SINOLOGIX provides economic, technological, and political analysis of the People’s Republic of China and its burgeoning portfolio of partners in the so-called Global South. We strive to offer objective, independent research – and while objective doesn’t necessarily preclude an editorial point-of-view, we endeavor to provide a balanced perspective so that our readers can better understand the opportunities, risks, and challenges when engaging China and its collective partners. To that end, we publish content from contributing subject matter experts, even if we do not necessarily endorse their points of view.
NOTE – our readers may have observed a shift in our focus on all things Chinese to a more expansive scope as we incorporate conflicts in the Mideast and Central Asia, we as economic and political developments related to the so-called Global South – China is rapidly emerging as an influential leader in regions where the US and its allies once dominated without challenge. China’s emergence as a superpower equal to the US is perhaps best observed in the context of global events.
Featured research, commentary, news, and weekly summaries on mainland China, APAC, and Central Asia by SINOLOGIX staff and contributing subject matter experts.
Pepe Escobar’s commentary on the geopolitical and economic causes and consequences of the Nord Stream pipeline disaster is one of the most comprehensive analyses published to date on this story. His authoritative report provides insights and conclusions that are conspicuously ignored by the mainstream media.
Recent news coverage in western media suggests that US sanctions against China’s semiconductor sector have caught the CCP and mainland industry leaders off guard. In this research article, we examine this issue in the context of the global supply chain to analyze the short-term and long-term impact of US sanctions and the implications for both China and key industry players.
As the multi-polar Global South movement accelerates, there is now a consensus that the time is right for strategic alternatives – banks, financial messaging systems, and possibly even a new currency. In this Part 03, we examine recent changes to the financial infrastructure proliferating amongst BRICS+ and SCO+ members.
On January 6, 2023, the Afghanistan Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan held a joint press conference to announce a historic deal for the first major foreign investment since the Taliban takeover to open up Afghanistan’s potentially vast energy and mineral resources. While the initial investment by the Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company is a relatively paltry $150 million, it demonstrates what western analysts have feared – China will bypass western sanctions against the Taliban to secure access to critical energy, lithium and other rare earth minerals, and conversely, the Taliban has opened the door to obtain much-needed foreign currency to support an economy teetering on the brink of disaster.
Chinese stocks reacted to Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power and the possibility of further restrictions on the private sector. The US Department of Justice made a conspicuously timed announcement regarding recent investigations and arrests of Chinese nationals charged with espionage and other offenses.
An excerpt from Retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Spalding’s “War Without Rules: Inside China’s Playbook for Global Domination” – an excellent analysis of “Unrestricted Warfare” by Qiao Liang (乔良) and Wang Xiangsui (王湘穗).
In this week’s recap, we discuss the history of China’s “Zero-COVID” policy, from lockdowns to protests to the recent reversal to a more relaxed approach to managing an endemic disease.
This week, Chairman Xi concluded two momentous summit meetings with influential Middle East leaders – first with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and then with leaders of Arab League countries comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council. We discuss the background of Sino-Saudi trade, and key takeaways from the summit, and offer our analysis of the meetings in the context of frosty US-Saudi relations.
The so-called “de-dollarization” phenomenon is really a reflection of China’s ascendancy to superpower status – there can be no question it is the main driver behind the emergence of increasingly powerful inter-regional economic organizations, innovative trade agreements that circumvent the USD’s role as the world’s primary currency for trade settlement, and conceivably, the demise of the USD as the world’s de facto reserve currency. In this Part 1, we summarize the key factors that might trigger a future change in currency usage by China and its trading partners.
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The contrast between the debt-to-GDP ratio for China and Russia vs. Japan and the US is yet another stark reminder that economic power is shifting away from the traditional G7 countries to the BRICS – notwithstanding questions regarding the accuracy of China’s numbers, it should be clear that both China and Russia are in a much stronger position to continue their economic growth, while both Japan and the US have maxed out their credit cards.
In 2022, the US government will pay $305B in interest (to service the national debt) – roughly 5% of the total federal budget. By 2030, that number is expected to grow to $829B, or roughly 10.6% of the total federal budget. Note – this estimate was calculated before the 2022 adjustments to the Fed funds target rate.
Japan and the US are going to find it increasingly difficult to find buyers for JGB and US Treasuries – and that is going to have a profound impact on the value of their respective currencies. China and Russia, on the other hand, have initiated two initiatives that will further erode the US control of global trade – commodity-based currencies and trade settlement using a basket of currencies (other than the USD).
Data Source – World Bank
Data Source – World Bank
Data Source – World Bank
PLEASE NOTE – We’re in the process of developing a full Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) component that will tap into a database of economic, tech trends and other data associated with our research reports. This initial prototype includes content that we’ve already published in the form of text articles, but we’ll soon be adding structured content that will enable in-depth analysis not generally available through public chat apps.
Retrieval Augment Generation refers to generative AI that is supplemented with proprietary structured data, text, images, audio and video content that we have curated from our research.
Thanks for your patience! This initial prototype will soon be replaced with a more advanced UI capable of generating complete multi-modal reports. Please bear with us – this prototype is text and speech only.
Data Source – World Bank
Data Source – World Bank
Data Source – World Bank
Western media is starting to pay attention to China’s efforts to influence members of the so-called Global South, or more specifically the BRICS+ and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (with substantially overlapping membership), to denominate international trade in the Chinese Renminbi (RMB), aks the Chinese Yuan (CNY) and/or other local currencies. For very different reasons, Russia has promoted the idea of an entirely new currency for trade settlement. This is an accelerating trend among countries that have formed close economic and political relationships with China.
Coincident with the pivot to the RMB for trade settlement is a growing sentiment among the BRICS+ and SCO members that holding USD as their primary reserve currency poses a risk in the event the US declares sanctions and/or freezes a country’s assets, as happened with Russia and Belarus in 2022.
The combined effect of these two trends should be observable in a country’s US Treasuries holdings, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in the chart above – China’s USD and Treasuries holdings peaked at $1.277 trillion in 2013 and declined by more than 32% in 2022.
Things change “slowly at first, then all at once”...
The so-called “de-dollarization” phenomenon is really a reflection of China’s ascendancy to superpower status – there can be no question it is the main driver behind the emergence of increasingly powerful inter-regional economic organizations, innovative trade agreements that circumvent the USD’s role as the world’s primary currency for trade settlement, and conceivably, the demise of the USD as the world’s de facto reserve currency. In this Part 1, we summarize the key factors that might trigger a future change in currency usage by China and its trading partners.
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While not as closely watched as the recent summit in Moscow, where President Xi tacitly threw his weight behind Russia and its SMO in Ukraine, Brazil’s newly (re)elected President Lula da Silva’s recent state visit to China was in many respects much more significant, as it further pulls the US’ most powerful Latin American ally away from its sphere of influence and into China’s orbit.
While China is a driving force in the Global South’s pivot away from the USD, the rapid expansion of inter-regional economic organizations made up of Asian, Central Asian, Middle East, African and Latin American countries has accelerated the shift in political and economic power that threatens to upend more than 70 years of US dominance on the world stage.
The so-called “de-dollarization” phenomenon is really a reflection of China’s ascendancy to superpower status – there can be no question it is the main driver behind the emergence of increasingly powerful inter-regional economic organizations, innovative trade agreements that circumvent the USD’s role as the world’s primary currency for trade settlement, and conceivably, the demise of the USD as the world’s de facto reserve currency. In this Part 1, we summarize the key factors that might trigger a future change in currency usage by China and its trading partners.
On March 22, China’s President Xi Jinping concluded a very visible state visit to Moscow, where he met for three days of discussions with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on a number of topics of interest not only to both China and Russia, but the US and its EU allies as well.
In a historic turn of events, China has successfully brokered a groundbreaking agreement between long-standing rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, marking a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. The agreement, which focuses on reestablishing diplomatic ties, ending proxy conflicts, and enhancing economic cooperation, highlights China’s growing influence in the region and its expanding role as a global power.
The last few weeks have seen remarkable changes in China – the (reported) COVID numbers have stabilized and even declined in some provinces, 2022 Q4 GDP numbers (vastly) exceeded analysts’ expectations, a projected 5.2% GDP growth target for 2023 is driving demand for oil, and the latest Bureau of Statistics reports confirm a population decline. A lot to digest…
To put China’s massive pollution problem in perspective, it’s important to understand that China’s transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy happened over a span of less than 40 years. While the US and other western countries gradually adapted to industrialization over a 150-year span, China has had to deal with industrialization over a much shorter period and at a scale that dwarfs that of the US.
As the multi-polar Global South movement accelerates, there is now a consensus that the time is right for strategic alternatives – banks, financial messaging systems, and possibly even a new currency. In this Part 03, we examine recent changes to the financial infrastructure proliferating amongst BRICS+ and SCO+ members.
While not as closely watched as the recent summit in Moscow, where President Xi tacitly threw his weight behind Russia and its SMO in Ukraine, Brazil’s newly (re)elected President Lula da Silva’s recent state visit to China was in many respects much more significant, as it further pulls the US’ most powerful Latin American ally away from its sphere of influence and into China’s orbit.
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The Shanghai office is currently closed to outside visitors. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone to schedule an online meeting.
The Shanghai office is currently closed to outside visitors. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone to schedule an online meeting.
Due to the recent COVID outbreak in the downtown Puxi District, the Shanghai office is closed to outside visitors. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone to schedule an online meeting.
Due to the recent COVID outbreak in the downtown Puxi District, the Shanghai office is closed to outside visitors. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone to schedule an online meeting.
Due to the recent COVID outbreak in the downtown Puxi District, the Shanghai office is closed to outside visitors. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone to schedule an online meeting.
Due to the recent COVID outbreak in the downtown Puxi District, the Shanghai office is closed to outside visitors. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone to schedule an online meeting.
In Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes power, strength, and good luck. Unlike in Western mythology, where dragons are often seen as malevolent creatures, the Chinese dragon is benevolent and associated with prosperity, the power of transformation, and the bringing of rain to the crops.
Best wishes to all in 2024!
In Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes power, strength, and good luck. Unlike in Western mythology, where dragons are often seen as malevolent creatures, the Chinese dragon is benevolent and associated with prosperity, the power of transformation, and the bringing of rain to the crops.
Best wishes to all in 2024!
