When a Chinese pork producer filed for bankruptcy in 2019, the news came as a jolt to Alan Hill, Reuters reported. The retired Apple executive from Albuquerque had invested about $100,000 last decade in Dalian Chuming Meat Processing through a U.S.-listed holding company, Energroup Holdings. Chuming had not paid dividends for many years, but it supplied pork to Walmart and had been profitable at least as recently as 2016.
Read more
Xinyuan Real Estate's creditors recently filed an involuntary chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in New York to recover $65.8M in unpaid bonds, making it one of many Chinese builders grappling with financial turmoil in recent years, according to a Tuesday media report that cited a court filing, Seeking Alpha reported. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, creditors can request court oversight if a company misses debt payments, allowing the firm to either contest the petition or enter bankruptcy to reorganize.
Chinese property developer Country Garden said on Friday that it had reached an agreement with a key bondholder group and was close to finalising negotiations with a group of bank creditors, Reuters reported. The company defaulted on its offshore debt in late 2023 and is now in a restructuring process that aims to cut $14.1 billion of that debt by 78%. The restructuring support agreement with the key bondholder group holding 30% of the embattled developer's $10.3 billion existing offshore bond debt came ahead of a liquidation court hearing in Hong Kong on May 26.
Read more
Beijing increased its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125% on Friday, hitting back against President Donald Trump's decision to raise duties on Chinese goods and upping the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains, Reuters reported. U.S. stocks ended higher, capping a volatile week, as China's retaliation intensified global economic turmoil unleashed by Trump's tariffs. But the safe haven of gold hit a record high during the session, and benchmark U.S.
Read more
China's consumer prices fell for the second straight month in March while factory-gate deflation worsened, as an escalating U.S. trade war heightened worries about mounting piles of unsold exports that could drive domestic prices even lower, Reuters reported. The world's second-largest economy has gotten off to a bumpy start this year. A nascent pick-up in retail sales and robust expansion in factory activity have been offset by rising unemployment and deflationary pressures, fueling calls for more stimulus.
Read more
Australia has swiftly turned down China's offer to "join hands" against Donald Trump's tariffs, as Washington escalates its trade war with Beijing, BBC.com reported. The White House recently imposed an import tax of 10% on Australian goods, but for China - Australia's biggest trading partner - raised tariffs to 125%. China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian argued joint resistance is "the only way" to stop the "hegemonic and bullying behaviour of the US", appealing for Canberra's cooperation in an opinion piece on Thursday.
Read more
China on Wednesday announced an additional 50% retaliatory tariff on all U.S. imports, bringing the total tariff level to 84%, NPR.org reported. The measures are a response to President Trump's latest round of tariffs, which went into effect overnight, and include a 104% levy on Chinese goods. The Chinese finance ministry says the new charges will take effect at midnight in China, or Wednesday noon Eastern time. "The US's practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake," the ministry said in a statement announcing the fresh round of levies. China calls on the U.S.
Read more
China’s electric vehicle boom is masking lopsided economic gains, with manufacturing hubs that rely on foreign carmakers falling behind cities that are home to hugely popular domestic brands like BYD Co., Bloomberg News reported. No city exhibits how quickly the tide can turn better than Guangzhou, where auto manufacturing accounts for about a quarter of economic output. The capital of Guangdong, China’s wealthiest province, was the country’s biggest car producer for five years running, buoyed by state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.’s joint ventures with Toyota Motor Corp.
Read more
China pledged to retaliate against Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat and mobilized state organs to send a message of resilience, raising the risk of a prolonged trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Bloomberg News reported. “The US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a Tuesday statement, hours after the US president vowed to impose additional import taxes.
Read more
China's regulatory body for state assets said on Tuesday it would support central government-owned companies to increase their stock holdings and share buybacks to mitigate the impact of an escalating global trade war on the country's stock market, Reuters reported. Several Chinese state-owned companies, including oil giant Sinopec have already announced plans to buy back shares to bolster investor confidence.
Read more