Latest news with #YuYongding
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding on Trump, the dollar and the rise of the yuan
Welcome to Open Dialogue, a new series from the Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. In this inaugural edition, we invited prominent economists from both sides of the Pacific to reflect on the recent turmoil in global trade, the diminishing role of the US dollar and whether China's yuan could – or should – take its place. Professor Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University has repeatedly warned the US dollar is approaching a crisis of legitimacy. Having written extensively on the global recession in the late 2000s, Rogoff has turned his focus to the US currency's now more unstable place at the top of the world's financial hierarchy. A former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund – and a chess grandmaster – he published Our Dollar, Your Problem in early May. Dr Yu Yongding has been outspoken in his advocacy of a free-floating yuan and broad fiscal stimulus in China. He has also recommended Beijing gradually reduce its holdings of US Treasuries to a level that minimises potential losses. Previously an adviser to China's central bank, he remains an influential voice in policy circles as a senior fellow of the Beijing-based governmental think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. What do you think about the future of the US dollar? Will it remain the dominant global currency? Yu Yongding: It can be asserted that foreign investors' demand for US assets, particularly Treasury bonds, will gradually decline, making it increasingly difficult for the US to sustain its balance of payments and maintain a strong dollar. The US dollar is the world's most important reserve currency. Other countries around the world need to hold a certain amount of US dollars to pay for imports, service debts, intervene in foreign exchange markets and meet unexpected needs. The US dollar is primarily invested by its holders in highly liquid short-term US Treasury bonds. In essence, the dollar is essentially an 'IOU' issued by the US government, backed by its own credit.
The Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
China Focus: Walmart further expands in China with new Tianjin mega store
TIANJIN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Walmart has launched construction of its largest Sam's Club by operational area in northern China, with Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony in the Tianjin Municipality marking the U.S. retail giant's latest bet on the country's vast consumer market. Scheduled to open in 2026, the 25,000-square-meter facility will adopt an omnichannel model integrating one physical store with 20 digital fulfillment centers to serve premium and diversified consumption needs across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. This third Sam's Club location in the northern metropolis positions Tianjin as a strategic anchor for Walmart's regional expansion. Since opening its first Chinese store in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province in 1996, the Walmart-owned warehouse membership chain has grown to 55 operational outlets nationwide. Sam's Club achieved a milestone in 2024 with its annual China revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan (about 13.9 billion U.S. dollars), while Walmart China reported 6.7 billion U.S. dollars in net sales in the first quarter of 2025, a 22.5-percent year-on-year surge. "We take immense pride in Sam's growth in China," said Christina Zhu, president and CEO of Walmart China at last month's Walmart Investment Community Meeting. She revealed that eight Sam's Clubs in China are projected to surpass 500 million U.S. dollars in annual sales this year. The retailer has accelerated its China investments since announcing plans in December 2023 to open six to seven new Sam's Clubs annually. Over a dozen projects are currently underway across Beijing, Guangdong, east China's Zhejiang and other regions. Sam's success aligns with China's expanding import sector, which hit a record over 18 trillion yuan in 2024. The nation has maintained its position as the world's second-largest consumer market and top online retail market, with total retail sales of consumer goods growing 4.6 percent year-on-year to 12.47 trillion yuan in the January-March period of 2025. China's mega-market advantage lies in its economic scale, market capacity, industrial system and human capital -- a multidimensional strength enhancing economic resilience, according to Yu Yongding, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Despite global protectionist headwinds, China attracted 12,603 new foreign-invested enterprises during the first quarter of this year, with actualized foreign direct investment up 13.2 percent year on year in March. "Multinationals like Walmart are voting with their capital, showcasing confidence in China's economic vitality and market appeal," Yu noted.
