Finance & economics | The China discount

China’s new political risk premium

A series of policy upheavals is putting off some investors

|HONG KONG

FOR THE average investor, China is the source of all sorts of uncertainty. A regulatory crackdown on social-media and education firms has sent stocks tumbling. Companies with exposure to property are suffering as a result of a clampdown on leverage and a liquidity crisis at Evergrande, a developer. A ban on cryptocurrency transactions briefly knocked the price of bitcoin. And a rush by provincial authorities to meet carbon-emissions targets is causing power shortages, which could weigh on both the economy and asset prices.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The political premium”

China's new reality

From the October 2nd 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Finance & economics

A person turns on a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, USA.

The Los Angeles fires will be extraordinarily expensive

They will also expose California’s faulty insurance market

The stars of the European Union flag falling down to the bottom of the flag.

Europe could be torn apart by new divisions

The continent is at its most vulnerable in decades


A bond flying away tied to a red balloon, in the spotlight.

How corporate bonds fell out of fashion

The market is at its hottest in years—and a shadow of its former self


An American purchase of Greenland could be the deal of the century

The economics of buying new territory

China’s markets take a fresh beating

Authorities have responded by bossing around investors

Can America’s economy cope with mass deportations?

Production slowdowns, more imports and pricier housing could follow