China Vanke’s Brewing Crisis Suggests Limited Property Easing to Come

China Vanke, once the country’s largest home developer, is no longer too big to fail. As the state-backed property giant buckles under the weight of its debt, the government has so far refrained from stepping in, the Wall Street Journal reported. Analysts say that sends a clear message: Beijing isn’t coming to the sector’s rescue. Vanke, which has about $170.43 billion in assets, is set to become the latest domino to fall after the Shenzhen government abruptly reversed its position on a partial bailout of the developer.
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China Leaves Benchmark Lending Rates Unchanged for Seventh Straight Month

China left benchmark loan prime rates (LPRs) unchanged for the seventh consecutive month in December on Monday, matching market expectations, Reuters reported. The steady LPR fixings in December suggested that the authorities are not in a rush to deliver fresh monetary easing measures as the world's second largest economy appears on track to hit Beijing's growth target for the year.
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Debt Boom Signals Yuan's Arrival as a Funding Currency

Investors are snapping up yuan credits and surging yuan lending is poised to overtake overseas dollar loans at Chinese banks as attractive pricing helps drive a sustained push by Beijing to put the yuan on the global stage, Reuters reported. China's overseas bank lending has tripled in four years to 2.52 trillion yuan and sales of onshore and offshore yuan debt are at or near records for the second year running. Bankers say the boom is encouraged by cost, because yuan rates are low.
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China Set to Keep Rates Steady for Seventh Month Despite Slowing Economy

China is expected to leave benchmark lending rates unchanged for a seventh consecutive month in December, a Reuters survey showed, despite a depressed economy and deepening woes in the property sector, Reuters reported. Analysts say China's central bank is not in a hurry to loosen monetary policy as the economy is on track to meet this year's growth target and banks are grappling with record-low margins, but fresh interest rate cuts are likely in early 2026.
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Despite Tariffs, China Consumer Giants Push into the U.S. as Domestic Market Stalls

Lured by the promise of richer margins, a wave of Chinese consumer brands is making deeper inroads into American retail to offset sluggish spending at home, Reuters reported. Throughout 2025, companies including Labubu-maker Pop Mart trinket purveyor Miniso sportswear giant Anta and fast‑fashion label Urban Revivo have announced new U.S. stores or retail expansions, trying to establish a foothold in the world’s richest consumer market despite harsh U.S. tariffs and talk of economic decoupling.
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United States
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Commentary: All That Cheap Chinese Stuff Is Now Europe’s Problem

The redirection of China’s export machine is one of the most dramatic examples of how President Trump’s trade war has rewired global commerce, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary. China is outfoxing Trump’s efforts to isolate Beijing, with shipments to Europe and Southeast Asia more than offsetting the nearly 20% contraction to the U.S. The European Union has this year topped the U.S. as the largest market for China’s $100 billion cheap package blitz for the first time, according to Chinese customs data.
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Europe
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China Launches $113 Billion Free-Trade Experiment on Hainan Island

China on Thursday split off a Belgium-sized island with an economy comparable to a mid-ranked country from the mainland for customs processing, part of a bid to join a major trans-Pacific trade deal and establish a new Hong Kong-style commercial hub, Reuters reported. Officials hope that turning the southern province of Hainan into a duty-free zone will spur foreign investment, with goods that achieve at least 30% local value-added able to move on into the world's second-largest economy tariff-free.
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