The key takeaway from China’s July data – firms reluctant to invest, borrow or hire

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China’s internal health policy is nobody’s business but China’s. I am sure that authorities in the country see good reasons to maintain their ‘zero’ policy and judge all the economic costs as worthwhile.

China’s state media downplays the economic damage. They are wrong. For those of us outside of China its best to understand the economic costs. Global supply chain problems are decreasing, but more slowly than would otherwise be the case. China’s domestic economic growth is weak, slowing the uptake of imports into the country. The risk of a slow global economy remains ever-present.

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China Beige Book is best known for its economic reports on China. It adapts a methodology used by the “Bridge Color Book” of the US Federal Reserve.

• and issues a quarterly report
• uses quantitative and qualitative data to track conditions within the Chinese economy

Its observations on the Chinese economy are well considered.