China Shock 2.0 The drivers and implications of growing global imbalances The China Shock 2.0 series Asia Economics Update Korea’s car industry braces for China Shock 2.0 Korea’s car industry has weathered competition from China relatively well so far, but this resilience may not last as global demand shifts towards electric vehicles (EVs). This poses a growing risk to... 3rd November 2026 · 3 mins read Global Economics Update Japan’s yttrium shortage highlights global vulnerability Japan’s emerging yttrium shortage illustrates the broader vulnerability created by China’s dominance of rare earth supply. The immediate economic impact appears limited, but disruption could intensify... 22nd October 2026 · 4 mins read Asia Economics Update Thailand’s car sector faces up to China Shock 2.0 Thailand has long been South East Asia’s leading automotive production hub, built around Japanese manufacturers and a deep network of local suppliers. But the shift towards EVs is reshaping its... 21st October 2026 · 3 mins read China Economics Weekly PBOC pushes back against RMB undervaluation claims The PBOC has attempted to set the record straight on the nature of its FX intervention and refute claims that currency depreciation is driving China’s soaring trade surplus. While we agree that a... 9th October 2026 · 7 mins read China Economics Update China could weather tougher EU trade restrictions Even a sharp escalation in EU trade restrictions would have only a small impact on China’s economy. We estimate that an additional 20%-pt tariff on Chinese imports across strategically important... 9th October 2026 · 5 mins read FX Markets Focus How undervalued is the renminbi? Even though the renminbi is at its strongest level against the US dollar since 2022, in real trade-weighted terms it remains close to its weakest in more than a decade. In our assessment, it is... 6th October 2026 · 19 mins read US Economics Update Tariffs likely to far outlast Trump The precarious fiscal situation means the next administration will be in no rush to remove the tariffs that are in place at the end of President Trump’s term. Nonetheless, under most future scenarios... 5th October 2026 · 4 mins read Asia Economics Update China Shock 2.0: a growing challenge for Korea China’s rise up the manufacturing value chain is putting increasing pressure on Korean producers. The impact has been particularly pronounced in batteries, petrochemicals and shipbuilding, where... 5th October 2026 · 3 mins read Global Economics Focus China Shock 2.0 may sow the seeds of the next crisis China’s soaring exports are widening global trade imbalances in ways that echo the run-up to the Global Financial Crisis. History suggests that at some point these must narrow. This could happen in... 29th September 2026 · 31 mins read Explore all of our China Shock 2.0 coverage Previous work on the origins of the shock Chief Economist's Note Another China shock, but with higher stakes and fewer answers They say sequels are rarely as compelling as the original. That is not the prevailing view in Brussels, where I spent last week and where discussion was dominated by "China Shock 2.0" – the prospect... 8th June 2026 China Economics Focus China’s export gains go beyond strategic goods China’s surging exports have been gaining international attention, but concerns about overcapacity have focussed on “strategic sectors”. Far less acknowledged is the fact that China has been gaining... 22nd January 2025 · 4 mins read China Economics Update The renminbi could not rebalance China on its own A significant appreciation of the renminbi would narrow China’s enormous trade surplus but it would also make the domestic deflation problem worse. This trade-off can only be addressed if a stronger... 30th July 2026 · 3 mins read Previous work on implications for other economies Global Economics Focus China’s rising trade surplus and its global implications China’s trade surplus has reached a record 1% of world GDP and looks set to rise further. It’s been driven, in part, by a surge in China’s exports – China has gained export market share across both... 30th April 2026 · 18 mins read Europe Economics Focus Assessing the China shock for the euro-zone The rise of China has brought both costs and benefits to the euro-zone over the past two decades, but policymakers are increasingly focusing on the costs. Indeed, euro-zone imports from China have... 23rd March 2026 (Updated 30th March 2026) · 16 mins read Japan Economics Focus The impact of the China shock on Japan’s economy Japan has weathered the China shock well so far, largely because the sharp weakening of the yen has kept Japanese exports competitive. However, the exchange rate is unlikely to keep weakening rapidly... 18th May 2026 · 17 mins read Global Economics Update The advanced economy impact of China’s deflation Deflation in China has added to disinflationary forces in advanced economies over the past few years, reducing the level of headline CPI by around 0.3-0.5% on average. Tariffs are likely to reverse... 15th October 2025 · 4 mins read Europe Economics Update Which sectors are suffering most from the China shock? The euro-zone has been one of the biggest losers from China eating up a larger share of the global export market. It has lost market share across a wide range of industries including vehicles... 11th May 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s car industry braces for China Shock 2.0 Korea’s car industry has weathered competition from China relatively well so far, but this resilience may not last as global demand shifts towards electric vehicles (EVs). This poses a growing risk to... 3rd November 2026 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Update Japan’s yttrium shortage highlights global vulnerability Japan’s emerging yttrium shortage illustrates the broader vulnerability created by China’s dominance of rare earth supply. The immediate economic impact appears limited, but disruption could intensify... 22nd October 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Thailand’s car sector faces up to China Shock 2.0 Thailand has long been South East Asia’s leading automotive production hub, built around Japanese manufacturers and a deep network of local suppliers. But the shift towards EVs is reshaping its... 21st October 2026 · 3 mins read
China Economics Weekly PBOC pushes back against RMB undervaluation claims The PBOC has attempted to set the record straight on the nature of its FX intervention and refute claims that currency depreciation is driving China’s soaring trade surplus. While we agree that a... 9th October 2026 · 7 mins read
China Economics Update China could weather tougher EU trade restrictions Even a sharp escalation in EU trade restrictions would have only a small impact on China’s economy. We estimate that an additional 20%-pt tariff on Chinese imports across strategically important... 9th October 2026 · 5 mins read
FX Markets Focus How undervalued is the renminbi? Even though the renminbi is at its strongest level against the US dollar since 2022, in real trade-weighted terms it remains close to its weakest in more than a decade. In our assessment, it is... 6th October 2026 · 19 mins read
US Economics Update Tariffs likely to far outlast Trump The precarious fiscal situation means the next administration will be in no rush to remove the tariffs that are in place at the end of President Trump’s term. Nonetheless, under most future scenarios... 5th October 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update China Shock 2.0: a growing challenge for Korea China’s rise up the manufacturing value chain is putting increasing pressure on Korean producers. The impact has been particularly pronounced in batteries, petrochemicals and shipbuilding, where... 5th October 2026 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Focus China Shock 2.0 may sow the seeds of the next crisis China’s soaring exports are widening global trade imbalances in ways that echo the run-up to the Global Financial Crisis. History suggests that at some point these must narrow. This could happen in... 29th September 2026 · 31 mins read
Chief Economist's Note Another China shock, but with higher stakes and fewer answers They say sequels are rarely as compelling as the original. That is not the prevailing view in Brussels, where I spent last week and where discussion was dominated by "China Shock 2.0" – the prospect... 8th June 2026
China Economics Focus China’s export gains go beyond strategic goods China’s surging exports have been gaining international attention, but concerns about overcapacity have focussed on “strategic sectors”. Far less acknowledged is the fact that China has been gaining... 22nd January 2025 · 4 mins read
China Economics Update The renminbi could not rebalance China on its own A significant appreciation of the renminbi would narrow China’s enormous trade surplus but it would also make the domestic deflation problem worse. This trade-off can only be addressed if a stronger... 30th July 2026 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Focus China’s rising trade surplus and its global implications China’s trade surplus has reached a record 1% of world GDP and looks set to rise further. It’s been driven, in part, by a surge in China’s exports – China has gained export market share across both... 30th April 2026 · 18 mins read
Europe Economics Focus Assessing the China shock for the euro-zone The rise of China has brought both costs and benefits to the euro-zone over the past two decades, but policymakers are increasingly focusing on the costs. Indeed, euro-zone imports from China have... 23rd March 2026 (Updated 30th March 2026) · 16 mins read
Japan Economics Focus The impact of the China shock on Japan’s economy Japan has weathered the China shock well so far, largely because the sharp weakening of the yen has kept Japanese exports competitive. However, the exchange rate is unlikely to keep weakening rapidly... 18th May 2026 · 17 mins read
Global Economics Update The advanced economy impact of China’s deflation Deflation in China has added to disinflationary forces in advanced economies over the past few years, reducing the level of headline CPI by around 0.3-0.5% on average. Tariffs are likely to reverse... 15th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Which sectors are suffering most from the China shock? The euro-zone has been one of the biggest losers from China eating up a larger share of the global export market. It has lost market share across a wide range of industries including vehicles... 11th May 2026 · 3 mins read
