Wave of BAD economic data for China prove NeverTrumpers wrong: Tariffs are working

Amid a rash of news reports Wednesday claiming the U.S. is headed for a recession, thanks in large part to President Donald Trump’s tariff-centric trade policies, comes a little-noticed report indicating that China, our main economic competitor, isn’t doing so well after all.

While most of the media ignored it, The Wall Street Journal reported on a raft of bad economic news for China that likely explains why Beijing was so quick to end its currency manipulation a week ago after the president warned of further trade consequences.

Specifically, the WSJ noted that unemployment in China has spiked amid slowdowns in the country’s manufacturing sector and decreased consumer activity, all of which threaten the Asian giant’s 6-6.5 percent annual growth rate target:

China reported a raft of weak economic data, adding to evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is slowing further as it remains locked in a trade war with the U.S.

The jobless rate in Chinese cities returned in July to its highest level since regular reporting on the data began, as employers turned cautious. Other key economic readings for the month, including factory production, consumption and property investment, came in much lower than expected.
While China earlier reported a surprise jump in exports in July, economists say the more-than-yearlong trade conflict with the U.S. has dented market confidence, forcing manufacturers to scale back production and investment, and prompting consumers to tighten purse strings.

“The cooling of economic activity last month was even worse than that of 2008 when industrial production was hit by the global financial crisis, while domestic consumption remained strong,” noted Zhaopeng Xing, an economist with ANZ.

He added that because of the economic downturn, the Chinese Communist Party would have to implement stimulus policies this year in order to reach the...

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