Alice Han

So there are some winners and losers, but I think I broadly agree with you, James, that this is a tactical move as opposed to a strategic one.

But we'll see how Greenland blows up, because if Trump's threat of tariffs do get put into place, the 10% that he's threatening on the European countries effective February 1, we might be in for a broader EU-US trade conflict in mirror image of what we saw last year between China and the US.

Yeah, I mean, this might be a little bit facetious, but there probably is no better way to unify the Europeans than to hit the Greenland button, which we've seen in the last few days.

All right, we'll be back with more after a quick break.

Stay with us.

Welcome back.

China's economy is sending mixed signals.

Exports and high-tech manufacturing are booming according to the latest 2025 data, but lending is at its weakest level since 2018.

Consumer confidence is soft and the property sector remains in deep, deep trouble.

As Beijing leans harder on technology, trade surpluses and even the digital yuan to power growth, the question is whether this imbalance is sustainable or a warning sign ahead of the March National People's Congress meeting.

James, let's go right into it.

The economic data from 2025 as a whole year and the Q4 data have just come out.

I'm excited to get into the weeds with you.

What's your hot take on the data?

I agree with your first principal's view, which is that this is a deeply skewed, imbalanced economy.

The data points that stood out to me, so exports made up a third of Chinese GDP last year.

That's the highest level since 1997.

And growth capital formation, which is a more accurate measure, to my mind, of Chinese investment.

in the economy rather than fixed asset investment contributed just 15%.

And that's the lowest since 1997 too.