2026-11-06
A report released by Bloomberg Economics on November 6 stated that if the Democratic Party slows down AI investment and data center construction after a major victory in the U.S. midterm elections, China's growth, which relies on AI hardware exports, will be hit. Net exports contributed nearly 40% of China's economic growth in the third quarter, and chips and computer products accounted for 40% of the year-on-year increase in exports in the first nine months.
2026-11-06
At the Bu Ming Bai Festival held in Tokyo, the Bu Ming Bai Podcast invited Professor Xu Chenggang to discuss the institutional logic behind China's economic growth and recession, as well as how ordinary people can cope, using his book 'The Institutional Genes' as a starting point.
2026-11-01
In late October, universities such as the University of Science and Technology Beijing and Hangzhou Normal University issued notices stating that, starting November 1, they will withhold VAT and surcharges on labor remuneration for seven types of services, including consulting, design, and education, sparking questioning from netizens.
2026-10-31
According to Shanghai News Workshop, the Minhang District Representative Office of the Shanghai Charity Foundation received a property worth 6.5 million yuan bequeathed by an elderly person for educational aid. The person in charge stated that selling the property would require an estimated 4.5 to 4.6 million yuan in taxes, so they have decided not to sell it for now and will instead use rental income to support charity. On October 31, the topic topped the Weibo trending list.
2026-10-26
On October 26, Bloomberg reported on a Morgan Stanley study saying that the Chinese stock market may not have bottomed out yet, and that offshore Chinese stocks could fall another 10%–15% before approaching historically low valuations, with weak economic consumption, pressure on e-commerce, and fears of tax-triggered selling of trusts intensifying the adjustment.
2026-10-22
The Beijing Municipal Tax Service publicly disclosed on its official website that tax notices had been served on 21 natural persons, reflecting the continuing increase in pressure on local finances and tax recovery.
2026-10-25
Bloomberg reported on October 25 that China's stock market has shrunk by about $3.5 trillion from its high earlier this year in May, with the CSI 300 index falling into a bear market the previous week, as weak consumption and price wars squeeze corporate profits.
2026-10-25
On October 25, a netizen in Gansu posted a video titled "Who Isn't a Good Taxpaying Citizen," listing one by one the various tax rates embedded in everyday consumption such as food, utilities, transportation, home purchases and car buying, sparking heated discussion in the comments over hidden tax burdens.
2026-10-22
October 22 is the deadline set by the Chinese government for declaring historical back taxes on offshore trusts. On that day, Chinese stocks officially entered a technical bear market, with the wealthy selling assets to pay the taxes, triggering selling pressure.
2026-10-22
Many private entrepreneurs in Shanghai are facing pressure to pay massive back taxes, with some billionaires having to borrow hundreds of millions of yuan in cash just to barely meet their tax obligations.
2026-10-21
Tsinghua University professor Nie Huihua previously proposed taxing robots and AI, on the grounds that companies hiring real people must pay wages and social security contributions, while switching to robots can save on labor costs; this view has recently drawn renewed attention.
2026-10-20
Bloomberg named eight Chinese billionaires including Ding Lei, Huang Zheng and Lei Jun, whose overseas trust assets exceed $140 billion, facing a new round of tax recovery and harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party.
2026-10-19
The State Taxation Administration released six implementation details, clarifying standards for lump-sum back taxes and the recovery period on historical trust income from offshore trusts, stepping up tax recovery from the wealthy’s overseas trusts.
2026-10-19
On October 19, China's State Taxation Administration once again reminded relevant taxpayers to complete filing and tax payments within the transition period before October 22, in order to avoid late-payment surcharges. Bloomberg reported the same day that the offshore holdings of 8 billionaires, including Ding Lei and Huang Zheng, totaling about $140.2 billion, could be affected.
2026-10-13
On October 13, the IMF released its latest World Economic Outlook, raising Taiwan's 2026 growth forecast from 5.2% in April to 10.7%, while lowering the mainland's forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 4.5%; Taiwan's growth is mainly driven by demand for AI and advanced chips.
2026-10-11
According to a report by the Financial Times, China's economic growth in the second quarter fell to 4.3%, below the full-year target range of 4.5% to 5%. Retail sales and fixed-asset investment were weak, and the property market has been in a downturn for more than five years.
2026-10-11
Srinivasan, head of the International Monetary Fund's Asia Department, noted that China's growth model of relying on investment, manufacturing and exports is approaching its limits, and suggested improving the social security system, adjusting local government incentives and the land-finance model, warning that otherwise the country could fall into a prolonged slowdown.
2026-10-11
Research by the Conference Board shows that interest payments on the debt of China's central and local governments are expected to reach 1.4 trillion yuan in 2026, far exceeding the roughly 348 billion yuan in 2014; central government debt service is projected to rise to 19.2% of the general public budget.
2026-10-08
On October 8, The Wall Street Journal reported that, facing difficulties such as the real estate downturn, insufficient domestic demand, and second-quarter GDP growth slowing to 4.3%, the stimulus measures introduced by the Chinese government — including mortgage subsidies and capital injections into banks — lean toward caution and are unlikely to fundamentally reverse the economic weakness.
2026-10
The Chinese government has issued the "National Tax Administrative Penalty Discretionary Benchmarks (2026 Edition)," which for the first time incorporates social security contributions into the unified national tax administrative penalty discretionary system, effective November 1. Netizens are concerned that rising labor costs for enterprises may lead to the shifting of social security costs onto employees, resulting in wage cuts and exacerbating deflation and employment difficulties.
2026-09-30
On September 30, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a new book, "Toward a New Growth Model for the Chinese Economy," on its official website, pointing out that linking local officials' performance evaluation to GDP targets has led to infrastructure expansion, land-sale financing, and the accumulation of local government financing vehicle (LGFV) debt. LGFV cash flows can cover only about one-quarter to one-third of interest payments. The book recommends improving social security, advancing household registration (hukou) reform, and increasing the progressivity of the tax system.
2026-09-29
The fiscal interest subsidy policy was officially announced on September 29 and went into effect at the start of the National Day holiday; combined with developer discounts, it drove up new home transaction volumes in some key cities.
2026-09-29
An X account named “所谓伊人在水一方” uploaded a video of a female teacher talking about student safety, in which she reminds high school students to guard against strangers, vehicles, and the risk of losing contact.
2026-09-28
On September 28, the State Taxation Administration issued the National Discretionary Standards for Tax Administrative Penalties (2026 Edition), bringing social insurance contributions within the scope of nationally unified tax penalty discretion. Where an employer fails to pay or underpays social insurance contributions and still fails to pay after being ordered to do so within a specified time limit, a fine of up to three times the amount in arrears may be imposed. The new rules take effect on November 1, 2026.
2026
The video's author lists indicators from the first half of the year — contracting consumption, high-ranking officials falling from power, declines in fiscal revenue and household savings, and rising unemployment and credit defaults — claiming all have set historical records; no unified source can be found for any of the data.
2026
In the first half of this year, China’s individual income tax revenue maintained relatively fast growth, but the tax authorities said that a considerable part of that growth came from back taxes and late payment surcharges, showing that strengthening tax collection and administration has become an important source of revenue for local governments.
7月21日
A blogger spent 200 yuan at a supermarket and discovered through a tax invoice that approximately 10% in hidden VAT had been quietly deducted. Netizens pointed out that Chinese supermarkets generally levy a tax of about 10% on daily food items, whereas in the United States, taxes are transparent and basic food items are tax-exempt.
2026-09-18
In a conversation, Morgan Stanley's Chief Economist for China, Xing Ziqiang, pointed out that China's social security expenditure accounts for only about 8% of GDP, far below the OECD average of 25% and the levels of developing countries with similar per capita GDP, and also mentioned group disparities in the enjoyment of public services.
2026-09-19
On September 19, Huang Yiping, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China, stated at the Beijing Economic Forum that artificial intelligence may exacerbate the contradiction between China's overcapacity and insufficient household purchasing power. He pointed out that distribution leaning toward capital leads to weak demand, and suggested increasing the proportion of household income through market-oriented reforms, while the central government borrows to repair the balance sheets of local governments and enterprises.
2026-09-19
At the Tsinghua Wudaokou Chief Economists Forum, four scholars—Lin Yifu, Yu Yongding, Yao Yang, and Li Xunlei—concentrated their efforts to call on the central government to adopt expansionary fiscal policies and bail out local government debt.
2026-09-18
Fujian's Department of Human Resources and Social Security, Department of Finance, and Taxation Bureau issued a notice on September 18, setting the upper limit of the pension insurance contribution base at 22893 yuan and the lower limit at 4579 yuan, and requiring back payment of the difference after January 1, 2026, with no late fees if paid in full before the end of December.
2026-09-15
On September 15, The Wall Street Journal published an article pointing out that while China can avoid a sudden financial crisis through its state-controlled financial system, the losses from real estate and bank bad loans will not disappear. Economist Michael Pettis believes that the losses will be borne by ordinary residents in the long run through low deposit returns and shrinking asset values, rather than manifesting in public forms such as bank failures.
2026-09-17
In many places of Jiangxi Province, cases have emerged where individually registered businesses that had been canceled were forcibly reinstated in tax registration by tax authorities, sparking widespread concerns among the accounting industry and netizens about the government's intensified tax collection efforts and fiscal pressure.
2026-09-15
On September 15, German Chancellor Merz criticized China at the Berlin Entrepreneurs' Conference, stating that through state intervention, overcapacity, and export subsidies, China has driven the EU's trade deficit with China to over 300 billion euros. EU leaders plan to discuss in October whether to deploy trade defense instruments.
2026-09-15
Recently, multiple posts on platforms like Xiaohongshu (RedNote) have surfaced, showing that many enterprises are still being required to pay back individual income tax, verify undistributed profits, or restore tax registration after deregistration. Some enterprises have even been pursued for taxes two years after deregistration, and systems are blocking instant deregistration due to "declared income being less than platform-reported income," sparking widespread criticism from netizens.
2026-09-15
Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, published a column on September 15 saying that the financing structure in August continued to optimize and better match new quality productive forces; the claim is accused of masking the contraction of credit in the private sector.
2026-09
With local finances strained and land transfer fees plunging, Chinese tax authorities have launched a large-scale tax recovery campaign targeting the wealthy and corporations, focusing on tracing trust assets in Hong Kong and overseas.
2026-09
As the lives of ordinary people grow ever harder, the Chinese Communist Party authorities seem to turn a blind eye to their suffering, continuing to tout a bright outlook for China’s economy and calling on all sectors of society to revel in economic prosperity.
2026-09
A number of businesses in Jiangxi that had ceased operations and completed deregistration have been ordered by local authorities to forcibly reinstate their tax registration and pay taxes again. One business deregistered in September 2025 had its registration forcibly reinstated on June 22, 2026, on the grounds that, at the time of deregistration, its financial statements showed over 300,000 yuan in undistributed profits, which must be taxed at 20%.
2026-09
In the first 8 months of 2026, securities transaction stamp duty grew nearly twofold year-on-year. Funds mainly changed hands among households, brokerages, the fiscal authorities and insurance companies, without generating any new investment.
2026-09
Multiple private business owners reported that after deregistering their companies they still received notices to pay back individual income tax and to have their undistributed profits verified; some were required to restore their tax registration, and one company's application for deregistration was rejected by the system on the grounds that its declared revenue did not match. The related topic trended on the hot search.
2026-09
At the recent Tsinghua PBC School Forum, economists within the system, including Lin Yifu, Yu Yongding, Yao Yang, and Li Xunlei, rarely criticized economic policy en masse. Yu Yongding said the central government's books are clean while local governments are a complete mess, and called on the central government to issue bonds to replace local debt.
2026-08-28
On August 28, 2026, China's Ministry of Finance released a draft of the Local Surcharge Tax Law for public comment, proposing to merge the urban construction tax, the education surcharge, and the local education surcharge into a single local surcharge tax, with a unified tax rate set at 11% to 13%.
2026-08-26
Reported in August 2026, over a hundred Chinese listed companies were levied back taxes and penalties for the first half of this year, totaling about 7.7 billion RMB, with an unprecedented level of retroactive enforcement.
2026-08-23
People’s Daily continues to publish “Zhong Caiwen” articles, claiming that China’s economy has shown “strong resilience.”
2026-08-23
Chinese state media published an article characterizing the 4.7% economic growth in the first half of the year as high-quality, arguing that it is in line with the current economic reality.
2026-08-22
People’s Daily published an article signed “Zhong Caiwen,” arguing that observations of China’s economy should not focus only on single-month data.
2026-08-17
Li Qiang presided over a State Council meeting, calling for persisting in expanding domestic demand, focusing on the principal contradiction, seizing on areas with long industrial chains and large scale, and promoting the domestic economic cycle and consumption upgrading.
2026-08-17
On August 17, 2026, China's National Bureau of Statistics rarely broke its long-standing convention of releasing data in the morning, postponing the July national economic data to 3 p.m., after the A-share market closed, sparking market concerns that the data was under pressure.
2026-08-14
On August 14, 2026, the State Taxation Administration responded to concerns about the tax burden triggered by the recent acceleration in many places of efforts to solidify corporate social insurance contribution bases, making clear that it will advance in stages and will not carry out a centralized clearing of arrears.
2026-08-06
Reuters reports that China's tax authorities have begun piloting, in Beijing and Hangzhou, the collection of a 20% individual income tax on part of the returns from Hong Kong insurance policies held by local residents.
2026-08-06
The yield on one-year US Treasury bonds reached 4.6%, compared to 1.3% for a five-year fixed deposit at China Construction Bank and 1.7% for savings bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance.
2026-08
The State Taxation Administration has reportedly received orders to begin retroactive audits of personal income tax for overseas citizens, affecting Chinese citizens who have worked abroad for many years as well as some individuals who have renounced their citizenship, in conjunction with overseas asset investigations and exit controls.
2026-08-01
On August 1, 2026, Qiushi, the journal of the CCP Central Committee, published an article candidly acknowledging that there is a temperature gap between macroeconomic data and the micro-level experience of the ordinary public, conceding that intensifying competition for jobs and improvements in income have fallen short of expectations, sparking widespread social discussion.
2026-08
In August 2026, media reports quoted sources from local tax and human resources and social security departments confirming that audits of social insurance contribution bases have been tightened, with multiple regions requiring full actual contributions within three to five years; the related policies have triggered public discussion about the contribution burden.
2026-07-30
On July 30, 2026, the CCP Central Committee Politburo held a meeting to analyze the economic situation. The Wall Street Journal reported that the meeting emphasized supply-side optimization and the implementation of existing policies, sending a clear signal that there is no intention to unleash flood-style massive stimulus in the face of slowing economic growth.
2026-07-29
People's Daily published guidance opinions, releasing a strong signal of investigating the Ctrip monopoly case and cracking down on antitrust involution, drawing outside attention to the authorities' further rectification of foreign and private enterprises.
2026-07-24
The CCP Central Committee held a symposium with non-Party figures at Zhongnanhai. Presiding over the meeting, Xi Jinping said that China's economy is currently facing certain difficulties and challenges.
2026-07-24
At a symposium with non-Party figures, Xi Jinping acknowledged for the first time in his own words that China's economy is experiencing a severe downturn. The news is regarded as an important milestone, foreshadowing the gravity of China's economic situation.
2026-07-24
On July 24, 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration issued new rules stipulating that when Chinese tax residents transfer assets such as stocks and equity into offshore trusts, the relevant gains may be taxed at 20%. According to Reuters, the new rules have prompted some wealthy Chinese to raise cash and consider selling assets or borrowing to pay the tax.
2026-07-24
The Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration issued an announcement on July 24 stating that individuals who have obtained foreign nationality or permanent residency abroad but whose principal economic interests come from within China may be recognized as Chinese tax residents, and that upon converting to non-resident status they must carry out tax clearance on gains from offshore trusts.
2026-07-22
On July 22, 2026, Zhang Enhui, Secretary of the Changchun Municipal Party Committee, presided over an enlarged meeting of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee. The official communiqué stated that the city's economic development is currently facing "unprecedented difficulties and challenges."
Location: Changchun, Jilin ·
Importance IV ·
Verification: Official claim ·
View causal chain →
2026-07-22
On July 22, 2026, the CCP Changchun Municipal Committee held an expanded standing committee meeting to conduct an in-depth analysis of the economic situation in the first half of the year, and the official announcement rarely admitted that the city's economic development is facing unprecedented difficulties and severe challenges.
2026-07-15
On July 15, 2026, China's National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that national GDP grew 4.7% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, while growth in the second quarter slowed to 4.3%, falling short of the full-year target, with real estate investment down 18% year-on-year.
2026-07-15
China announced that GDP grew 4.3% in the second quarter. Nominal growth exceeded real growth for the first time in 13 quarters, mainly driven by price increases upstream.
2026-07-08
A China economic briefing released by the World Bank on July 8 pointed out that China's domestic demand will continue to shrink and housing prices will fall, with the root cause being that the government of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses 43% of its budget for investment while underfunding people's livelihood.
2026-07-07
Renowned macroeconomist Gao Shanwen has passed away due to illness at the age of 55. He previously worked at institutions such as Peking University and Guotai Junan Securities, and was well-known for his profound insights and warnings regarding the Chinese economy.
2026-07-04
The quarterly meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China adjusted the economic tone from "steady progress" to "toward the new, toward the better," and listed structural optimization as one of the challenges facing the economy.
2026-07
China's official data shows Q2 GDP grew 4.3% year-on-year, the slowest pace since the end of 2022.
2026-07
The market widely expects China's year-on-year GDP growth in the second quarter of 2026 to fall back to 4.2% to 4.5%, while the Bank of China Institute of International Finance has forecast 4.7%.
2026-07
China announced new rules in July, clarifying that income related to residents' personal offshore trusts must be declared and taxed regardless of whether it is distributed, at a tax rate of 20%; those who obtain foreign nationality but whose main economic interests come from within China can also be deemed Chinese tax residents.
2026-07
In July, the net fiscal contribution of China's new industries turned negative, dropping to negative 10.3 billion yuan, a significant decrease from the positive growth in the same period last year, reflecting exacerbated fiscal pressure driven by collapsing domestic demand and export tax rebates.
2026-06-22
Heilongjiang Beidahuang Agriculture was ordered by the tax department to pay approximately 1 billion RMB in corporate income tax for the years 2021 to 2025, along with approximately 400 million RMB in late fees.
2026-06-18
The website of the Chinese Communist Party's theoretical journal Qiushi published a commentary article titled "Boost Consumption with Greater Vigor," proposing measures such as increasing residents' income, improving the social security system, rescuing the real estate sector, and repairing residents' balance sheets.
2026-06
Listed company Beidahuang was ordered to pay a total of 1.41 billion yuan in back taxes and late fees due to tax issues, with a five-year retroactive period. Throughout the year and in subsequent months, numerous enterprises face pressure to make up for unpaid taxes.
2026-06
In June 2026, Heilongjiang Beidahuang Agriculture Co., Ltd. announced that tax authorities had recovered about 1.41 billion yuan in taxes, exceeding its projected full-year net profit for 2025, and its stock price fell 10% in a single day.
2026-04-25
Justin Yifu Lin, dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University, said in Hefei that China is only 135 dollars short of the high-income country threshold and could cross it by next year at the latest.
2026-01-19
China's statistical department announced that the nominal GDP for 2025 is approximately 140 trillion yuan, a figure used to estimate the economic losses caused by information control.
2026
According to International Monetary Fund estimates, the actual scale of the Chinese government's debt in 2026 will be about 200 trillion yuan, reaching 135% of GDP.
2026
Based on calculations using International Monetary Fund data, China’s actual government debt ratio is projected to exceed 200% in 2026.
2026
Based on data from the International Monetary Fund, the video estimates that China's fiscal deficit in 2026 is expected to exceed 15%.
2026
Data from China's Ministry of Commerce shows that after reaching a peak of 1.23 trillion in 2024, the national actual utilized foreign investment fell to 747.6 billion last year, a year-on-year decrease of 40%, and has continued to decline by 7% this year on a low base.
2026
The Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued Document No. 28 of 2026, the "Measures for the Administration of Withholding and Remitting Value-Added Tax on Behalf of Natural Persons by Domestic Entities", which is set to be mandatorily enforced nationwide from November 1, 2026. When any entity settles fees with an individual that give rise to value-added tax, it must withhold the VAT and related taxes and fees; otherwise it bears joint responsibility for tax evasion.
2026
China recently ordered a strict investigation into corporate tax back payments and fines of all kinds, extending the audit lookback period from five years to twenty years, with all revoked and deregistered companies also being re-examined.
2025-12
According to estimates in the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' "2025 Report on the Fiscal Conditions of Provinces, Cities, and Counties," in 2024 the average fiscal self-sufficiency rate of the country's 2,774 county-level areas was about 38%, with the lowest county at only about 1%.
2025
In 2025, China's high-tech industry actually used 241.8 billion yuan in foreign investment, down 15.6% year on year.
2025
China-Brazil bilateral trade volume reached $188 billion in 2025, ranking first in Latin America, yet Brazil's GDP growth rate over the past 15 years ranks second to last among major Latin American countries.
2025
Despite the Chinese ban, Japan's total seafood exports recovered in 2025 and hit a record high of 423.1 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 17.2 percent.
2025
Statistics bulletin of the National Health Commission shows that in 2025 there were 15.109 million voluntary blood donation visits nationwide, with a donation rate of 10.9 per 1,000 people; all three key indicators dropped by about 11% compared with 2023; in 2024, donations were already more than 1 million visits fewer than in 2023.
2024-12-03
In a speech at the end of 2024, Gao Shanwen expressed sensitive views on the cyclical bubbles, consumption structure, actual growth rate, and future low growth of the Chinese economy. The speech was subsequently banned, marking his final public address.
2024-06-23
On June 23, economist Ren Zeping posted on Weibo that when the economy is under pressure, taxes and fees should be cut, people should be allowed to rest and recover; taxes are generated through development, so water should be released to raise fish and full effort should be made to boost the economy. The Weibo post was subsequently deleted.
2023
Last year, daily rental rates in China's robot rental market ranged from 5,000 to 15,000 yuan, used mainly for performance-type events such as mall openings, auto show booths, and warm-up acts at annual galas.
2022-10
University of Chicago scholar Martinez, using satellite nighttime light data, found that annual GDP growth in authoritarian countries is overstated by an average of about 35%, and that China's figure may have been overstated by about one third over the past two decades.
2018-01-11
In January 2018, Tianjin Binhai New Area switched its GDP statistical basis from registered to local, revising its 2016 GDP from 1,000.231 billion yuan to 665.4 billion yuan, a drop of about one third; the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Statistics said this had no impact on the city's overall GDP.
2012
The sum of GDP figures reported by provinces and municipalities in 2012 was 57.66 trillion yuan, about 10% higher than the 51.93 trillion yuan calculated by the National Bureau of Statistics; the bureau said the difference was mainly due to double counting in the tiered accounting system and differences in raw data.
2007-03
The then-Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, Li Keqiang, told the US Ambassador that Liaoning's GDP figures were man-made and for reference only, and that he only looked at electricity consumption, railway cargo volume, and bank loans.
2005-12-29
On December 29, 2005, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress voted to repeal the Agricultural Tax Regulations. Hu Jintao signed Presidential Order No. 46 on the same day. From January 1, 2006, Chinese farmers no longer paid agricultural tax, reducing the burden on farmers nationwide by 133.5 billion yuan per year, an average of 140 yuan per person.
2001-12-11
On December 11, 2001, China officially became a member of the World Trade Organization after an agreement was reached at the ministerial conference in Doha.
1993-12
In late 1993, China determined the plan to unify the RMB exchange rate, merging the official and market rates. The relevant reforms were officially implemented the following year.
1976
In October 1976, the ten-year-long Cultural Revolution ended with the "downfall of the Gang of Four"; the prolonged political campaigns had a severe impact on China's economy.