News Analysis Chinese leader Xi Jinping is cracking down on the financial sector, restricting foreign trade, and generally moving the Chinese economy away from market influence toward one of social and central planning. To commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the founding of communist China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a letter, extolling “the six…

News Analysis The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is launching investigations into the financial industry, triggered by a looming debt crisis and under the guise of anti-corruption. These investigations appear to be an indication that China is moving further from a market economy, while they also serve Xi Jinping’s personal goal of solidifying his power. China’s…

News Analysis Technology regulations emanating from Beijing are a foot in the door that may someday take away your right to drive. This month, Mercedes-Benz is opening a tech center in Beijing with 1,000 engineers and $170 million in new equipment. Top of mind for the engineers will be preparing Mercedes-Benz for 2025, when all…

NEW YORK—An economic slowdown in China could ripple through the global economy and weigh on commodity prices and growth, star stock picker Cathie Wood of ARK Invest warned in a webinar on Tuesday. Wood, whose flagship $19.7 billion Ark Innovation fund was the top-performing U.S. equity fund in 2020, said that China’s recent steps to…

News Analysis U.S. investors have trillions of dollars invested in Chinese variable interest entities (VIEs) without knowing it. These are illegal contracts under Chinese law and could be shut down by Chinese regulators at any time. When U.S. investors buy shares of Chinese companies, particularly internet companies, on NYSE and NASDAQ, they generally do not…

American corporations will sooner or later have to take a stand on the Chinese regime’s repressive practices, said Clyde Prestowitz, author of “The World Turned Upside Down: America, China, and the Struggle for Global Leadership.” U.S. firms, eager to do business in China, have adopted a “satisficing” practice to avoid offending the country’s communist rulers…

A large-scale protest broke out on the premises of Samsung Heavy Industries Ningbo (SHI Ningbo) on Sept. 9. Around 1,500 local employees demanded better compensation schemes after the company announced plans to close its plant in Ningbo city, south of Shanghai. The company issued a letter on Sept. 10, stating that all employees would be terminated. SHI is…

BEIJING—China fired a fresh regulatory shot at its tech giants on Monday, telling them to end a long-standing practice of blocking each other’s links on their sites, or face consequences. The comments, made by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) at a news briefing, mark the latest step in Beijing’s broad regulatory clampdown…

Chinese bourses have halted 42 initial public offerings (IPOs) amid a regulatory probe into four intermediaries in the deals. It marks the latest move in the Chinese regime’s escalating crackdown on the private sector. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange suspended more than 30 IPOs, including public share sale plans by the electronic carmaker BYD Co’s chip…

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) reported 43 apps on Wednesday for illegally transferring user data, warning companies to fix the issue within a week. The illegal behavior included transferring users’ location and contacts, and harassing users with pop-up windows, according to a MIIT statement. The ministry said if the 43 apps, that included…