
What Might China's Changing Investment Patterns Mean?
The drop in the amount of outward investment from China speaks in yet another way to the country's broader economic and financial problems.
Outward bound investing by Chinese business—private, state-owned enterprises, and the state—has fallen off precipitously. To be sure, the data from Chinese sources are pretty sketchy, making any conclusions drawn from them tentative at best.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time Magazine
26 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
White House Launches TikTok Account
The White House has created an official TikTok account just weeks before the deadline that President Donald Trump extended for the Chinese-owned app to be sold to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the U.S. The account, @whitehouse, was launched Tuesday evening and gained more than 80,000 followers as of early Wednesday. Trump's campaign used a TikTok account, @realdonaldtrump, which now has more than 15 million followers, before the presidential election last year. Trump's aides said last year that his TikTok was 'the most successful launch in political history' and credited it with being his 'secret sauce.' 'I am your voice,' Trump declares in the first video posted to the White House account, featuring footage of him spliced together and a caption reading, 'America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?' 'The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters on Tuesday. 'President Trump's message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign, and we're excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before.' Federal employees are not allowed to download the app on work devices with limited exceptions, per a law passed during the Biden Administration. Trump's TikTok evolution The Trump Administration has sought to negotiate a deal for the sale of TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, to a non-Chinese buyer before Sept. 17. The app was initially banned in the U.S. after President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan law last year requiring ByteDance to divest from the app over national security concerns. TikTok has argued that a U.S. ban violates the First Amendment, though the Supreme Court upheld the ban. On the evening of Jan. 18, the app was removed from U.S. app stores and users were met with a message reading, 'Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately that means you can't use TikTok for now.' Hours later, the app was live again as Trump announced that he extended the deadline for ByteDance to sell. A message on the app read: 'Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!' TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who attended Trump's inauguration, praised Trump for the extension in a video message. Read More: Why Trump Flipped on TikTok The President has since extended the deadline several more times, although a sale before the current September deadline looks uncertain. Trump said in June that a deal with 'a group of very wealthy people' was close, contingent on approval from Beijing. Trump has also acknowledged that his tariffs on China may have made a sale harder. Trump himself had called TikTok a national security threat during his first presidential term, and the ban on the app was driven by a bipartisan push. 'The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in [China] continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,' an executive order signed by Trump in 2020 reads. 'The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security.'


The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
German minister warns China's assertiveness threatens European interests
JAKARTA: China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait threaten international security and European interests, Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday. 'What happens here in the Indo-Pacific has a direct impact on European security and vice versa,' Johann Wadephul said in a speech in Jakarta, using an alternative description for the Asia-Pacific region. 'China's growing military assertiveness in the South China Sea not only threatens Asia's security but also undermines the international rules-based order,' Wadephul said after talks with his Indonesian counterpart. 'With essential trade routes running right through this area, it also constitutes an economic risk.' He said the same applied to frictions in the Taiwan Strait, where China has deployed fighter jets, warships and coast guard ships near Taiwan and has held several major military exercises around the island in recent years. 'Any escalation would have serious consequences for global security and prosperity, and directly affect German and European interests, too,' he said. His comments are likely to cause more friction with Beijing after it lashed out at Berlin this week over his remarks in Japan, where he accused China of being 'increasingly aggressive' and trying to 'unilaterally change' regional borders. Wadephul said in a statement on Sunday before leaving for Asia that China was 'increasingly asserting its regional supremacy' and questioning principles of international law. He also said on Wednesday Russia's war in Ukraine had an impact on regional security in Asia because of Chinese and North Korean support for Moscow. 'Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is not only an attack on the European peace order, it also affects Indo-Pacific security,' he said. 'The Russian war machine runs in part on North Korean troops and ammunition, as well as China's decisive economic support.' China insists it is a neutral party in the conflict but many of Ukraine's allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow. – AFP


The Mainichi
28 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
White House launches TikTok account amid easing tensions with China
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The White House on Tuesday launched an official TikTok account despite U.S. lawmakers deciding the popular short-form video-sharing app owned by a Chinese company is a national security concern. The launch, seemingly aimed at helping President Donald Trump reach wider and younger audiences, comes amid easing tensions with China and less than a month before a deadline requiring TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. to sell the app or face a federal ban. In April 2024, Trump's predecessor Joe Biden signed a federal law requiring ByteDance to sell the U.S. version of TikTok or face a nationwide ban on national security grounds following its passage with bipartisan congressional support. The ban was supposed to have taken effect in January, but Trump has repeatedly pushed back the deadline since taking office the same month, offering more time for the Chinese company to find a Washinton-approved buyer. In June, Trump signed an executive order for the most recent extension, which ends on Sept. 17.