop of the escalating China-US trade war, the yuan dropped below 7 – an important psychological level – against the US dollar on August 5. The US Department of the Treasury later designated China a currency manipulator in a move that further escalated the trade row. The exchange rate clash between China and the US has been widely interpreted as a trade war upgraded to a currency war or financial war. Some market analysts have even made predictions for the China-US financial war.
On March 22, 2018, US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum imposing large-scale tariffs on Chinese goods, a decision which prompted speculation in the global financial market until now. In fact, the US-China trade war has already spread to the global financial market. In early August, when the US once again unilaterally declared new tariffs and officially named China a “currency manipulator,” the yuan's exchange rate against the dollar weakened for several consecutive trading days in the foreign exchange market, intensifying trade war tensions.
All world economic indicators, international agencies, and major economic blocs point to the same conclusion: There is slow economic growth, free trade is under pressure and investment is less likely.
The US Treasury surprised the markets with its designation of China as a “currency manipulator” on Monday, after the yuan breached the 7 mark against the greenback for the first in more than a decade. In an exclusive interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Li Tianyang following the US' capricious move, Yu Yongding, an academician and senior fellow of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, shared his input on the accusation of manipulation.
All in all, since the US dollar still has a dominant position in the international economy, China should not “de-dollarize” its foreign exchange reserves simply from the perspectives of investment and value preservation. In the context of growing global economic volatility, authorities should consider the need to guard against financial crisis and currency risk for its foreign exchange reserves management, so as to maintain the stability of the Chinese economy.
Amid increasing external uncertainty, slowing global economic growth, the Fed's interest rate cut and continuing downward pressure on the Chinese economy, the market is looking to see China further ease its monetary policy. How much room is there for monetary easing in China?
The new EU-initiated settlement system with Iran, the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), has officially completed its first transaction.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday suddenly announced on Twitter that starting from September 1, the US will impose an additional 10 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese exports to the US. It means that all Chinese exports to the US will be subject to additional tariffs. The move came just as the latest round of US-China trade talks had ended in Shanghai and both parties agreed to resume negotiations in September.
The news that South Korean conglomerate LG Group is seeking to sell off its Beijing headquarters building, LG Twin Towers, has made headlines recently. This marks another big move by LG after its withdrawal from the Chinese smartphone market. The sale of such high-quality assets as the LG Twin Towers underscores its inability to win back the Chinese market.
Recently, China announced a slew of measures to further open its financial market. The 11 new measures encourage overseas financial institutions to participate in the establishment of, and invest in, asset management subsidiaries of commercial banks. They also allow them to set up and invest in pension management companies. Investment restrictions of overseas personal insurance companies will be completely scrapped in 2020. Those measures serve as a milestone, marking a new stage of China's financial opening-up.
Two days after Boris Johnson became the UK's prime minister, the Financial Times noted that British Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage held a major New York fundraising event for a new lobbying body W4B (World4Brexit) to campaign for the UK to leave the European Union (EU). Farage added that he met with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 24, the day Johnson became prime minister, when Trump urged him to join forces with Johnson to “realign” British politics.
The China-US trade row has seen many ups and downs. It has allowed people to witness the capriciousness of the real world and the nature of economics and trade issues.
House Democrats have considered a bill aiming at tech companies like Facebook that would ban them from issuing Libra, a new cryptocurrency, and Calibra, a digital wallet. This is not the first time that cryptocurrencies have attracted global attention.
Recent media reports suggest that the US is turning to Africa to diversify its rare-earth supplies away from China. Yet, in view of the US and Africa's lack of rare-earth-processing capacity, the move will hardly help the US reduce its reliance on China's rare-earth supplies.
As China's economy gets bigger and more competitive, the country will play a greater role in the international financial system. The yuan's internationalization is an inevitable trend despite hardships along the way.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China in 2013. Not long after the inception of the initiative, the Nepali government made a full commitment to join.