Edward Conard

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Net Outflow of Funds from China Hits 7-Year High in September

AI Summary. China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange reported a net outflow of $53.9bn in monthly international financial transactions handled by domestic banks for businesses and households, the largest since a $55.8bn outflow tied to a sudden yuan devaluation. Outflows linked to direct investment, such as building manufacturing plants, were notable.

Iori Kawate Nikkei Asia
Date Posted:
October 25, 2023

Net outflows of investment capital from China hit a 7-year high in September as foreign firms scaled back operations and rich Chinese shifted assets abroad.

Net outflows of investment capital from China hit a 7-year high in September as foreign firms scaled back operations and...

Are funds flowing out of China at the fastest pace in years?

Core argument: China's net outflow of funds reached $53.9 billion in September, the largest since January 2016's $55.8 billion outflow, according to China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which tracks monthly international financial transactions by domestic banks for businesses and households.

According to China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which tracks monthly international financial transactions by domestic banks on behalf of businesses and households, the net outflow reached $53.9 billion in September. This is the largest amount since January 2016, when China logged a net outflow of $55.8 billion triggered by a sudden devaluation of the yuan called the "renminbi shock," among other factors. The exodus of funds related to direct investment, such as construction of manufacturing plants, was noticeable in the September figures. Wealthy Chinese are also shifting their assets abroad out of concern over the future of China, according to many analysts.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. China's net outflow of funds reached $53.9 billion in September, the largest since January 2016's $55.8 billion outflow, according to China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which tracks monthly international financial transactions by domestic banks for businesses and households.
  2. The January 2016 net outflow of $55.8 billion was triggered by a sudden devaluation of the yuan known as the "renminbi shock," among other factors.
  3. Outflows tied to direct investment, such as construction of manufacturing plants, were noticeable in China's September figures, and many analysts say wealthy Chinese are shifting assets abroad out of concern over China's future.

Related Articles:

  • Singapore Asks Banks to Keep Quiet on Wealth Inflows During China Boom — Singapore's central bank has asked major banks to minimize public discussion of the origins of large inflows of money into the city-state, much of it from wealthy Chinese, an issue that has become politically sensitive domestically. Lawyers and industry groups estimate Singapore hosts roughly 1,500 family offices, a large share of them Chinese.
  • The Rise & Fall of Foreign Direct Investment in China — Net foreign direct investment into China has been negative for four consecutive quarters, as foreign investors shifted from reinvesting earnings from their Chinese operations to repatriating them. Whether this reflects cash management or signals a future slowdown in foreign direct investment is unclear, but the repatriation of profits is negative for China's currency.
  • The Mysterious $300 Billion Flow Out of China — Unexplained financial flows in China's balance of payments, which generally correspond to capital flight and other surreptitious efforts to move money abroad, have been relatively low in recent years, but that may be an illusion created by official reporting. Corresponding flows are hard to locate elsewhere, though the UK has experienced a surge in such unexplained flows.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Financial Markets
Previous articleOctober 25, 2023Germany to Pass Japan as Third-Largest Economy, Helped by Weak YenAccording to the IMF, Germany will likely pass Japan as the third largest economy this year. Primary drivers have been sluggish Japanese growth and a weak yen.Next articleOctober 25, 2023China’s Age Of MalaiseReporting from Beijing, @eosnos found a changed country, in which cultural innovation has ground to a standstill, the young are not motivated to work or have kids, and there is a strong desire among the wealthy to leave.
Showing 92 database articles primarily about China

China’s Growth Machines

AI Summary. The United States generates almost twice as much economic output per dollar invested as China, the opposite of what would be expected from a mature developed economy versus a fast-growing economy catching up. The gap points to overexuberance in Chinese investment.

Robin Rivaton and Ben Southwood Works In Progress
Date Posted:
October 14, 2026
Is Database:
Database
Is Important:
Important

The US generates ~2x as much output per dollar of capital as China. Rivaton and Southwood argue that relentless competition among Chinese subnational governments, who account for ~85% of public expenditure, drives industrial growth at the cost of reduced capital efficiency.

Does China get less economic output per dollar invested than America?

Core argument: The United States obtains nearly twice as much GDP from every dollar invested as China does, measured by the capital efficiency ratio of output to invested capital stock.

Overexuberance is visible in economic data. Interest rates that banks pay to depositors are capped, giving banks artificially cheap capital. Entrepreneurs may be backed to attempt extremely unlikely, borderline schemes. The capital efficiency ratio measures how much output a country gets out of the capital stock it has invested – how many dollars of GDP a country can buy with a dollar of investment. The United States gets almost twice as much economic output out of every dollar it invests as China does, precisely the opposite of what we would expect from a developed country with a mature economy versus a rapidly growing country playing catch up.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The United States obtains nearly twice as much GDP from every dollar invested as China does, measured by the capital efficiency ratio of output to invested capital stock.
  2. China’s capital efficiency inverts the expected pattern, in which a rapidly growing catch-up economy would extract more output per dollar of investment than a mature developed economy.
  3. Overexuberance is visible in Chinese macroeconomic data, with China’s investment generating less economic output per dollar than that of the United States.

Related Articles:

  • The Year of the Trojan Fire Horse: China’s Imbalanced Economy and Unrelenting Mercantilism — About 30% of Chinese industrial companies are unprofitable "zombies" kept alive by subsidies far larger than those elsewhere, rather than exiting amid falling industrial producer prices. Countries with large increases in manufactured imports from China also saw slowdowns in domestic manufacturing, including declining manufacturing shares of output across most of Southeast Asia.
  • Xi’s Superpower Ambitions Fuel a Dangerous Debt Spiral in China — China's credit to the nonfinancial sector—corporate, government and household borrowing—topped 300% of gross domestic product, 60 percentage points above its end-2019 level and larger than in the US, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The International Monetary Fund estimates broad Chinese government debt, including local financing vehicles, reached 127% of GDP, up from 98% in 2020.
  • Is China’s High-Quality Investment Output Economically Viable? — China's technological progress and infrastructure do not refute claims of overinvestment, since overinvestment often produces real physical assets and technological gains yet still counts as overinvestment when it generates less real value than the resources, subsidies, and transfers it consumes. When such losses are capitalized, assets are carried above their real economic value.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Growth
    • Savings Glut/Trade Deficit
    • Trade (not deficits)
  • Productivity
    • Innovation/Research
    • Investment

Who Loses from China’s Export Gains?

AI Summary. A projection estimates China gains about $1.13tn in annual export value by 2030 relative to baseline while the rest of the world loses about $5.1tn, including $2.25tn for the G7. The authors attribute the net global decline to trade shifting toward Chinese goods whose export prices keep falling.

Charles Austin Jordan and Logan Wright Rhodium Group
Date Posted:
September 24, 2026
Is Database:
Database

China’s share of global exports by volume is on track to rise from 20% in 2025 to 28% by 2030. Yet China’s rising export share may depress the total value of global exports as lower-priced Chinese goods displace more expensive exports from other countries.

Do China's export share gains reduce global export values?

Core argument: The projection has China gaining roughly $1.13 trillion in annual export value by 2030 relative to the baseline scenario, while the rest of the world loses about $5.1 trillion.

The net result of our projection would suggest that China gains around $1.13 trillion in annual export value by 2030 relative to the baseline scenario, while the rest of the world loses around $5.1 trillion, with the G7 accounting for $2.25 trillion of those potential losses alone. This implies that China’s export share gains effectively destroy overall global trade values relative to the status quo due to continued declines in export prices. Regardless of which assumptions are used, China’s export share gains appear to reduce global total potential export values, because trade patterns are shifting toward Chinese goods that are declining in price.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The projection has China gaining roughly $1.13 trillion in annual export value by 2030 relative to the baseline scenario, while the rest of the world loses about $5.1 trillion.
  2. The G7 accounts for $2.25 trillion of the projected $5.1 trillion in export value losses borne by countries outside China.
  3. China’s export share gains appear to reduce global total potential export values regardless of the assumptions used, because trade patterns shift toward Chinese goods whose prices continue to decline.

Related Articles:

  • The Year of the Trojan Fire Horse: China’s Imbalanced Economy and Unrelenting Mercantilism — About 30% of Chinese industrial companies are unprofitable "zombies" kept alive by subsidies far larger than those elsewhere, rather than exiting amid falling industrial producer prices. Countries with large increases in manufactured imports from China also saw slowdowns in domestic manufacturing, including declining manufacturing shares of output across most of Southeast Asia.
  • China Is Making Trade Impossible — Interviews with Chinese economists, technologists and business leaders yielded no clear answer to what products China would want to buy from the rest of the world in future, beyond commodities, luxury goods and higher education. The author argues China sees nothing it cannot eventually make better and cheaper itself, undermining trade as a two-way exchange.
  • Sticking with What Works: Raising GDP Forecast on China’s Manufacturing Push — Stronger Chinese growth driven by export-oriented manufacturing may not produce net positive spillovers: for every 1pp export-driven boost to China's GDP, other economies may see a 0.1–0.3pp drag, with high-tech producers such as Europe and Japan facing greater pressure. Cheaper Chinese goods continue to exert a disinflationary impulse.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Savings Glut/Trade Deficit
    • Trade (not deficits)

The Export Wave Is Cresting

AI Summary. China's export boom shows signs of cresting, with year-over-year growth leveling off at roughly 24-27% in US dollar terms, and memory chips now the biggest single swing factor for exports. Total export growth is expected to converge toward the recent trend for non-artificial-intelligence products of about 5-7%.

Andrew Batson Gavekal
Date Posted:
September 23, 2026
Is Database:
Database

Andrew Batson argues that as the memory-chip price cycle’s impact on Chinese export growth fades, export growth in renminbi terms in 2027 “will most likely converge toward the recent trend for products outside the AI complex, which is around 5–7%.”

Is China's export boom leveling off toward slower growth?

Core argument: China’s export growth has leveled off over the past three months at roughly 24–27% year-on-year in US dollar terms and 18–20% in renminbi terms, a sign the export wave is cresting.

China’s latest extraordinary export wave is showing signs of cresting. The headline YoY growth of exports has leveled off over the past three months, staying around 24-27% in US dollar terms and 18-20% in renminbi terms. The boom in exports of products associated with investment in artificial intelligence is certainly not over, but current super-high growth rates will probably slow in coming months. Memory chips are now the biggest single swing factor for exports, and prices for some products have recently leveled off after their massive surge. While the ebb and flow of memory prices is difficult to forecast, growth of total exports in 2027 will most likely converge toward the recent trend for products outside the AI complex, which is around 5-7%. Semiconductor cycles have limited implications for China’s vast range of other exports, which are still very competitive in global markets.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. China’s export growth has leveled off over the past three months at roughly 24–27% year-on-year in US dollar terms and 18–20% in renminbi terms, a sign the export wave is cresting.
  2. Memory chips are the biggest single swing factor for China’s exports, with prices for some products leveling off after a massive surge and super-high AI-related growth rates likely to slow in coming months.
  3. Total Chinese export growth in 2027 will most likely converge toward the recent 5–7% trend for products outside the AI complex, which remain very competitive in global markets.

Related Articles:

  • China’s Share Of Global Container Exports Soars To 40% — China accounted for 40% of global container exports on a three-month rolling average, up 2.5 percentage points in nine months, according to the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. The chamber's president argues this shows global trade imbalances are growing faster than expected.
  • Understanding Global Imbalances — The US, China, Germany, and Japan account for roughly two-thirds of global current account imbalances, with the US deficit at 4% of GDP financed by capital inflows into dollar assets. The average duration of a surplus or deficit spell roughly doubled since the 1980s, building large net foreign asset and liability positions.
  • The Year of the Trojan Fire Horse: China’s Imbalanced Economy and Unrelenting Mercantilism — About 30% of Chinese industrial companies are unprofitable "zombies" kept alive by subsidies far larger than those elsewhere, rather than exiting amid falling industrial producer prices. Countries with large increases in manufactured imports from China also saw slowdowns in domestic manufacturing, including declining manufacturing shares of output across most of Southeast Asia.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Savings Glut/Trade Deficit
    • Trade (not deficits)

Who Will Win The War Of Neo-Mercantilists?

AI Summary. China's manufacturing export surplus is around 2% of world GDP, roughly twice the largest surplus Japan ever ran, while domestic demand has stalled. Unexplained negative net income of about $125bn on its $4tn in net foreign assets, versus an expected $100bn surplus, supports the argument that the renminbi is about 30% undervalued.

Martin Wolf Financial Times
Date Posted:
July 22, 2026
Is Database:
Database

Martin Wolf estimates that under reasonable assumptions, China should be earning ~$100B annually on her $4T of foreign assets. Yet, China shows an unexplained negative net income of around $125bn on its net foreign asset position.

Is China's currency undervalued as its export surplus hits record levels?

Core argument: China's manufacturing export surplus stands at roughly 2% of world GDP, described as roughly twice the largest surplus Japan ever ran, while exports surge and domestic demand stalls.

China’s macroeconomics are very different from those obtained before the global financial crisis and, even more so, before the end of its property boom. Exports are surging, but domestic demand has stalled. China's export surplus in manufacturing is now around 2% of world GDP, which is “roughly twice the largest surplus Japan ever ran.” Most importantly, China shows an unexplained negative net income of around $125bn on its net foreign investments. But it should, on reasonable assumptions about the income it earns on its $4tn in net foreign assets, have a surplus of some $100bn. As a result, Brad Setser argues, the renminbi is by now some 30% undervalued. China’s policies look unavoidably threatening to much of the world. If a major trading partner runs huge and persistent trade and current account surpluses, everyone else has to run offsetting deficits. This leads to the shrinkage of sectors specialising in producing tradable goods and services, as well as huge domestic financial deficits.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. China's manufacturing export surplus stands at roughly 2% of world GDP, described as roughly twice the largest surplus Japan ever ran, while exports surge and domestic demand stalls.
  2. China reports an unexplained negative net income of about $125bn on its net foreign investments, though reasonable assumptions about returns on its $4tn in net foreign assets imply a surplus near $100bn.
  3. Brad Setser argues the renminbi is some 30% undervalued; persistent Chinese trade and current account surpluses require offsetting deficits elsewhere, shrinking sectors producing tradable goods and services and producing large domestic financial deficits.

Related Articles:

  • The Dangerous Triumph Of Neo-Mercantilism — Neo-mercantilism is thriving in both China, which pairs infant-industry promotion with large trade surpluses, and in a United States focused on external deficits and protecting domestic markets. The author argues this will likely fracture the world economy, and that a new multilateral treaty could include a mechanism to combat large structural trade surpluses.
  • Sticking with What Works: Raising GDP Forecast on China’s Manufacturing Push — Stronger Chinese growth driven by export-oriented manufacturing may not produce net positive spillovers: for every 1pp export-driven boost to China's GDP, other economies may see a 0.1–0.3pp drag, with high-tech producers such as Europe and Japan facing greater pressure. Cheaper Chinese goods continue to exert a disinflationary impulse.
  • China’s Economy: Rightsizing 2025, Looking Ahead to 2026 — The authors argue China's official growth figures are inconsistent with ten consecutive quarters of deflation, estimating that real GDP is around 11% below official levels, with most of the adjustment in investment. That would imply a drop of roughly 9 percentage points in China's share of global investment, helping explain its export surge.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Growth
    • Savings Glut/Trade Deficit
    • Trade (not deficits)

China’s Trade Surplus With EU Hits Record as Tensions Intensify

AI Summary. China's trade surplus with the European Union reached a record, rising 27% year-on-year to $32.9bn in a single month, with its surplus with Germany more than doubling while falling 81% with France. Over the first half of the year, Chinese exports to the bloc rose 17% to $312.3bn while imports rose 9% to $135.6bn.

Bloomberg Staff Bloomberg
Date Posted:
July 14, 2026
Is Database:
Database

China’s trade surplus with the European Union increased 27% y/y to $32.9B in June. China’s surplus with Germany more than doubled.

Is China's trade surplus with the European Union reaching record levels?

Core argument: China's trade surplus with the EU rose 27% from a year earlier to $32.9 billion in June, with exports to the bloc reaching a record, according to Chinese customs data.

China’s trade surplus with the European Union climbed to a fresh high, keeping the issue of growing imbalances high on the agenda as the bloc weighs new measures to shield local industries. With exports to the EU soaring to a record, China’s surplus with the bloc rose 27% from a year earlier to $32.9 billion in June, according to Chinese customs data released on Tuesday. The country’s surplus with Germany more than doubled year-on-year while plunging 81% with France. For the first half of the year, China imported $135.6 billion of goods from the EU, up 9% from a year earlier. Meanwhile its exports amounted to $312.3 billion during the period, a gain of 17%.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. China's trade surplus with the EU rose 27% from a year earlier to $32.9 billion in June, with exports to the bloc reaching a record, according to Chinese customs data.
  2. China exported $312.3 billion of goods to the EU in the first half of the year, up 17%, while importing $135.6 billion from the bloc, up 9%.
  3. China's surplus with Germany more than doubled from a year earlier while its surplus with France fell 81%, as the EU weighs new measures to shield local industries.

Related Articles:

  • The Real Problem With Global Trade — Asia's $1.5tn trade surplus is larger as a share of world output than at any point since 1945 and is the only large surplus in the global economy. Exchange rates have a meaningful impact on trade balances: China's surplus reached about 10% of its output amid renminbi depreciation, then fell below 2% after a 40% real appreciation.
  • Understanding Global Imbalances — The US, China, Germany, and Japan account for roughly two-thirds of global current account imbalances, with the US deficit at 4% of GDP financed by capital inflows into dollar assets. The average duration of a surplus or deficit spell roughly doubled since the 1980s, building large net foreign asset and liability positions.
  • China Shock 2.0 The Cost Of Germany’s Complacency — An analysis published by Bloomberg attributes roughly 40% of Germany's shortfall in economic output to lost export markets, another 40% to higher energy prices, and the remaining 20% to weak domestic demand, bureaucracy and other factors. The author argues German politics overemphasizes bureaucracy while China's pressure on the country's industrial base erodes export demand.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Savings Glut/Trade Deficit
    • Trade (not deficits)

The Emergence Of A New Anchor

AI Summary. Renminbi bonds have outperformed other major bond markets over horizons ranging from year-to-date to the past 10 years, and most countries now trade more with China than with the US. The author argues the world is not deglobalizing but "de-Westernizing," with greater trade with China making countries more willing to save in renminbi.

Charles Gave and Louis-Vincent Gave Gavekal
Date Posted:
May 20, 2026
Is Database:
Database

Post-covid, Renminbi bonds have outperformed all major bond markets over 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. Charles and Louis-Vincent Gave argue that two parallel worlds are emerging: an inflationary OECD and a deflationary Asia/emerging markets.

Is rising trade with China making countries save in renminbi?

Core argument: Renminbi bonds have outperformed other major bond markets year to date and over the past 12 months, three years, five years, this decade, and the past 10 years.

Renminbi bonds have now outperformed other major bond markets year to date, over the past 12 months, three years, five years, so far this decade, and over the past 10 years. Most countries now trade more with China than with the US. This is arguably the major shift of the past two decades. Put differently, for all the talk of “deglobalization,” the world is not so much “deglobalizing” as “de-Westernizing.” The idea that the world is closing in on itself would sound silly to anyone living in Jakarta, Mumbai, Dubai, or São Paulo. And the more countries trade with China, the more comfortable they become saving in renminbi and buying renminbi bonds to fund future trade. In turn, this implies the coexistence of two worlds: one stable—Asia and emerging markets—and one unstable—the OECD; one inflationary—the OECD—and the other deflationary—Asia and emerging markets.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Renminbi bonds have outperformed other major bond markets year to date and over the past 12 months, three years, five years, this decade, and the past 10 years.
  2. Most countries now trade more with China than with the United States, a shift the author calls arguably the major one of the past two decades and a sign the world is "de-Westernizing" rather than deglobalizing.
  3. The author argues that greater trade with China makes countries more comfortable saving in renminbi and buying renminbi bonds, implying two coexisting worlds: a stable, deflationary Asia and emerging markets, and an unstable, inflationary OECD.

Related Articles:

  • Why Global Imbalances Matter — Countries running persistent trade surpluses, such as China, Germany and Japan, have built their economies around an excess supply of tradeable goods and services, leaving them dependent on deficit countries to absorb it. That dependence gives deficit countries bargaining power and exposes surplus countries to pressure to expand domestic demand.
  • Is China’s High-Quality Investment Output Economically Viable? — China's technological progress and infrastructure do not refute claims of overinvestment, since overinvestment often produces real physical assets and technological gains yet still counts as overinvestment when it generates less real value than the resources, subsidies, and transfers it consumes. When such losses are capitalized, assets are carried above their real economic value.
  • Finding China in the U.S.TIC Data — China's holdings of U.S. assets began disappearing from U.S. custodial data after the G-7 immobilized Russia's reserves, and estimating them has grown harder as China diversified away from both U.S. and Belgium-based custodians. Estimates suggest a lower share in long-term Treasuries, more bills, and roughly 10% in agency bonds.
  • China
  • GDP
    • Financial Markets
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