Recent price increases in the world’s two largest economies have unnerved global markets, which have become accustomed to the low inflation – and even deflation – that has prevailed for decades. But, at least in China, a little inflation would not be a bad thing.

Economic reporting about China focuses far too much on total GDP and not enough on per capita GDP, which is the more revealing indicator. And this skewed coverage has important implications, because the two indicators paint significantly different pictures of China’s current economic and political situation. They also focus our attention on different issues.

The strengthening of the economy also means growing attractiveness for global investors. During the first quarter of 2021, FDI inflows to China accelerated tremendously, and there are good opportunities for U.S. investors, with no chance to lose.

China’s position in the global markets as a source of cheap labor has evolved into a dynamic new phase, that requires new solutions to bridge China’s past with its promising future.

A great deal of interest is focussed on the level of Chinese real GDP in 2020. The Chinese GDP in 2020 depends crucially on two developments—the speed of the economic recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic and the availability of additional economic stimulus.

China’s GDP growth may still be strong by global standards, but the annualized rate of 6% in the third quarter of 2019 is the lowest the country has recorded since 1992. In fact, China’s GDP growth has been slowing steadily since the first quarter of 2010, when it exceeded 12%, year on year. This downward trend is riskier than many observers seem to realize.

If current negative global trends continue, China is likely to step up efforts to keep growth above the line. It will continue to serve as the largest contributor to global output in any event.

Gross domestic product growth weakened to lowest since 1990s. Factory output, retail sales beat expectations in June.

While the trade war clearly hurts China more than the US, in both absolute and relative terms, data and historical experience show that these losses are manageable for the Chinese economy.

Beijing statisticians ‘do not have capacity’ to correct inflated local figures