24 July 2024

Why can't China turn its economy around?

Joel Mathis

China's economy is stumbling, again. Slower-than-expected second-quarter growth statistics are putting "further pressure on the Communist Party" as its leaders gathered this week to plan the way forward, said The New York Times. Those leaders have tried to offset the country's longstanding real estate slump with a boost to export-driven manufacturing, but that has led to a "glut of goods, from chemicals to cars" and a backlash — in the form of tariffs — from countries whose leaders "fear the flood of Chinese goods will overwhelm local industries." The result? China is "limping along precariously," said one analyst.

"Since late 2022, China's policymakers have introduced a slew of measures to try to revive the market," said The Wall Street Journal. It's not working. And "expectations are low" that this week's meeting — known as the "Third Plenum" — will offer a "significant course correction" to start truly turning the Chinese economy around. Instead, it's expected that President Xi Jinping will double down on his manufacturing-centric export strategy while neglecting efforts to boost spending by Chinese consumers at home. Economists are skeptical that would produce anything but a new round of trade wars. "The Chinese economy is foundering," said Cornell University's Eswar Prasad.
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