Five charts to start your day
China’s companies are finding it harder to make money
China's economic miracle, long the envy of the developing world, is showing signs of strain as its companies struggle to turn a profit in an increasingly saturated domestic market.
This chart from the Wall Street Journal paints a grim picture: the share of loss-making firms listed on Chinese exchanges has quintupled since 2010, with nearly a quarter now in the red. This malaise stems from Beijing's dogged pursuit of industrial growth at the expense of consumer spending, a strategy that has led to rampant overcapacity in sectors from electric vehicles to solar panels.
The result is a perfect storm of tumbling prices, anaemic domestic demand, and rising international trade barriers. As Chinese firms flood global markets with their excess production, they face a backlash from Washington to Brussels, with tariffs and anti-dumping measures proliferating.
Without a radical rebalancing towards consumption, China's economy may find itself trapped in a deflationary spiral, trading tomorrow's growth for today's output.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Coming up:
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