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☆ An embarrassing defeat 73 years ago is a preview of the problems China would face in an attack on Taiwan today
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Chinese Communist troops who stormed Kinmen island in October 1949 expected a quick victory. The planChinese Communist troops take prisoners at bayonet point after heavy fighting in Shanghai on May 21, 1949. Kinmen Island, 59 square miles in size and home to some 40,000 people, was essential to this plan. A model of a soldier in a bunker near the Hujingtou Battle Museum in Little Kinmen, Taiwan in April 2018. By day's end, the PLA troops who had retreated to the beaches had also surrendered.

☆ China's alarming decline could tank the stock market, take down the global economy, and spark a dangerous showdown with the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

In the Western capitals and boardrooms, it appears the horror of Beijing's transformation has finally settled in, and the lure of China's economic future is fading. Economic dangerIf you want a clue to just how far China's economy has fallen, look no further than Beijing's attempts to hide information about the country's growth. Beyond the short-term signs of trouble, there are more enduring signs pointing to China's economic distress. That's a big if, and even if Beijing is successful, the slow-moving blob of debt will choke off economic growth for years to come. Xi has tightened his grip on China's economy and government from education to public health.

☆ Hong Kong Shares Fall in Wake of China Party Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Rebecca Feng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese stocks were among the worst performers in the Hang Seng Index this week. Hong Kong’s stock market was hit by another bout of heavy selling on Friday, pushing its main benchmark to an 8.3% decline for the week after China’s twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress. The Hang Seng Index closed the day at 14863, down 3.7%. That worsened the pain of a steep fall at the start of this week, as investors reacted negatively to Chinese President Xi Jinping ’s cementing of power with a third-term as the country’s paramount leader. Monday’s 6.4% decline was the index’s worst performance since the global financial crisis.

☆ Beijing Has Few Good Options to Retaliate for Chip Bans
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Employees work on a semiconductor production line of Jiangsu Azure in Huaian, China. The U.S. imposed sweeping restrictions on technology exports to China. Beijing so far hasn’t retaliated against the Biden administration’s extensive semiconductor export controls targeting China. That might be set to change, however, now that the 20th Party Congress has formally confirmed President Xi Jinping as party leader for a third consecutive term. There are no easy options for China, but the way in which the country responds will be a key signal on how the two superpowers’ fencing match will evolve in the new era of Biden and Xi.

☆ Japan in late-stage talks with U.S. for Tomahawk purchase -Yomiuri
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Japan is in the final stages of negotiations with the United States to buy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Yomiuri daily reported on Friday, citing multiple unnamed Japanese government sources. Tomahawks can hit targets from more than 1,000 km (620 miles) away, putting parts of China and the Russian Far East within range. Concern about Chinese military activity in the seas and skies around Taiwan and Japan has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, because Japan worries it provides China with a precedent for the use of force against Taiwan. China in August fired missiles into waters less than 160 km from Japan in a display of might, angered by U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. At the 20th Communist Party Congress last week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for accelerating plans to build a world-class military.

☆ IMF cuts Asia's economic forecasts as China's slowdown bites
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Asia's strong economic rebound early this year is losing momentum, with a weaker-than expected second quarter," said Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department. "Further tightening of monetary policy will be required to ensure that inflation returns to target and inflation expectations remain well anchored." The IMF cut Asia's growth forecast to 4.0% this year and 4.3% next year, down 0.9% point and 0.8 point from April, respectively. Among the biggest headwinds is China's rapid and broad-based economic slowdown blamed on strict COVID-19 lockdowns and its worsening property woes, the IMF said. The IMF expects China's growth to slow to 3.2% this year, a 1.2-point downgrade from its April projection, after an 8.1% rise in 2021.

☆ Taiwan urges China to stop sabre-rattling and start talking
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China has stepped up military activities near democratically governed Taiwan since August, when it conductd to blockade drills around the island following a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "We urge mainland China to lay down arms and maintain peace and stability. China has repeatedly rebuffed offers for talks on the basis of equality with mutual respect by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing views as a separatist. China considers Taiwan its own territory. Taipei says only the island's 23 million people can decide their future, and that as Taiwan has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China its sovereignty claims are void.

☆ China's factory activity set to stall in October
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Nelson Bocanegra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) - China's factory activity likely showed no growth in October, with production hit by COVID-19 restrictions and as exports moderate on slowing global demand, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. read more"China's struggling growth trajectory is not just about COVID-related restrictions," said analysts at Oxford Economics in a research note. We forecast China's growth will average about 4%-4.5% over the next five years or so." The official manufacturing PMI, which largely focuses on big and state-owned firms, and its survey for the services sector, will be released on Monday. The private sector Caixin manufacturing PMI, which centres more on small firms and coastal regions, will be published on Tuesday.

☆ What happened to former Chinese leader Hu Jintao?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Analysis Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

China's former leader Hu Jintao is lifted from his chair by a young aide at the closing of the Communist Party Congress on Saturday. Neither has the incident been reported in Chinese language media, or discussed on Chinese social media, where conversations around senior leaders are highly restricted. Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao is taken by the arm and escorted out. “For whatever reasons, Xi ordered Hu to be escorted out when he must have thought that Hu might not behave exactly as Xi would have wanted,” he said. Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao pats the shoulder of his protege, Premier Li Keqiang.

☆ Covid cases, controls spread in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Covid cases and controls have increased in China this month. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Covid controls in China have tightened in the last two weeks after more cities reported virus outbreaks. watch nowFor Thursday, mainland China reported 214 Covid cases with symptoms and 1,123 without. watch nowHowever, many of the recent case clusters and ensuing Covid controls have occurred in less economically prominent parts of the country, such as areas within Qinghai and Xinjiang in the northwest. The Nomura analysts said they expect China's stringent Covid controls will remain at least until March, "when the political reshuffle will be fully completed and the new leaders fully take over the cabinet."

HONG KONG — Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first two terms in power were marked by intensifying competition and tensions with the United States. The United States does not seek conflict with China, Biden told a meeting of his top military advisers Wednesday. “China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era,” he said. But China under Xi has a “superficial stability,” Johnson said. Hulton Deutsch / Corbis via Getty ImagesAt 69, Xi has appointed no obvious successor, indicating he may plan to stay in power indefinitely.

[1/2] People buy food at stalls promoting China's digital yuan, or e-CNY, during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu WangHONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - China's digital yuan took the centre stage in the world's largest cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial to date, a report showed, pointing to how Beijing is speeding up yuan globalization efforts amid rising geopolitical tensions. China's digital currency, or e-CNY, was the most issued, and actively transacted token in the $22 million pilot that used CBDCs to settle cross-border trades, a Bank of International Settlement (BIS) report showed. The PBOC's participation in m-Bridge represents its ambition to eventually promote global, wholesale use of the e-CNY. But China's yuan internationalisation, digital or not, faces challenges amid a slowing economy ravaged by COVID flare-ups, and a property debt crisis.

Here are some of the ways that China has changed under Xi. The taming of once-unruly borderlandsThe regions of Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, all far from Beijing, have long created headaches for China's ruling Communist Party. Average particulate matter, a common measure of air pollution, has gradually declined in China since 2017, when Xi Jinping began his second term in office. Extreme poverty eliminated, inequality persistsXi describes elimination of extreme poverty in China as one of the key Communist Party achievements of the past decade. Reuters GraphicsIn 2021, Xi Jinping declared victory over extreme poverty, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.

☆ Xi’s ‘action men’ now lead China’s military. Here’s what that means for Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The rhetoric from both sides and Beijing’s recent maneuvers have stoked fears that an attempted Chinese military takeover of Taiwan could be next on the horizon. Besides that joint command experience, He possesses another key attribute sought in top PLA leadership – field experience in hostile situations. Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said He was one of Xi’s “action men” on the military commission. Zhang served on the previous military commission and has been retained and promoted despite being past the unofficial retirement age of 68. There’s just too much work to be done with Xi’s military modernization to achieve good odds of success, they said.

Persons: Xi Jinping’s, Xi, –, Tsai Ing, ”, James Char, ” Char, Weidong, Nancy Pelosi, Rod Lee, Lee, Xi Jinping, ” Lee, Carl Schuster, Zhang Youxia, Zhang, Xi’s, Meia Nouwens, Joel Wuthnow, he’s, ” Wuthnow, Zhang’s, Li Shangfu, Wuthnow, There’s, “, Char Organizations: CNN, Central Military Commission, Communist Party’s National, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Chinese Communist Party, China Program, Institute of Defense, Strategic Studies, Theater Command, Eastern Theater Command, US Air Force Air, China Aerospace Studies Institute, People’s Armed Police, Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Center, Chinese Military Affairs, US National Defense University, Party, US Air University Locations: China, Taiwan, Beijing, Taiwan Strait, Asia, Singapore, India

☆ Hu Jintao’s Removal From China’s Party Congress, a Frame-by-Frame Breakdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( James T. Areddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Observers are debating the meaning of the removal, apparently ordered by Xi Jinping. While the move indicated the leader's power, many also saw Hu Jintao as an elderly man in distress; later, illness was the official explanation.

☆ The ‘Anti-Navy’ the U.S. Needs Against the Chinese Military
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Mike Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As Xi Jinping secured a third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, U.S. foreign policy entered a window of maximum danger. In a speech to the 20th Party Congress, Mr. Xi made clear that unification with Taiwan “must” and “can, without doubt, be realized.”Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted that Mr. Xi is moving on a “much faster timeline” to take Taiwan, and Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday said he couldn’t rule out an invasion in 2022 or 2023. Domestically, Mr. Xi’s problems—a structural economic slowdown, skyrocketing household debt, and the demographic buzzsaw of the largest group of retirees in human history—will all get worse in the 2030s.

☆ Xi Jinping just became unassailable. Here’s why investors are running scared
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Xi’s preference for personal loyalty over technocratic competence bodes ill for China’s already bleak economic outlook, analysts said. “In effect, Xi Jinping establishes an echo chamber around his own ideas,” she said. People watch the opening session of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress in Huaibei, in China's eastern Anhui province. Li Qiang, the party boss of Shanghai who presided over the city’s chaotic two-month lockdown, is now the second-highest ranking party official after Xi. The NDRC is China’s top economic planner, responsible for drafting the country’s economic plans and overseeing major state investment projects.

☆ Investors avoiding China stocks face less pain in bearish year for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Emerging market investors who avoided Chinese shares this year have seen less pain than those with portfolios exposed to the gamut of EM stocks, a trend exacerbated by this week's selloff. The iShares Emerging Markets excluding China ETF (EMXC.O) has fallen by 25% so far this year, its worst performance since its inception in 2017. But it has still beaten the 30% decline in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF , which includes Chinese equities, in this time, according to Refinitiv data. Foreign investors sold a net 17.9 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) of Chinese onshore shares via Stock Connect on Monday, the biggest outflow since the scheme was launched in 2014. Investors bought a net 2.8 billion yuan ($390 million) of Chinese onshore shares on Tuesday.

☆ China's Xi deals knockout blow to once-powerful Youth League faction
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The three most glaring omissions from China's new Communist Party leadership share one common trait: all rose through its Youth League and were considered members of a once-powerful faction whose influence Xi Jinping has now effectively crushed. "On Hu Chunhua, I think this has been Xi Jinping's main tactic of shutting down the youth league faction," said Victor Shih, an expert on elite politics in China and a professor at the University of California, San Diego. "They are completely defeated," said Cheng Li, a specialist on the transformation of political leaders in China, referring to the sidelining of the Youth League faction. The Youth League has been active in attacking foreign brands accused of misbehaviour in China, such as false advertising. The Youth League did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

[1/2] Boards displaying buying and selling rates are seen outside of currency exchange outlets in London, Britain, July 31, 2019. read moreRishi Sunak became Britain's third prime minister in two months on Tuesday, tasked with tackling a mounting economic crisis and a warring political party. The U.S. dollar was broadly weaker amid signs that Federal Reserve rate hikes are slowing the world's biggest economy. YEN AND YUANThe yen firmed against the dollar after suspected Bank of Japan (BOJ) intervention on Friday and Monday. At 147.665 yen, the dollar was down from a 32-year high of 151.94 on Friday, which appeared to trigger successive bouts of BOJ intervention.

☆ Sterling rises as Sunak prepares to become PM, euro awaits ECB hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Sterling rose on Tuesday supported by improved risk sentiment as Rishi Sunak prepared to become Britain's prime minister, while the euro steadied ahead of an expected rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. The U.S. dollar edged up but was not far from its lowest level in October amid signs Federal Reserve rate hikes are slowing the world's biggest economy. Sunak will become Britain's next prime minister, Downing Street said on Monday. Sterling edged toward this month's highs, up 0.3% to $1.13125 at 0825 GMT but currency strategists expected the currency, down more than 16% against the dollar this year, to remain under pressure. "Should the current level of UK political noise ease we would be wary of sterling continuing to cheapen versus both the U.S. dollar and euro".

☆ China to promote foreign investment in manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it will promote foreign investment with a focus on manufacturing industries, after President Xi Jinping called in China to "win the battle" in core technologies during the Communist Party Congress that ended over the weekend. China will encourage foreign enterprises to invest in high-tech equipment and components, according to a statement published on the website of National Development and Reform Commission, China's powerful planning agency. China will also strengthen financial support for foreign enterprises, including fund-raising by eligible enterprises through listings on China's stock markets, the statement said. Tuesday's statement also promised support for foreign enterprises posting personnel to China. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar eases amid bets on less hawkish Fed; sterling firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The yen held firm on the stronger side of 149 per dollar following two consecutive days of suspected Bank of Japan (BOJ) intervention straddling the weekend. Economists polled by Reuters expect the pace of rate increases to slow to 50 basis points in December, matching bets in money markets. At 149.00 yen, the dollar was down from the 32-year high of 151.94 on Friday that appeared to trigger successive bouts of BOJ intervention. Whatever the tactics, we still expect USD/JPY to recover within a few weeks after BOJ intervention ends." The ECB looks set to hike rates by 75 basis points on Thursday to try and rein in red-hot inflation.

☆ Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise after Wall Street's second positive session
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Abigail Ng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A man walks past the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. Stocks in the Asia-Pacific rose in early trade Tuesday after Wall Street's second straight positive session. South Korea's Kospi was just above the flatline, while the Kosdaq gained 0.44%. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.14%. Singapore is due to release inflation data on Tuesday, while HSBC is reporting earnings.

☆ Investor fears about Xi's new leadership team 'may be misguided'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Li Qiang, likely to become the next premier, is pictured here speaking at a major annual financial conference in Shanghai in 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese stocks' plunge on Monday over fears about China's new leadership team "may be misguided," consulting firm Teneo said. Xi's leadership teamThe Politburo standing committee is the highest circle of power in China. Li Xi has led the export-heavy province of Guangdong as party secretary, while Cai Qi held the role for the capital city of Beijing. Mr Li [Qiang] has been widely regarded as a capable pro-market and pro-growth politician.

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