“A new shift has occurred recently, and if anything, it has been even more dramatic. Here and there, and then suddenly almost everywhere, opinion shapers and experts have been saying that the great Chinese growth engine is broken and that the country is no longer destined to lead the world in the decades ahead.” Foreign Policy
Category: China
China’s largest oil supplier in 2023… | Laura He, CNN
The world’s largest crude buyer imported a record amount of bargain-priced Russian oil last year, taking advantage of Moscow’s desperate search for new buyers amid Western sanctions following the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. CNN
Economic Impact of China’s Declining Population | CNN
China’s population declines for a second straight year. The demographic crisis comes amid economic uncertainty and record-low birth rates. Xiujian Peng, Senior Research Fellow for Victoria University’s Center of Policy Studies, joins CNN’s Paula Newton to discuss the issue. CNN
Why people in China Don’t want Children | CNN
China’s population has decreased for the second year in a row. CNN’s Marc Stewart breaks down the impact. CNN
How the U.S. Is Derailing China’s Influence in Africa |Michael M. Phillips, WSJ
LUENA, Angola—In 2012, a Chinese state company finished building the train station in this central Angolan town and installed an illuminated computer-controlled board to show departure times and ticket prices. WSJ
China’s rapidly dwindling future | Linette Lopez, Business Insider
The country’s growth has been treated like an inevitability for decades. Everything was getting bigger — its cultural influence, geopolitical ambition, population — and seemed poised to continue until the world was remade in China’s image. Business Insider
China’s population time bomb is about to explode |Matthew Henderson, The Telegraph
No amount of state censorship can hide its contracting birth rate and economic fragility – The Telegraph
Brazil backs Beijing’s ‘One China policy,’ | Anthony Boadle, Reuters
BRASILIA, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday welcomed Brazil’s recent support for Beijing’s “One China policy” that states Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, in a sign of stronger bilateral ties with South America’s largest country. Reuters
Businesses reluctant to derisk from China | Rob Schmitz, NPR
GÜNZBURG, Germany — The glowing finger at the end of a robotic arm blazes across a ribbon of aluminum, welding holes in one of 2,000 ladder parts that will be constructed at an assembly line run by the Munk Group in southern Germany. NPR
Chinese cities are struggling to pay their bills
Analysts estimate China’s outstanding government debts surpassed 123 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) last year, of which nearly $10 trillion is so-called “hidden debt” owed by risky local government financing platforms that are backed by cities or provinces. CNN Business