Highlights of This Month’s Edition:
- Bilateral trade: The U.S. goods deficit with China totaled $32.8 billion in July, down 11 percent year-on-year.
- Bilateral policy issues: The United States and China agreed to resume trade negotiations following a month of tariff escalations; new rounds of tariffs will hit consumer goods the hardest; after months of propping up its value, China’s government allows the currency to weaken to 7 RMB against the U.S. dollar, leading the U.S. government to label China a currency manipulator.
- Policy trends in China’s economy: Provincial fiscal data from the first half of 2019 reveal that the tax cuts and stimulus spending Beijing has deployed since the beginning of year have stretched local governments’ ability to balance their budgets; however, Beijing appears unlikely to change course and is preparing to approve another round of infrastructure bonds in December.
- In focus – China’s surveillance technology: China’s surveillance technology sector has evolved from making basic equipment to a robust ecosystem spanning cloud computing and artificial intelligence.