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Trade Fight With U.S. Complicates China’s Campaign to Contain Debt

WSJ Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
U.S. president Trump's statement calling for a list of goods for tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods leaves China without a clear response and facing new risks. The U.S. exports about $150 billion in goods to China so that China would have to impose penalties to respond at the same level. Placing restrictions on American firms on access to China's market, and imposing other penalties would have the effect of reinforcing the perception of unfair practices targeting American business and lead to hardening of U.S. response. 

The U.S. sees itself as being in a better position with the U.S. economy experiencing a growth trend. China with large local government and bank debt faces a difficult situation. President Jinping's policy of reducing the risks of bad debt in the banking system involved sacrificing some growth to stabilize the system. China's GDP growth in 2017 was 6.9%, the target at 6.5%. Future targets and actual growth now look to be much lower.The trade war with the U.S. has the effect of dampening growth leading to calls for the central bank to loosen its monetary stance. In response to Trump's announcement the People's Bank of China pumped $31 billion into the nation's banks.

China is studying Japan's response in the 1980's and 1990's when the U.S. took strong action against Japan's growing trade surplus. Japan responded by appreciating its currency and using stimulus to cushion the effect of lower exports on the economy. The stimulus led to the housing bubble and over time a period of low growth and stagnant economy. The large China stimulus in 2008-2009 has compounded the problems in the banking system. Not deleveraging and controlling financial risks in China's banking system because of the trade war would bring a new set of risks.


The role of "loan guarantee chains" in fueling China's credit bubble and the surge in bad loans in 2014-2015

11/24/2014

Experts says what is unusual in China is that the loan guarantees for one firm are given by other firms in different industries. One defaulting textile firm had its loan guranteed by a machinery maker and a paper maker. The result is it creates problems for all of the firms. The other problem aspect of this arrangement is that banks evaluated credit risk by using these loan guarantees as evidence of creditworthiness. Till 2012 with no slowdown in growth in sight no questions were asked. With the slowdown in 2014-2015 this means a surge in bad loans in China's banking system unlike what it has experienced before, as continued high pace of growth can no longer be relied on to cushion the banking system from the risks.

Grouped Articles

Loan ‘Guarantee Chains’ in China Prove Flimsy

Wall Street Journal 11/24/2014

Small is ugly

Economist 07/04/2015

A Warning on China Seems Prescient

New York Times 08/24/2015

China’s Banks Face Worst Year in Over a Decade

Wall Street Journal 08/28/2015

Overheard: One ‘Best-Case’ Scenario for China’s Banks Is Pretty Bad

Wall Street Journal 09/17/2015

Trade Fight With U.S. Complicates China’s Campaign to Contain Debt

WSJ 06/19/2018

The People's Bank of China's injection of $65 billion into China's banking system in Dec. 2014 and other moves in 2015 to spur bank lending

12/12/2014

China's central bank injects money into the banking system as banks are reluctant to lend and expected growth slows to below 7%. PBOC is also concerned about the excessive debt buildup as it guides the economy. PBOC lowered the reserve requirement by one half percentage point in Feb. 2015 to free up $81 billion for lending at banks, with other targeted moves for small business and agriculture.

Grouped Articles

China Adds Cash to Banking System to Spur Growth

Wall Street Journal 12/12/2014

China’s Central Bank Goes With the Flow

Wall Street Journal 02/05/2015

China Moves to Free Up Money in Its Economy

New York Times 02/04/2015

China Frees Up $200 Billion for Lending

New York Times 04/19/2015

China Cuts Rates to Halt a Slide in Its Economy

New York Times 05/10/2015

China’s Economy Not Immune to Market Sickness

Wall Street Journal 06/30/2015

China's central bank, People' Bank of China (PBOC), and policies promoting macroprudence in lending in 2013-2014

06/25/2013

Grouped Articles

As Markets Seesaw, China’s Central Bank Tries to Allay Concern on Tight Credit

New York Times 06/25/2013

Central Bankers Hone Tools to Pop Bubbles

Wall Street Journal 07/08/2013

China's Credit Levels Echo U.S. Crisis

Wall Street Journal 09/08/2013

China Think Tank Offers Reform Wish List

Wall Street Journal 10/30/2013

China's Central Banker Leads Push to Overhaul Economy

Wall Street Journal 11/05/2013

Insuring a Path to Chinese Reform

Wall Street Journal 11/06/2013

Loose monetary policy in China in 2010-2011

03/07/2009

Difficulties of making a soft landing after the huge lending boom in China in 2009-2010 continues into 2011. Inflation and other risks from this lending continue. The burden of large local government debt in China and non-performing loans in the banking system. China's local government debt is estimated to be between 27% of GDP to 42% of GDP. Because of the opaqueness of the financial system the exact amount is not clear and estimates vary.

Grouped Articles

Asia Goes on a Debt Binge as Much of World Sobers Up

Wall Street Journal 05/24/2013

China's 'Shadow Banks' Fan Debt-Bubble Fears

Wall Street Journal 06/24/2013

China's Silver Linings Playbook

Wall Street Journal 06/24/2013

China's Credit Crunch

Wall Street Journal 06/25/2013

Credit Warnings Offer World a Peek Into China’s Secretive Banks

New York Times 06/24/2013

Central Bankers Hone Tools to Pop Bubbles

Wall Street Journal 07/08/2013

Risks in China's banking and financial system in 2010-2015

12/11/2010

Grouped Articles

Asia Goes on a Debt Binge as Much of World Sobers Up

Wall Street Journal 05/24/2013

China's 'Shadow Banks' Fan Debt-Bubble Fears

Wall Street Journal 06/24/2013

China's Silver Linings Playbook

Wall Street Journal 06/24/2013

Credit Warnings Offer World a Peek Into China’s Secretive Banks

New York Times 06/24/2013

I.M.F. Tells China of Urgent Need for Economic Change

New York Times 07/17/2013

Charlene Chu Is the 'Rock Star' of Chinese Debt Analysis

Wall Street Journal 08/22/2013

WSJ's series on China's banks in 2014- "Rising Risks"

12/27/2013

Grouped Articles

China Banks Keep the Fees Flowing

Wall Street Journal 12/27/2013

Xi Faces Test Over China's Local Debt

Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013

Regulators at Odds on Reining In China's Shadow Lending

Wall Street Journal 01/15/2014

China Pushes Cleanup of Banks

Wall Street Journal 08/18/2014

China's Moment of Truth: Financial Reform or Growth?

Wall Street Journal 09/16/2014

Profit Growth Is Slowing at China’s Biggest Banks

Wall Street Journal 10/30/2014

Large exposure to local government financing vehicles of China's smaller banks

06/17/2010

Larger banks have a smaller portion of their loans made to local government financing vehicles than the larger banks. Agricultural Bank of China, Construction Bank of China, Bank of China, Industrial and Commerical Bank of China have 6-7% of their loans made to local government financing vehicles, compared to 20% for Everbright Bank and 13-20% for other smaller banks. This means they will be the first to be in trouble in a financial crisis because of the high risk and poor asset quality of such loans.

Grouped Articles

Asia Goes on a Debt Binge as Much of World Sobers Up

Wall Street Journal 05/24/2013

I.M.F. Tells China of Urgent Need for Economic Change

New York Times 07/17/2013

China's Credit Levels Echo U.S. Crisis

Wall Street Journal 09/08/2013

Chinese Banks' Divided Capital

Wall Street Journal 10/31/2013

Chinese Bank Regulator Warns of Loan Risks

Wall Street Journal 06/17/2010

Where China Hides Its Debt

BusinessWeek 07/29/2010

Chimerica as economic monster and the 10-10 deal, 10% growth in China and 10% unemployment in the USA.

11/16/2009

Niall Ferguson at Harvard and Moritz Schularick of the Free University of Berlin say giving a peaceful death to this monster is long overdue. Krugman also calls this a world out of balance on the pages of the NYT, November 16, 2009.

Grouped Articles

China Will Keep Growing. Just Ask the Soviets.

New York Times 10/24/2014

Apple Says App Store Sales Rose 50% in 2014

Wall Street Journal 01/09/2015

World Out of Balance

New York Times 11/16/2009

The Great Wallop

New York Times 11/16/2009

China and the American Jobs Machine

Wall Street Journal 11/17/2009

Why the Chinese don’t spend : The New Yorker

New Yorker 01/04/2010

China's GDP growth declines to 7% in 2015

04/15/2015

Grouped Articles

China’s First-Quarter Growth Slowest in Six Years at 7%

Wall Street Journal 04/15/2015

China’s True Growth Is a Mystery; Economists Weigh the Clues

Wall Street Journal 04/27/2015

China’s Economy Not Immune to Market Sickness

Wall Street Journal 06/30/2015

Hours after defending economy, China statistics chief placed under investigation - The Washington Post

Washington Post 01/27/2016

Moody’s Cuts Its China Rating for the First Time Since 1989

WSJ 05/24/2017

Trade Fight With U.S. Complicates China’s Campaign to Contain Debt

WSJ 06/19/2018

China's search for a new model for growth with multiple indicators and not focussed only on GDP

10/02/2012

Grouped Articles

Economists Trim China Growth Forecasts

Wall Street Journal 05/14/2013

China's Silver Linings Playbook

Wall Street Journal 06/24/2013

China's Credit Crunch

Wall Street Journal 06/25/2013

U.S. Stocks Shrug at China's Woes

Wall Street Journal 07/10/2013

China Is Slow and Unbalanced

Wall Street Journal 07/15/2013

China Forecasts 7.6% Economic Growth in 2013

Wall Street Journal 12/27/2013

U.S. trade with China in 2000-2011 and the impact on cities and counties in the U.S.

09/25/2010

Three American researchers have completed a study on the impact of U.S. trade in the decade 2000-2011 with China, a period of exceptionally high growth of about 12% in China and a surge in imports into the U.S. The study shows counties in the 75th percentile in import levels experienced a surge in unemployment and government payments to support the unemployed. Nobel Prize winner Michael Spence points out this was an exceptional period and no theory in textbooks can account for the changes taking place because the growth rate in China was unprecedented.

Grouped Articles

Tallying the Toll of U.S.-China Trade

Wall Street Journal 09/27/2011

US-China trade relations: Speak less softly, carry a stick

Economist 09/25/2010

Americans Sour on Trade

Wall Street Journal 10/02/2010

In Tepid Wage Growth, a Potent Sign of a Still-Fragile Economy

New York Times 05/05/2014

U.S. Trade Gap Widens on Surging Imports

Wall Street Journal 05/06/2015

Campaign Season’s Anti-China Tone Is Likely to Cloud Meeting With Obama

New York Times 03/30/2016


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