Trade War

Newsletter 309 - June 21, 2026

Welcome to the 309th edition of Trade War.

China experiences first drop in retail sales since end of Covid. Fixed asset investment falls 4.1% in the first five months. And the property sector continues to swoon with investment down 16.2% this year.

State Council to survey impact of artificial intelligence on employment as China takes more cautious approach to new technology. And top securities regulator warns against AI-induced market frothiness.

Asian stock exchanges soar on global AI boom. And Hong Kong-listed Chinese sour plum snack company LLM surges on meme play.

Notable/In depth ~

• Why China can’t field a World Cup football team

• “He was a total gentleman” on Iran, Trump says about Xi

• “Chinese authorities are playing ... long game with chips and AI models”