CX Daily: Fixing China’s Trade Imbalance Needs a Home Remedy
TOP STORY
Trade /
Amid a prolonged real estate downturn and lukewarm domestic consumption, exports have once again emerged as a key driver of China’s economic growth. However, the surge in overseas shipments is a double-edged sword, as it has sparked retaliation among China’s trading partners concerned about protecting their own domestic industries and intensified simmering political frictions with the U.S. and Europe.
In the first half of 2024, net exports of goods and services contributed 13.9% to China's economic growth, boosting GDP by 0.7 percentage points — a stark contrast to the negative 11.4% contribution seen in 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
FDI /
China saw a record high $14.8 billion in net foreign direct investment (FDI) withdrawals in the second quarter, according to preliminary data released Friday by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
This marks the second net FDI outflow in available SAFE data dating back to 1998.
Zhongzhi /
Forty-nine former employees of the private conglomerate Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. Ltd. are facing criminal charges for illegally absorbing public deposits, after the dramatic collapse of the shadow banking giant, which left a capital shortfall of up to $36.4 billion.
Prosecutors in Beijing have charged 49 individuals connected to Zhongzhi, including chairman Gao Xingshan, after a public security department investigation, the People’s Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality said in a statement on Friday.
Corruption /
Zhao Xuejun, chairman of leading Chinese mutual fund manager Harvest Fund Management, has become the latest financial executive to come under investigation as regulators crack down on misconduct in the financial industry.
Zhao has resigned from the company and is cooperating with authorities on a probe related to personal matters, Beijing-based Harvest said in a statement Friday.
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Quick hits /
Finance Movers and Shakers /
BUSINESS & TECH
SAIC /
State-owned SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. has reshuffled leadership as the automaker’s monthly sales slipped, falling behind BYD Co. Ltd., China’s largest electric-vehicle (EV) maker, for the first time.
The leadership shakeup began in early July, when SAIC appointed Vice President Jia Jianxu as its president after his predecessor, Wang Xiaoqiu, took over the role as chairman from Chen Hong, who retired after a decade in the position.
Intel /
Intel Corp. has introduced a new discrete graphics processing unit for cars on the Chinese mainland as the American chip giant seeks to strengthen its hold on automotive chips in the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market.
The Intel Arc Graphics for Automotive will be commercially deployed as soon as next year, according to the company announcement made Thursday in Shenzhen.
Quick hits /
Tech Roundup /
Long Read /