Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with representatives of the U.S. business community in Beijing. 🔵 A stable and predictable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship serves the interests of both countries and the world. 🔵 A steadily growing Chinese economy will provide more opportunities for companies from all countries, including U.S. enterprises. 🔵 A stable and open policy environment is the long-standing and unwavering commitment of the Chinese government. 🔗

AI demand is fueling China’s economy: Chinese semiconductor exports surged +111% YoY in May, to a record $36 billion. This marks the largest annual increase in 13 years. Outbound shipments of computers and parts jumped +66% YoY, to ~$27 billion, the 2nd-largest on record. This surge was largely price-driven, with Chinese chip export volumes rising +2% over the same period, as global shortages caused by the AI data center buildout pushed semiconductor prices sharply higher. Together, chips and computers accounted for roughly half of China's total export and import growth in May. As a result, overall exports rose +19% YoY, while imports soared +27% YoY, leaving a trade surplus of $105.4 billion, the largest since January. AI infrastructure spending is reshaping the Chinese economy.

I just finished Logan Wright's new book on the Chinese economy. It provides a great deal of data to support the claim that China’s enormous credit expansion is running out of room, leaving Beijing under growing pressure to rely on exports to keep economic activity from declining.

> When the Chinese economy finally collapses in two weeks, who will become the next supplier of overshilled underperforming local models? > Why the hell would Chinese economy collapse? The gooners are gaining awareness discourses are coming together…

"China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today." As Chinese debt continues to surge, and as Beijing increasingly tries (so far unsuccessfully) to rein it in, it is worth remembering how China managed its last major debt cleanup, from 2002 to 2011, and what the consequences were for the economy. I discuss this in my latest piece for the Carnegie Endowment.

Yesterday's People's Daily editorial seems to suggest (and warn) that it is becoming increasingly hard to achieve the GDP growth target: "When observing the Chinese economy, we cannot focus solely on growth rate, nor can we get bogged down in the highs and lows of individual quarterly or monthly indicators. Instead, we must pay more attention to the quality of economic operation, focusing on the quality of technological innovation, the level of industrial development, and the sustainability of economic growth."

Breaking News: Comrade Zhu Rongji, former Premier of the State Council of China, passed away in Beijing at 11:06 AM on August 12, 2026, at the age of 98, after failing to respond to medical treatment. Although he served as Premier for only five years, countless Chinese people believe that he made significant contributions to the country and the people overall (even though his market-oriented reforms of state-owned enterprises and the "layoff" policy were hotly debated). In particular, he spearheaded China's transition from a planned economy to a market economy and its opening up to the outside world, injecting vitality and momentum into the Chinese economy, and successfully responding to the 1998 Asian financial crisis. He was a rare national leader with expertise in economics and finance. Let us remember this great figure. This is the official evaluation of him: An outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a long-tested and loyal communist fighter, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and statesman, and an exceptional leader of the Party and the state.

Thriving county-level economies showcase the resilience of China's economy As Europe grapples with an intense heatwave, wholesale markets in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang province, are entering another peak sales season, according to a recent article published on the website of Spanish newspaper El Mundo. The article noted that a wide range of products made in Yiwu are helping Europeans cope with soaring temperatures. Over the past decades, the city has developed a remarkable ability to turn virtually any consumer trend into a business opportunity, leading many economists to regard it as a barometer of global trade. Yiwu offers a vivid illustration of county-level development in China. As the basic building blocks of the Chinese economy, counties serve not only as key links in integrated urban-rural development, but also as valuable windows through which to observe the vitality and potential of China's economy. In recent years, localities across the country have cultivated distinctive county-level economies based on their comparative advantages, while actively integrating into global industrial and supply chains. Their dynamism continues to grow. Through these examples, the international community not only sees the steady upgrading of China's manufacturing sector but also gains a deeper understanding of the resilience that has enabled the Chinese economy to maintain steady progress amid a challenging external environment. Read full: