Can China fight America alone?
The world’s two biggest economies begin an almighty trade clash
April 10th 2025
Victoria Harbour is Hong Kong’s most glamorous body of water. But Rambler Channel is where the free port’s work is done. The quays along its banks extend over more than 7km. Gantry cranes, rail-mounted or rubber-tyred, serve as many as 24 vessels at a time. Last year, the surrounding port handled over 10m of the standardised containers that carry goods across the world, parcelling globalisation up into metal boxes, in green, blue and red.
No bell or siren interrupted the port’s work at a minute past noon on April 9th—nothing to mark the moment when America’s devastating “reciprocal” tariffs came into effect. Containers kept circulating. Globalisation kept moving. A balding lorry driver reversed into position under a “reach stacker”, which hoisted his cargo into the air, like a weight-lifter jerking a barbell. The scene was deceptively anti-climactic, for a threshold had been crossed. Most goods leaving the port—and others like it across China—will now incur outlandish tariffs if they enter America, the world’s biggest market and, until now, its staunchest champion of global trade.
Read more of our coverage of Donald Trump’s tariffs
Trump’s incoherent trade policy will do lasting damage
The tariff madness of King Donald, explained
With tariffs paused, Republicans dodge a fight with Trump
The tariffs on China are so extravagantly high because it chose to retaliate, punch for punch, against what it calls America’s “economic bullying”. When President Donald Trump unveiled a 34% tariff on China on April 2nd, China matched it. When Mr Trump then raised it to 84%, China answered in kind. Then, hours after America’s tariff came into effect, Mr Trump took a third swing. He hiked the levy from 104% at noon (including an earlier penalty of 20% related to China’s role in fentanyl production) to 125% after dusk.
Even as he hit China, he retreated elsewhere. Reciprocal tariffs on other countries, linked to the size of their trade surpluses with America, will now not come into force for another 90 days. Countries will instead face a 10% tariff as they seek “bespoke” agreements with the president.
Mr Trump’s retreat earned a hearty “thank you” from America’s financial markets. The bond market, in particular, had been making people a little “queasy”, Mr Trump conceded. After his reprieve, stocks surged. The S&P 500 index ended the day up by 10%, leaving it 3% below its level at the end of April 1st, before the whole charade began (see chart).
Despite Mr Trump’s retreat, the tariffs that remain are still historic. They average over 25% across all trading partners, when weighted by America’s imports last year. The last-minute rise on China, which remains a huge trading partner, was more than enough to offset the last-minute reprieve offered to India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, all combined. As a consequence, America’s weighted overall tariff is still above the level it reached after the infamous Smoot-Hawley act of 1930. At the time that legislation passed, this newspaper described it as “the tragi-comic finale to one of the most amazing chapters in world tariff history”.
Today’s chapter, still more amazing and tragicomic, has not yet reached its finale. The 90 days earmarked for country-by-country negotiations is a blink of an eye in the geological timescale of trade talks. When the serious bargaining begins, some countries may not pucker up enough for Mr Trump’s liking. The president still seems intent on imposing tariffs on copper, lumber, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. And on May 2nd parcels from China that are worth less than $800 will face onerous duties and documentation requirements, which they previously escaped because the revenue was often not worth the hassle of collecting it.
The world’s two biggest economies begin an almighty trade clash
April 10th 2025
Victoria Harbour is Hong Kong’s most glamorous body of water. But Rambler Channel is where the free port’s work is done. The quays along its banks extend over more than 7km. Gantry cranes, rail-mounted or rubber-tyred, serve as many as 24 vessels at a time. Last year, the surrounding port handled over 10m of the standardised containers that carry goods across the world, parcelling globalisation up into metal boxes, in green, blue and red.
No bell or siren interrupted the port’s work at a minute past noon on April 9th—nothing to mark the moment when America’s devastating “reciprocal” tariffs came into effect. Containers kept circulating. Globalisation kept moving. A balding lorry driver reversed into position under a “reach stacker”, which hoisted his cargo into the air, like a weight-lifter jerking a barbell. The scene was deceptively anti-climactic, for a threshold had been crossed. Most goods leaving the port—and others like it across China—will now incur outlandish tariffs if they enter America, the world’s biggest market and, until now, its staunchest champion of global trade.
Read more of our coverage of Donald Trump’s tariffs
Trump’s incoherent trade policy will do lasting damage
The tariff madness of King Donald, explained
With tariffs paused, Republicans dodge a fight with Trump
The tariffs on China are so extravagantly high because it chose to retaliate, punch for punch, against what it calls America’s “economic bullying”. When President Donald Trump unveiled a 34% tariff on China on April 2nd, China matched it. When Mr Trump then raised it to 84%, China answered in kind. Then, hours after America’s tariff came into effect, Mr Trump took a third swing. He hiked the levy from 104% at noon (including an earlier penalty of 20% related to China’s role in fentanyl production) to 125% after dusk.
Even as he hit China, he retreated elsewhere. Reciprocal tariffs on other countries, linked to the size of their trade surpluses with America, will now not come into force for another 90 days. Countries will instead face a 10% tariff as they seek “bespoke” agreements with the president.
Mr Trump’s retreat earned a hearty “thank you” from America’s financial markets. The bond market, in particular, had been making people a little “queasy”, Mr Trump conceded. After his reprieve, stocks surged. The S&P 500 index ended the day up by 10%, leaving it 3% below its level at the end of April 1st, before the whole charade began (see chart).
Despite Mr Trump’s retreat, the tariffs that remain are still historic. They average over 25% across all trading partners, when weighted by America’s imports last year. The last-minute rise on China, which remains a huge trading partner, was more than enough to offset the last-minute reprieve offered to India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, all combined. As a consequence, America’s weighted overall tariff is still above the level it reached after the infamous Smoot-Hawley act of 1930. At the time that legislation passed, this newspaper described it as “the tragi-comic finale to one of the most amazing chapters in world tariff history”.
Today’s chapter, still more amazing and tragicomic, has not yet reached its finale. The 90 days earmarked for country-by-country negotiations is a blink of an eye in the geological timescale of trade talks. When the serious bargaining begins, some countries may not pucker up enough for Mr Trump’s liking. The president still seems intent on imposing tariffs on copper, lumber, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. And on May 2nd parcels from China that are worth less than $800 will face onerous duties and documentation requirements, which they previously escaped because the revenue was often not worth the hassle of collecting it.
The surging gold price is boosting Central Asia’s economies
But foreign investors might want to tread carefully
March 27th 2025
Tian Shan—the name for the mountains that cross Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan—roughly translates as “Mountains of Heaven”. It is fitting for a range that is dotted with gold mines, including Kumtor, one of Central Asia’s largest and a symbol of Kyrgyz national pride. Moreover, it is not just the mountains of Central Asia that hold big reserves. Hundreds of kilometres to the west, in Uzbekistan’s Kyzylkum Desert, sits Muruntau, the world’s largest open-pit gold mine.
Now the good times are rolling. The price of gold has more than doubled since 2019. In March it breached $3,000 per troy ounce for the first time. That is good news for both governments and miners in the poor but mineral-rich Central Asian states. The yellow metal is the biggest export for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and one of the biggest in Kazakhstan, the region’s largest and richest economy.
Indeed, the Uzbek Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company (NMMC), which operates the Muruntau mine, is the world’s fourth-largest gold producer. It accounted for almost one-sixth of the Uzbek state’s revenue in 2023, when prices were significantly lower than they are today. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development forecasts average economic growth of 5.7% for Central Asia this year—well above its forecast of 3.2% for emerging markets in general.
The gold boom has made life easier for the region’s central bankers. After the Kazakh tenge struck a record low against the dollar in January, the country’s policymakers sold some of their gold reserves—the value of which had soared to a record $25.9bn in October—to prop up the currency. Russia has become reliant on imports from Central Asia to dodge Western sanctions. In both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan central bankers have used gold to settle transactions with their trading partner without the need for SWIFT, a Western financial-messaging network from which many Russian banks have been barred.
Little surprise, then, that the region’s leaders are eager to mine still more gold. Under his “Uzbekistan 2030” strategy, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country’s president, seeks 50% more production by the end of the decade. Mr Mirziyoyev wants to reduce the government’s role in the economy and entice foreign capital. To that end, the state-owned NMMC is reportedly planning an initial public offering (in London, with a rumoured valuation of more than £4bn, or $5.2bn). China has also invested in Central Asian gold-mining as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, focusing on Tajikistan, the region’s poorest country. In 2018 it agreed to build a power station in return for the right to develop the Upper Kumarg gold mine.
Foreign investors have not always had an easy time in the region. Kyrgyzstan’s Kumtor mine had for decades been run by Centerra Gold, a Canadian company. In 2021, amid tax disputes and allegations of environmental damage, it was taken over by the government of Sadyr Japarov, Kyrgyzstan’s nationalist president. In ordinary times, that might give overseas investors pause. But gold is alluring, especially when prices are this high. ■
But foreign investors might want to tread carefully
March 27th 2025
Tian Shan—the name for the mountains that cross Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan—roughly translates as “Mountains of Heaven”. It is fitting for a range that is dotted with gold mines, including Kumtor, one of Central Asia’s largest and a symbol of Kyrgyz national pride. Moreover, it is not just the mountains of Central Asia that hold big reserves. Hundreds of kilometres to the west, in Uzbekistan’s Kyzylkum Desert, sits Muruntau, the world’s largest open-pit gold mine.
Now the good times are rolling. The price of gold has more than doubled since 2019. In March it breached $3,000 per troy ounce for the first time. That is good news for both governments and miners in the poor but mineral-rich Central Asian states. The yellow metal is the biggest export for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and one of the biggest in Kazakhstan, the region’s largest and richest economy.
Indeed, the Uzbek Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company (NMMC), which operates the Muruntau mine, is the world’s fourth-largest gold producer. It accounted for almost one-sixth of the Uzbek state’s revenue in 2023, when prices were significantly lower than they are today. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development forecasts average economic growth of 5.7% for Central Asia this year—well above its forecast of 3.2% for emerging markets in general.
The gold boom has made life easier for the region’s central bankers. After the Kazakh tenge struck a record low against the dollar in January, the country’s policymakers sold some of their gold reserves—the value of which had soared to a record $25.9bn in October—to prop up the currency. Russia has become reliant on imports from Central Asia to dodge Western sanctions. In both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan central bankers have used gold to settle transactions with their trading partner without the need for SWIFT, a Western financial-messaging network from which many Russian banks have been barred.
Little surprise, then, that the region’s leaders are eager to mine still more gold. Under his “Uzbekistan 2030” strategy, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country’s president, seeks 50% more production by the end of the decade. Mr Mirziyoyev wants to reduce the government’s role in the economy and entice foreign capital. To that end, the state-owned NMMC is reportedly planning an initial public offering (in London, with a rumoured valuation of more than £4bn, or $5.2bn). China has also invested in Central Asian gold-mining as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, focusing on Tajikistan, the region’s poorest country. In 2018 it agreed to build a power station in return for the right to develop the Upper Kumarg gold mine.
Foreign investors have not always had an easy time in the region. Kyrgyzstan’s Kumtor mine had for decades been run by Centerra Gold, a Canadian company. In 2021, amid tax disputes and allegations of environmental damage, it was taken over by the government of Sadyr Japarov, Kyrgyzstan’s nationalist president. In ordinary times, that might give overseas investors pause. But gold is alluring, especially when prices are this high. ■
For Wall Street itself, that means the hurdle to investing in China has been raised. But there are plenty of investors in other countries who have trillions of dollars of their own to deploy. Capital allocators in New York may feel as if they cannot appear too bullish on China for political reasons. Their peers in Dubai, Geneva and Singapore will not feel the same compunctions. Indeed, American politics may push foreigners towards China even as it keeps Americans out. The Trump administration’s chaotic spending cuts and on-again, off-again tariff promises are a big part of why American markets are in the doldrums.
All this presents an opportunity for Chinese policymakers. A recovering economy, a truce between the government and business, and a swell of interest in China’s technological innovation have begun to revive overseas interest. It is early days, and more is to be done. But the opportunity to seal the deal is there—if they wish to take it. ■
All this presents an opportunity for Chinese policymakers. A recovering economy, a truce between the government and business, and a swell of interest in China’s technological innovation have begun to revive overseas interest. It is early days, and more is to be done. But the opportunity to seal the deal is there—if they wish to take it. ■
Can foreign investors learn to love China again?
Wall Street still needs more to coax it back. But non-American firms may be ready to return
March 27th 2025
FOR CHINESE stocks to outperform American ones is rare enough. But this year the MSCI China index has beaten its American equivalent by an impressive 20 percentage points, on the back of excitement about cutting-edge tech firms such as DeepSeek and Manus AI. American shares, meanwhile, have been weighed down by worries about a bellicose Trump administration and the danger of a slowing economy.
Could this revival be enough to entice international investors back to China? It has been a rocky romance so far. When outsiders looked at China’s vast economy and rapid growth in the early 2010s, many saw a land of endless opportunity. More recently, however, slowing growth and a government crackdown on private firms, ranging from video-game makers to tutoring companies, has led to a reduction in the share of domestically listed stocks that are held by foreign institutions. From 6.4% at the start of 2021, it fell to just 4% at the end of 2024.
The main beneficiary of the market upswing has been Hong Kong-listed high-tech stocks, reflecting Western investors’ newfound enthusiasm for Chinese artificial intelligence. Even after the recent rally, many of the companies in question still look cheap. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tech index has a price-to-earnings ratio (based on expectations of earnings next year) of around 19, compared with almost 70 at its peak in 2021. China’s tech firms are not just markedly cheaper than American tech stocks by the same measure; they are cheaper than American stocks overall.
When it comes to mainland stocks, though, investors are more reluctant. Cheapness may be necessary for a resumption of foreign interest, but it is not sufficient. Three issues make investors cautious. All would have to be resolved for them to return in good number.
Some progress has been made on the first issue, which was what initially sent foreign investors running for the hills. China’s tech crackdown began in 2020, when officials cancelled the initial public offering of Ant Group, the fintech arm of Alibaba, a tech giant, after the firm’s founder, Jack Ma, criticised the country’s regulators. The move sparked discussion of whether China had become “uninvestable”. Now a thaw seems to be in progress. Last month Xi Jinping, China’s president, got together with a group of private-sector leaders that included Mr Ma and Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek. Mr Xi stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and the scale of the Chinese market.
A revival in the Chinese economy would help too. The slump of the past few years, driven by the country’s troubled property industry, has knocked consumer spending, the main engine of growth for most large Chinese companies. Here, the necessary work is half-done at best. On March 16th the state laid out a new economic-rescue plan, apparently demonstrating its commitment to boosting consumption. The plan included schemes to subsidise interest on consumer loans and a modest increase in China’s stingy government pension. Yet it was worth only 2% of GDP—not quite the bazooka required to really get consumption going.
The last challenge, and the one that looks least likely to be resolved in the foreseeable future, is politics. Miserable relations between China and America have made Uncle Sam’s investors wary. In 2023 Joe Biden, then America’s president, signed rules that required American private-equity investors to receive approval if they wished to invest in some high-tech Chinese sectors. Mr Trump is likely to expand their reach.
Wall Street still needs more to coax it back. But non-American firms may be ready to return
March 27th 2025
FOR CHINESE stocks to outperform American ones is rare enough. But this year the MSCI China index has beaten its American equivalent by an impressive 20 percentage points, on the back of excitement about cutting-edge tech firms such as DeepSeek and Manus AI. American shares, meanwhile, have been weighed down by worries about a bellicose Trump administration and the danger of a slowing economy.
Could this revival be enough to entice international investors back to China? It has been a rocky romance so far. When outsiders looked at China’s vast economy and rapid growth in the early 2010s, many saw a land of endless opportunity. More recently, however, slowing growth and a government crackdown on private firms, ranging from video-game makers to tutoring companies, has led to a reduction in the share of domestically listed stocks that are held by foreign institutions. From 6.4% at the start of 2021, it fell to just 4% at the end of 2024.
The main beneficiary of the market upswing has been Hong Kong-listed high-tech stocks, reflecting Western investors’ newfound enthusiasm for Chinese artificial intelligence. Even after the recent rally, many of the companies in question still look cheap. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tech index has a price-to-earnings ratio (based on expectations of earnings next year) of around 19, compared with almost 70 at its peak in 2021. China’s tech firms are not just markedly cheaper than American tech stocks by the same measure; they are cheaper than American stocks overall.
When it comes to mainland stocks, though, investors are more reluctant. Cheapness may be necessary for a resumption of foreign interest, but it is not sufficient. Three issues make investors cautious. All would have to be resolved for them to return in good number.
Some progress has been made on the first issue, which was what initially sent foreign investors running for the hills. China’s tech crackdown began in 2020, when officials cancelled the initial public offering of Ant Group, the fintech arm of Alibaba, a tech giant, after the firm’s founder, Jack Ma, criticised the country’s regulators. The move sparked discussion of whether China had become “uninvestable”. Now a thaw seems to be in progress. Last month Xi Jinping, China’s president, got together with a group of private-sector leaders that included Mr Ma and Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek. Mr Xi stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and the scale of the Chinese market.
A revival in the Chinese economy would help too. The slump of the past few years, driven by the country’s troubled property industry, has knocked consumer spending, the main engine of growth for most large Chinese companies. Here, the necessary work is half-done at best. On March 16th the state laid out a new economic-rescue plan, apparently demonstrating its commitment to boosting consumption. The plan included schemes to subsidise interest on consumer loans and a modest increase in China’s stingy government pension. Yet it was worth only 2% of GDP—not quite the bazooka required to really get consumption going.
The last challenge, and the one that looks least likely to be resolved in the foreseeable future, is politics. Miserable relations between China and America have made Uncle Sam’s investors wary. In 2023 Joe Biden, then America’s president, signed rules that required American private-equity investors to receive approval if they wished to invest in some high-tech Chinese sectors. Mr Trump is likely to expand their reach.
Estate agents in China are trying everything to sell flats
You can place your deposit in bushels of wheat or strings of garlic
March 27th 2025
On the list of professions that are currently flourishing in China, estate agents do not come high up. Houses were once easy to sell, the surest investment available. But as a result of a four-year slump in the market, millions of homes now sit unsold. Some already paid-for properties are not even getting built. New home starts fell by almost 30% in the first two months of this year, compared with a year earlier. As of February, average new home prices had fallen for 21 months in a row.
Around a tenth of estate agents in the biggest Chinese cities have closed since 2021, according to industry estimates. The decline has been even sharper in small towns. Yanjiao, just outside Beijing, has seen hundreds shut, says one survivor. Another says his income has fallen by half in three years. So perhaps some of the wilder antics of those still trying to shift flats are understandable.
In recent months 31 men in the southern city of Huizhou bought flats at the request of their girlfriends, perhaps thinking that they had found “the one”. They then discovered that their girlfriends were estate agents trying to sell those apartments and were not interested in marriage. Authorities launched an investigation, telling local media that 15 women, all at the same firm, were behind the scheme and had used a dating app to find their targets. The incident is probably “just the tip of the iceberg”, warned a newspaper run by China’s housing ministry on March 24th.
Some estate agents are offering valuable inducements. Last year a firm in Zhejiang province said it would give out a 10-gram gold bar (worth around $1,000) for each house it sold. A Beijing-based company promised to throw in a holiday home in the seaside city of Yantai for anyone who paid for an apartment in the capital with cash. Other firms have offered everything from iPhones to stakes in a private-jet company.
Another tactic is to slash downpayments. A developer in the southern city of Zhongshan allowed a deposit of just 9.90 yuan ($1.30) for some flats. Developers in the agricultural province of Henan permitted farmers to put down wheat or other crops as a deposit. In 2022 Central China Group, one such developer, ended up with 430 tonnes of garlic after selling 30 apartments, according to local media reports.
Brokers are changing their pitch. Livestreaming is now a popular way to sell houses, with 500,000 agents on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Some sing, dance and do comedy sketches from unsold homes. In March, “U-bro”, a robot with a camera that shows houses and answers questions, began livestreaming in the city of Wuhan.
Government officials are trying to help by easing developers’ financing woes and encouraging people to trade in their old homes for new ones. But JPMorgan Chase, a bank, expects that in 2025 Chinese property developers will account for two-thirds of Asia’s defaults. Many analysts do not expect a recovery in the Chinese market until 2026.
If there is one group that can see a silver lining, it may be young men. The social pressure for them to own a home before women will consider them husband material is huge. But with prices in Beijing in late 2019 at 44 times average salaries, such a purchase has long proved out of reach for many. That ratio is now down to a mere 32 times. Some young men, if they can work out which of the women are not just estate agents in disguise, may be looking to snap up a bargain and pop the question. ■
You can place your deposit in bushels of wheat or strings of garlic
March 27th 2025
On the list of professions that are currently flourishing in China, estate agents do not come high up. Houses were once easy to sell, the surest investment available. But as a result of a four-year slump in the market, millions of homes now sit unsold. Some already paid-for properties are not even getting built. New home starts fell by almost 30% in the first two months of this year, compared with a year earlier. As of February, average new home prices had fallen for 21 months in a row.
Around a tenth of estate agents in the biggest Chinese cities have closed since 2021, according to industry estimates. The decline has been even sharper in small towns. Yanjiao, just outside Beijing, has seen hundreds shut, says one survivor. Another says his income has fallen by half in three years. So perhaps some of the wilder antics of those still trying to shift flats are understandable.
In recent months 31 men in the southern city of Huizhou bought flats at the request of their girlfriends, perhaps thinking that they had found “the one”. They then discovered that their girlfriends were estate agents trying to sell those apartments and were not interested in marriage. Authorities launched an investigation, telling local media that 15 women, all at the same firm, were behind the scheme and had used a dating app to find their targets. The incident is probably “just the tip of the iceberg”, warned a newspaper run by China’s housing ministry on March 24th.
Some estate agents are offering valuable inducements. Last year a firm in Zhejiang province said it would give out a 10-gram gold bar (worth around $1,000) for each house it sold. A Beijing-based company promised to throw in a holiday home in the seaside city of Yantai for anyone who paid for an apartment in the capital with cash. Other firms have offered everything from iPhones to stakes in a private-jet company.
Another tactic is to slash downpayments. A developer in the southern city of Zhongshan allowed a deposit of just 9.90 yuan ($1.30) for some flats. Developers in the agricultural province of Henan permitted farmers to put down wheat or other crops as a deposit. In 2022 Central China Group, one such developer, ended up with 430 tonnes of garlic after selling 30 apartments, according to local media reports.
Brokers are changing their pitch. Livestreaming is now a popular way to sell houses, with 500,000 agents on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Some sing, dance and do comedy sketches from unsold homes. In March, “U-bro”, a robot with a camera that shows houses and answers questions, began livestreaming in the city of Wuhan.
Government officials are trying to help by easing developers’ financing woes and encouraging people to trade in their old homes for new ones. But JPMorgan Chase, a bank, expects that in 2025 Chinese property developers will account for two-thirds of Asia’s defaults. Many analysts do not expect a recovery in the Chinese market until 2026.
If there is one group that can see a silver lining, it may be young men. The social pressure for them to own a home before women will consider them husband material is huge. But with prices in Beijing in late 2019 at 44 times average salaries, such a purchase has long proved out of reach for many. That ratio is now down to a mere 32 times. Some young men, if they can work out which of the women are not just estate agents in disguise, may be looking to snap up a bargain and pop the question. ■
In the long term, China needs to reform the unbalanced fiscal relations between the central government, which collects 45% of China’s revenues, and local governments, which have to carry out 85% of the public spending. If local governments were less strapped for cash, they might be less feral about collecting it. Until then, profit-driven law enforcement will remain the bane of profit-seeking enterprise. ■
The Chinese government is cracking down on predatory law enforcement
Extortion by local officials causes a lot of anger
March 27th 2025
To rescue china’s lacklustre economy, the ruling Communist Party is trying to revive the animal spirits of entrepreneurs and rehabilitate the profit motive. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, has welcomed Jack Ma, a leading tech boss, back in from the cold, and basked in the reflected glory of DeepSeek, a private AI firm. The government has also recently released five employees of Mintz, an American due-diligence firm, detained in 2023. To get rich is, if not glorious, at least less dangerous than it seemed a few years ago.
But there is one kind of buck-chasing the party is determined to quash: profit-driven law enforcement. This is the over-zealous collection of fees, fines and back-taxes by cash-strapped local governments eager to refill their coffers. In his report to China’s legislature this month, Li Qiang, the prime minister, vowed “resolute steps to prevent unauthorised cross-jurisdictional and profit-driven law enforcement”. On March 24th the Ministry of Finance said it will “resolutely prevent and correct” random charges, fines and levies.
Such money-grubbing has mushroomed since the pandemic, as conventional sources of revenue have fallen. Last year China’s tax collection fell by 3.4%, and revenues from land sales by 16%. The money raised from fines and confiscations, by contrast, increased by 14.8%.
Desperate local governments have resorted to new and crude tactics to raise money. Last year a mining company in western China was hit with a demand for 668m yuan ($92m) for alleged tax obligations going back 20 years. In dozens of reported cases executives have been detained on frivolous charges and obliged to bribe their way out of custody.
Distance is no barrier. Officials have crossed jurisdictional lines to hit up companies or individuals in other provinces, a practice known as “fishing in distant seas”. Foreigners are not exempt. Last year a foreign investment manager based in Beijing discovered that his local business partner had been arrested. Even though the charges came from a lowly sub-provincial jurisdiction, his lawyers advised him to leave the country immediately with his family, which he duly did.
Scholars have warned of grave damage to China’s private sector. Zhao Hong of Beijing University wrote in December that fishing in distant seas and other abuses “are tantamount to draining the pond to catch the fish”. Zhou Tianyong, a senior official at the Central Party School, a training institute for cadres, wrote of the profiteering last September in existential terms. In an online post that was quickly scrubbed from social-media sites he wrote that if local officials keep using the detention of entrepreneurs to boost revenue, it would lead to a “national economic disaster”. Enterprises across the country would collapse, he warned, together with hopes of reviving the economy.
Leaders have woken up to the damage the shakedowns are doing to private business. China’s highest prosecutorial body, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, has started to crack down. It reviewed 1,500 cases last year and has blocked improper attempts to grab 570m yuan in assets.
As well as legal remedies, some experts propose preventive measures. One idea is that all seized assets should be handed over to the central authorities. That would reduce the incentive for local officials to overreach. The central government is also trying to find less painful ways to fill local coffers. In November it said it would let provinces issue extra bonds worth 6trn yuan over the next three years to replace more expensive, “hidden” debts. This should give local governments more financial breathing room and a less compelling need to gouge their constituents.
Extortion by local officials causes a lot of anger
March 27th 2025
To rescue china’s lacklustre economy, the ruling Communist Party is trying to revive the animal spirits of entrepreneurs and rehabilitate the profit motive. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, has welcomed Jack Ma, a leading tech boss, back in from the cold, and basked in the reflected glory of DeepSeek, a private AI firm. The government has also recently released five employees of Mintz, an American due-diligence firm, detained in 2023. To get rich is, if not glorious, at least less dangerous than it seemed a few years ago.
But there is one kind of buck-chasing the party is determined to quash: profit-driven law enforcement. This is the over-zealous collection of fees, fines and back-taxes by cash-strapped local governments eager to refill their coffers. In his report to China’s legislature this month, Li Qiang, the prime minister, vowed “resolute steps to prevent unauthorised cross-jurisdictional and profit-driven law enforcement”. On March 24th the Ministry of Finance said it will “resolutely prevent and correct” random charges, fines and levies.
Such money-grubbing has mushroomed since the pandemic, as conventional sources of revenue have fallen. Last year China’s tax collection fell by 3.4%, and revenues from land sales by 16%. The money raised from fines and confiscations, by contrast, increased by 14.8%.
Desperate local governments have resorted to new and crude tactics to raise money. Last year a mining company in western China was hit with a demand for 668m yuan ($92m) for alleged tax obligations going back 20 years. In dozens of reported cases executives have been detained on frivolous charges and obliged to bribe their way out of custody.
Distance is no barrier. Officials have crossed jurisdictional lines to hit up companies or individuals in other provinces, a practice known as “fishing in distant seas”. Foreigners are not exempt. Last year a foreign investment manager based in Beijing discovered that his local business partner had been arrested. Even though the charges came from a lowly sub-provincial jurisdiction, his lawyers advised him to leave the country immediately with his family, which he duly did.
Scholars have warned of grave damage to China’s private sector. Zhao Hong of Beijing University wrote in December that fishing in distant seas and other abuses “are tantamount to draining the pond to catch the fish”. Zhou Tianyong, a senior official at the Central Party School, a training institute for cadres, wrote of the profiteering last September in existential terms. In an online post that was quickly scrubbed from social-media sites he wrote that if local officials keep using the detention of entrepreneurs to boost revenue, it would lead to a “national economic disaster”. Enterprises across the country would collapse, he warned, together with hopes of reviving the economy.
Leaders have woken up to the damage the shakedowns are doing to private business. China’s highest prosecutorial body, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, has started to crack down. It reviewed 1,500 cases last year and has blocked improper attempts to grab 570m yuan in assets.
As well as legal remedies, some experts propose preventive measures. One idea is that all seized assets should be handed over to the central authorities. That would reduce the incentive for local officials to overreach. The central government is also trying to find less painful ways to fill local coffers. In November it said it would let provinces issue extra bonds worth 6trn yuan over the next three years to replace more expensive, “hidden” debts. This should give local governments more financial breathing room and a less compelling need to gouge their constituents.
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【FlowUs 息流】外刊阅读理解测试
【FlowUs 息流】外刊阅读理解测试
2-continued: NASA said the large amount of water vapor could have been enough to temporarily affect Earth’s average temperature. This is because water vapor traps heat. However, the team noted that this effect would disappear over time when the extra water vapor “cycles out” of the stratosphere. This means the presence of the water vapor would not be enough to greatly affect climate change.
1. What recent event is the research discussing?
A. A tsunami in Tonga
B. An earthquake in Tonga
C. An eruption of the Tonga volcano
D. A hurricane near Tonga
2. What did the Tonga volcano release into the atmosphere?
A. Smoke and ash
B. Water vapor and particles
C. Carbon dioxide
D. Ozone and nitrogen
3. What part of the Earth’s atmosphere was affected by the Tonga volcano’s eruption?
A. The stratosphere
B. The troposphere
C. The mesosphere
D. The thermosphere
4. Why is the release of particles and water vapor significant?
A. It can affect weather patterns
B. It causes global warming
C. It improves air quality
D. It attracts tourists
5. What can be inferred about the impact of the Tonga volcano eruption?
A. It has no impact on the atmosphere
B. It might lead to climate changes
C. It only affected local areas
D. It has increased ocean temperatures
1. What recent event is the research discussing?
A. A tsunami in Tonga
B. An earthquake in Tonga
C. An eruption of the Tonga volcano
D. A hurricane near Tonga
2. What did the Tonga volcano release into the atmosphere?
A. Smoke and ash
B. Water vapor and particles
C. Carbon dioxide
D. Ozone and nitrogen
3. What part of the Earth’s atmosphere was affected by the Tonga volcano’s eruption?
A. The stratosphere
B. The troposphere
C. The mesosphere
D. The thermosphere
4. Why is the release of particles and water vapor significant?
A. It can affect weather patterns
B. It causes global warming
C. It improves air quality
D. It attracts tourists
5. What can be inferred about the impact of the Tonga volcano eruption?
A. It has no impact on the atmosphere
B. It might lead to climate changes
C. It only affected local areas
D. It has increased ocean temperatures
2. Study: Tonga Volcano Blasted Particles and Water High into Atmosphere
New research shows that the Tonga volcano sent large amounts of particles and water vapor into the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists used satellite equipment to measure the plume created by the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano. The blast, or eruption, of the volcano happened in January in the South Pacific near the island nation of Tonga.
The 10-minute eruption caused a series of large ocean waves, known as a tsunami, to hit areas around the world. The huge plume the volcano created included smoke, gas and water vapor.
Researchers at Britain’s University of Oxford studied the size of the plume and examined data showing how high it reached into the sky. They reported in a recent study in the publication Science the volcano produced the highest-ever reported plume.
The plume was the first to have broken through to the “mesosphere” level, or layer, of Earth’s atmosphere, the scientists said.
The mesosphere is the third-highest layer of Earth’s atmosphere above the stratosphere and the troposphere, which starts at the Earth’s surface. The mesosphere rises to 85 kilometers high. Meteors burn up within this layer.
The Oxford scientists said images captured by satellites suggested the volcano’s plume reached 57 kilometers into the sky. They said the previous record holder was Mount Pinatubo, which erupted in 1991. That volcano created a plume recorded as high as 40 kilometers.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever recorded a volcanic plume reaching the mesosphere,” said Simon Proud, a scientist at Oxford and Britain’s scientific research center RAL Space.
Proud added that the only other volcanic plume that might have reached the mesosphere might have been released in the eruption in 1883 of Krakatau, a small volcanic island in Indonesia. “But we didn’t see that in enough detail to confirm,” he said.
The researchers said progress in observational technology helped them reach their findings. The team used a method known as the “parallax effect” to measure the volcano’s plume.
The parallax effect describes a difference in the apparent position of an object when it is seen along two different lines of sight. The scientists said they used the parallax effect to examine the images captured from above by satellites.
Proud said his team was helped by satellites that recorded images every 10 minutes after the eruption, permitting them to document quick changes in the plume’s movements.
“Thirty years ago, when Pinatubo erupted, our satellites were nowhere near as good as they are now,” he said. “They could only scan the earth every 30 minutes. Or maybe even every hour.”
In a separate study, NASA researchers reported in August that the Tonga volcano also blasted a huge amount of water vapor into Earth’s atmosphere.
The space agency researchers said the vapor reached into the stratosphere, which stretches 50 kilometers high. But the amount of water vapor blasted into the atmosphere would have been enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. ·
Millán examined data from an instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite, which measures atmospheric gases, including water vapor. After the Tonga volcano erupted, NASA scientists started seeing extremely high vapor readings.
The NASA study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, estimated the plume injected an amount of vapor equal to about 10 percent of the water that already existed in the stratosphere. That was nearly four times the amount of water vapor scientists estimate the Mount Pinatubo eruption sent into the stratosphere, the researchers said.
New research shows that the Tonga volcano sent large amounts of particles and water vapor into the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists used satellite equipment to measure the plume created by the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano. The blast, or eruption, of the volcano happened in January in the South Pacific near the island nation of Tonga.
The 10-minute eruption caused a series of large ocean waves, known as a tsunami, to hit areas around the world. The huge plume the volcano created included smoke, gas and water vapor.
Researchers at Britain’s University of Oxford studied the size of the plume and examined data showing how high it reached into the sky. They reported in a recent study in the publication Science the volcano produced the highest-ever reported plume.
The plume was the first to have broken through to the “mesosphere” level, or layer, of Earth’s atmosphere, the scientists said.
The mesosphere is the third-highest layer of Earth’s atmosphere above the stratosphere and the troposphere, which starts at the Earth’s surface. The mesosphere rises to 85 kilometers high. Meteors burn up within this layer.
The Oxford scientists said images captured by satellites suggested the volcano’s plume reached 57 kilometers into the sky. They said the previous record holder was Mount Pinatubo, which erupted in 1991. That volcano created a plume recorded as high as 40 kilometers.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever recorded a volcanic plume reaching the mesosphere,” said Simon Proud, a scientist at Oxford and Britain’s scientific research center RAL Space.
Proud added that the only other volcanic plume that might have reached the mesosphere might have been released in the eruption in 1883 of Krakatau, a small volcanic island in Indonesia. “But we didn’t see that in enough detail to confirm,” he said.
The researchers said progress in observational technology helped them reach their findings. The team used a method known as the “parallax effect” to measure the volcano’s plume.
The parallax effect describes a difference in the apparent position of an object when it is seen along two different lines of sight. The scientists said they used the parallax effect to examine the images captured from above by satellites.
Proud said his team was helped by satellites that recorded images every 10 minutes after the eruption, permitting them to document quick changes in the plume’s movements.
“Thirty years ago, when Pinatubo erupted, our satellites were nowhere near as good as they are now,” he said. “They could only scan the earth every 30 minutes. Or maybe even every hour.”
In a separate study, NASA researchers reported in August that the Tonga volcano also blasted a huge amount of water vapor into Earth’s atmosphere.
The space agency researchers said the vapor reached into the stratosphere, which stretches 50 kilometers high. But the amount of water vapor blasted into the atmosphere would have been enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. ·
Millán examined data from an instrument on NASA’s Aura satellite, which measures atmospheric gases, including water vapor. After the Tonga volcano erupted, NASA scientists started seeing extremely high vapor readings.
The NASA study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, estimated the plume injected an amount of vapor equal to about 10 percent of the water that already existed in the stratosphere. That was nearly four times the amount of water vapor scientists estimate the Mount Pinatubo eruption sent into the stratosphere, the researchers said.
1. Italy Cheers Discovery of Ancient Bronze Statues
Archeologists have discovered more than twenty bronze statues from ancient Roman times in Tuscany, Italy over the past few weeks. They said the statues were well protected in thermal baths and are calling the discovery “exceptional.”
The statues were found in the town of San Casciano dei Bagni, about 160 kilometers north of Rome. It is a place where archaeologists have explored the ancient ruins of a bathhouse for the past three years.
Jacopo Tabolli is a professor at the University for Foreigners in Siena, Italy. He is the lead archaeologist on the project. He told Reuters on Tuesday, “It is a very significant, exceptional finding.”
Tabolli said the statues represent Greco-Roman religious figures like Apollo, the god of the sun. He explained that they were used to honor a holy place before they were put into the thermal baths as part of a ceremony during the height of the Roman Empire, “probably around the 1st century AD.” Tabolli said about the ceremony, “You give to the water because you hope that the water gives something back to you.”
The hot waters of San Casciano helped to protect the statues, which Tabolli said were, “almost like as on the day they were immersed.”
There were 24 large statues and several smaller ones. And they were also covered with nearly 6,000 bronze, silver, and gold coins.
Tabolli said that the use of bronze for the statues was unusual. At that time, statues were normally made from terracotta or red clay from the earth. This suggests that the bronze statues were made by a high-level group of people.
Italy’s Culture Ministry said the statues come from the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. That period was a time of great change in Tuscany as government rule moved from Etruscan to Roman.
Many conflicts and cultural exchanges happened during this time. The bathhouse of San Casciano was a safe place for those escaping unrest and war to share culture and language, the ministry said.
Gennaro Sangiuliano is Italy’s Culture Minister. He welcomed the finding and said that it would help with tourism. “This is an exceptional discovery which confirms once again that Italy is a country of immense and unique treasures,” Sangiuliano said in a statement.
ANSA, the Italian news agency reported that the statues will be cleaned and repaired before returning to San Casciano dei Bagi for a new museum.
1. What event recently sparked excitement in Italy?
A. The unveiling of a modern art exhibit
B. The discovery of ancient bronze statues
C. A famous Italian festival
D. The opening of a new museum
2. Where were the ancient bronze statues found?
A. In a hidden cave
B. Underwater in the sea
C. In a historic city
D. In a suburban garden
3. How are the ancient bronze statues significant to Italy?
A. They are reminders of Italy’s modern history
B. They offer insights into ancient artistic techniques
C. They represent contemporary Italian culture
D. They are related to Italian fashion
4. What is the reaction of historians and archaeologists to the discovery?
A. They are indifferent and see no importance
B. They are excited and eager to study the statues
C. They are skeptical about the authenticity
D. They are concerned about their preservation
5. What might be a potential impact of this discovery on tourism in Italy?
A. It will likely decrease tourist visits
B. It could attract more visitors interested in history
C. It has no effect on tourism whatsoever
D. It will lead to the closure of local attractions
Archeologists have discovered more than twenty bronze statues from ancient Roman times in Tuscany, Italy over the past few weeks. They said the statues were well protected in thermal baths and are calling the discovery “exceptional.”
The statues were found in the town of San Casciano dei Bagni, about 160 kilometers north of Rome. It is a place where archaeologists have explored the ancient ruins of a bathhouse for the past three years.
Jacopo Tabolli is a professor at the University for Foreigners in Siena, Italy. He is the lead archaeologist on the project. He told Reuters on Tuesday, “It is a very significant, exceptional finding.”
Tabolli said the statues represent Greco-Roman religious figures like Apollo, the god of the sun. He explained that they were used to honor a holy place before they were put into the thermal baths as part of a ceremony during the height of the Roman Empire, “probably around the 1st century AD.” Tabolli said about the ceremony, “You give to the water because you hope that the water gives something back to you.”
The hot waters of San Casciano helped to protect the statues, which Tabolli said were, “almost like as on the day they were immersed.”
There were 24 large statues and several smaller ones. And they were also covered with nearly 6,000 bronze, silver, and gold coins.
Tabolli said that the use of bronze for the statues was unusual. At that time, statues were normally made from terracotta or red clay from the earth. This suggests that the bronze statues were made by a high-level group of people.
Italy’s Culture Ministry said the statues come from the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. That period was a time of great change in Tuscany as government rule moved from Etruscan to Roman.
Many conflicts and cultural exchanges happened during this time. The bathhouse of San Casciano was a safe place for those escaping unrest and war to share culture and language, the ministry said.
Gennaro Sangiuliano is Italy’s Culture Minister. He welcomed the finding and said that it would help with tourism. “This is an exceptional discovery which confirms once again that Italy is a country of immense and unique treasures,” Sangiuliano said in a statement.
ANSA, the Italian news agency reported that the statues will be cleaned and repaired before returning to San Casciano dei Bagi for a new museum.
1. What event recently sparked excitement in Italy?
A. The unveiling of a modern art exhibit
B. The discovery of ancient bronze statues
C. A famous Italian festival
D. The opening of a new museum
2. Where were the ancient bronze statues found?
A. In a hidden cave
B. Underwater in the sea
C. In a historic city
D. In a suburban garden
3. How are the ancient bronze statues significant to Italy?
A. They are reminders of Italy’s modern history
B. They offer insights into ancient artistic techniques
C. They represent contemporary Italian culture
D. They are related to Italian fashion
4. What is the reaction of historians and archaeologists to the discovery?
A. They are indifferent and see no importance
B. They are excited and eager to study the statues
C. They are skeptical about the authenticity
D. They are concerned about their preservation
5. What might be a potential impact of this discovery on tourism in Italy?
A. It will likely decrease tourist visits
B. It could attract more visitors interested in history
C. It has no effect on tourism whatsoever
D. It will lead to the closure of local attractions
