In this episode of Moving Markets, I discuss with Richard of Julius Bär how geopolitical tensions are affecting Asian markets, their key takeaways from the Two Sessions, the outlook for Hong Kong versus A-shares, and the case for renminbi appreciation. Looking further ahead, they also examine the lessons from Japan’s balance sheet recession framework for China.

In the second half of this dialogue, I debated with Koo on the spot the solution proposed in Koo's (Richard Koo / 辜朝明) book regarding how to address trade protectionism and global trade imbalances. Simply put, China's export advantage does not stem solely from an undervalued exchange rate. Therefore, even a substantial appreciation of the renminbi would not eliminate this advantage. And look, this year the renminbi has clearly appreciated, yet the trade surplus continues to hit record historical highs.