Good evening. Is China still worth it? That is the question that a growing number of multinationals are asking themselves as two things become clear: 1. The country’s high-growth era is over; and 2. Geopolitical tensions and domestic concerns are here to stay. Our cover story this week is a fascinating sector-by-sector look at foreign companies in China and how they’re faring. Elsewhere, we have infographics on why innovative Chinese firms like WeRide are still heading to the U.S. for their IPOs; an interview with Dean Cheng on the U.S.-China Space Race 2.0; a reported piece on how China is wielding its sanctioning authority with greater impact; and an op-ed by George Magnus on Beijing’s efforts to stabilize its faltering economy. If you’re not already a paid subscriber to The Wire, please sign up here.
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The Tipping Point
A growing number of foreign companies have reached “a tipping point” in China, where the challenges of doing business are starting to outweigh returns. Using some very cool graphics and data, Rachel Cheung looks at a variety of industries and multinationals to assess the new China bears versus bulls.
The Big Picture: Chinese Companies Are Still Driving Into U.S. Markets
Despite all the tension between China and the U.S., Chinese companies keep raising money in American capital markets — even those companies that may not ever sell their wares in the country. In our graphics feature this week, Noah Berman uses the recent Nasdaq listing for autonomous driving company WeRide, whose products are effectively banned in the U.S., to look at why innovative Chinese firms are still heading stateside for their IPOs.
A Q&A with Dean Cheng
Dean Cheng is a senior advisor to the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent non-partisan institute founded by Congress, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. A researcher focused on Chinese military doctrine and its space program, he previously worked in the China division at the federally-funded Center for Naval Analyses, later joining the Heritage Foundation as a senior research fellow. Cheng has testified before the U.S. House and Senate committees on Chinese security, and is the author of Cyber Dragon, a book about China’s information and cyber activities. In this week’s interview with Paddy Stephens, he discusses U.S.-China space competition, the strengths and weaknesses of China’s space industrial complex, and the promise of manufacturing in space.
Dean Cheng
Illustration by Lauren Crow
China Flexes Its Sanctions Muscle
Beijing is taking lessons from the U.S. as it attempts to get more international companies to comply with its sanctions. Eliot Chen reports.
China’s Struggle for Stability
Beijing’s efforts to stabilize its faltering economy have been too weak to date. The situation is likely to worsen following Donald Trump’s election win, argues George Magnus in this week’s op-ed.
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