Welcome to the 202nd edition of Trade War.
Foreign investment in China falls to level not seen in thirty years but German companies buck trend. Beijing hopes to lure back international capital. And Singapore overtakes Hong Kong as top choice for Asia corporate headquarters.
Real estate market swoons further in January. Billionaire Yu Minghong says Chinese government must “respect market economy rules.” And legislators plan a new private business law to support beleaguered entrepreneurs.
Taiwanese officials meet visiting US congressional delegation and express strong concern about wavering support for Ukraine. Leaked files show how Beijing taps private firms in its ambitious global hacking efforts. And pandas are heading back to the US, this time to San Diego.
Mass wedding shows party bid for more power over society
Xi’s China throttles last of the public sphere
Mckinsey think tank advised China to protect sensitive industries and deepen business-military cooperation
Collapse in FDI worries Beijing
Net new foreign investment into China last year fell to its lowest level in thirty years, suggesting a serious lack of confidence by international firms.
In total, foreign companies only added $33 billion, the lowest since 1993. That was 82 percent lower than in 2022, State Administration of Foreign Exchange figures show.
Foreign investment fell in the third quarter of last year before recovering at the end of the year. Meanwhile, profits of foreign industrial firms in China dropped 6.7 percent in 2023, over the previous year, according to National Bureau of Statistics data.
While Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all slashed investment into China, Germany bucked the trend with its companies pumping in a record $13 billion.
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