Highlights of this month’s edition: Bilateral trade: U.S.-China goods deficit reaches $251.8 billion through September on strength of imports from China; U.S.-China trade surplus in services hits record $6.81 billion in Q2, as U.S. exports grow and China services sector lags; The Fourth Plenum Decision: Government promises to improve fairness and accountability in the legal system, but the Party is not loosening grip on power; Bilateral policy issues: Renminbi “significantly undervalued” but Administration stops short of accusing China of currency cheating; United States requests China submit missing subsidies notifications to WTO; Quarterly review of China’s economy: Slowest GDP growth in over a decade; key indicators underperform (freight, real estate, consumption); exports strong but data unreliable; global investors in limbo as Shanghai-Hong Kong stock trading link missed projected start date amid ongoing protests in Hong Kong; Sector spotlight – Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: The AIIB heralded as a much needed addition to address the region’s infrastructure funding shortfall; concerns remain on lending standards and its potential challenge to the World Bank and IMF.
This edition of the monthly trade bulletin, originally released November 4, was revised on November 5 to highlight the United States’ record monthly goods deficit with China. The original version included an inaccurate subheading, which stated that the deficit was up but growing more slowly.