Very good SCMP article on the ebb and flow of Chinese overcapacity: 'Beijing’s concerns and evaluations of unchecked manufacturing have been well documented over the past three decades, with acknowledgements that institutional factors have long led to instances of overcapacity

Good Greg Ip piece on the new US industrial strategy. He notes that 'when it comes to economic strategy, the U.S. is something of a neophyte'.

The irony is that the US largely invented modern industrial policy in the 19th Century.

wsj.com/economy/the-u-… via The Wall Street Journal

Bloomberg: 'In April, local Chinese firms purchased the largest amount of foreign exchange from banks since 2016, while exporters held back dollar conversion and residents snapped up foreign currencies for overseas travel.'

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

The EU is in a tough position politically. The benefits of protecting its manufacturing sectors will come at the cost of hurting specific sectors that export to China. This means that the costs are likely to be concentrated while the benefits spread out.

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

'China’s Ministry of Education is to approve the establishment of 33 new undergraduate colleges, nearly half of which are being upgraded from vocational schools.'

caixinglobal.com/2024-05-18/chi…

Bloomberg caused a stir last week by calculating that 'Beijing offloaded a total of $53.3 billion of Treasuries and agency bonds combined in the first quarter' --

I suspect though that the transactional data Bloomberg for Belgium understated the growth the Euroclear account

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