WEBVTT - How China Defied the Odds in 2025

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>At the start of twenty twenty five, China's economy was

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<v Speaker 2>under strain and its outlook was daunting.

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<v Speaker 1>You had property in China doing terribly, You had weak

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<v Speaker 1>consumer spending.

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<v Speaker 2>John Liu is Bloomberg's executive editor for Greater China based

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<v Speaker 2>in Beijing.

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump had come into office saying that he was

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<v Speaker 1>going to put up tariffs, and so there was this

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<v Speaker 1>expectation that, you know, experts were going to suffer, China

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<v Speaker 1>was going to suffer, and there was going to be

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of tension between the world's two foremost powers.

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<v Speaker 2>Economists warned of a potential lost decade, drawing parallels with

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<v Speaker 2>Japan's stagnation in the nineteen nineties. At the beginning of

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<v Speaker 2>the year, global investors accelerated their exit of the Chinese market,

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<v Speaker 2>with some investors calling the stocks uninvestable.

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<v Speaker 3>The sensing the investment community is overwhelmingly pessimistic right.

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<v Speaker 2>Shuly Wren is a Bloomberg opinion columnist covering China mar

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<v Speaker 2>markets based in Hong Kong.

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<v Speaker 3>There was also talk of investing in emergent markets ex China. Basically,

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<v Speaker 3>peepoches left China for dead, but.

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<v Speaker 2>By the year's end, the perception of China couldn't be

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<v Speaker 2>more different.

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<v Speaker 1>The release of deep seek Ai from a Chinese company

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<v Speaker 1>should be a wake up call for our industries.

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<v Speaker 4>Tech talks in China up again because China, throughout this

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<v Speaker 4>process has learned that it has a very critical leverage

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<v Speaker 4>tool of its own, and that is those rare earths

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<v Speaker 4>that the United.

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<v Speaker 1>The start of twenty twenty five, I think the question

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<v Speaker 1>was how bad is China going to get beat up

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<v Speaker 1>by Trump? And now it seems like the general census

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<v Speaker 1>China won.

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<v Speaker 5>This is the Big Take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm Wanhu.

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<v Speaker 2>Every week we take you inside some of the world's

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<v Speaker 2>biggest and most powerful economies and the markets, tycoons and

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<v Speaker 2>businesses that drive this ever shifting region. Today, in the show,

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<v Speaker 2>we dive into China's dramatic twenty twenty five, from dire

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<v Speaker 2>predictions to technological breakthroughs. How was China able to navigate

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<v Speaker 2>this year's turmoil largely unscathed, and looking ahead to twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty six, what dangers could derail its growth over the

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<v Speaker 2>past year. I've sat down with John Liu and truly

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<v Speaker 2>ran more times than I can count. When we talk,

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<v Speaker 2>it's mostly about China. We've tracked Beijing's response to President

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<v Speaker 2>Trump's tear fur, its efforts to boost domestic spending, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's pushed to become the dominant player in artificial intelligence.

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<v Speaker 2>We even made room for La Booboo, long before those

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<v Speaker 2>little monsters were picking out from under your Christmas tree.

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<v Speaker 2>I asked John and truly to join me again earlier

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<v Speaker 2>this month to make sense of what's been a chaotic

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<v Speaker 2>year for China going into twenty twenty five. The mood

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<v Speaker 2>on the ground was one of apprehension. China's economy was

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<v Speaker 2>battling challenges on multiple fronts, persistent deflation, a crippling property crisis,

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<v Speaker 2>and a stock market sell off. Then there was a

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<v Speaker 2>cloud that loomed over everything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Twenty twenty five it felt like the quiet before the storm,

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<v Speaker 1>and the storm being named Donald Trump, of course.

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<v Speaker 2>And quite a storm it was. The US took China

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<v Speaker 2>and the rest of the world on our tariff roller coaster.

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<v Speaker 2>The US raised levies on Chinese goods, first to ten percent,

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<v Speaker 2>then twenty percent, then one hundred and forty five percent,

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<v Speaker 2>before landing back at ten percent. Suly I want to

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<v Speaker 2>start with you, it's been a wild ride for China

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<v Speaker 2>this year. But as we close the book on twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty five, how is China looking? What surprised you the most.

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<v Speaker 3>Just the fact that the animal spirit is starting to

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<v Speaker 3>come back in China. That's just so surprising because we

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<v Speaker 3>just didn't feel that way at the beginning of the year. Right,

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<v Speaker 3>Like when you talk to global investors, what they're saying

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<v Speaker 3>is that at the beginning of the year there was

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<v Speaker 3>the sense that, Okay, China does have the world's most

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<v Speaker 3>powerful factory. It has manufacturing locked. But if AI manages

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<v Speaker 3>to come along and develop further, there's a chance that

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<v Speaker 3>the you know, in the future or the manufacturing will

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<v Speaker 3>be automated and China would lose its biggest edge. And

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<v Speaker 3>they turned out at the end of the year, actually,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, China is stealed the world's most powerful factory

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<v Speaker 3>despite Trump's tariffs.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, AI, as you mentioned, was a big win for China.

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<v Speaker 2>It started the year with that big win. In January,

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<v Speaker 2>deep Sea came out of nowhere right and emerged as

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<v Speaker 2>its low cost AI breakthrough, and that triggered a massive

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<v Speaker 2>selloff in US stocks.

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<v Speaker 1>China's deep seek is freaking out the AI world right

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<v Speaker 1>now text talks Tom what does.

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<v Speaker 6>It say about China that it's managed to clock so

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<v Speaker 6>much progress in high tech even as the US was

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<v Speaker 6>trying to hold it back by restricting sale of these

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<v Speaker 6>advanced ships that they need to develop AI with.

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<v Speaker 3>I think the seeds of success were sold a long

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<v Speaker 3>time ago, and the only by the law of large

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<v Speaker 3>numbers that innovation comes out in China. Let's start with

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<v Speaker 3>like a higher education to present. Shooting King's credit, he

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<v Speaker 3>has fostered higher education during the last ten plus years.

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<v Speaker 3>In two thousand, basically twenty five years ago, only ten

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<v Speaker 3>percent of high school graduates they will go to universities.

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<v Speaker 3>These days, close to half they will go to universities,

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<v Speaker 3>and engineering is by far the most popular graduate school

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<v Speaker 3>studies for Chinese students. And if you look at like

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<v Speaker 3>global rankings of top AI researchers, close to fifty percent

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<v Speaker 3>graduated from universities in China versus only eighteen percent in

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<v Speaker 3>the US.

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<v Speaker 6>Now, John You and I talked in March during the

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<v Speaker 6>National People's Congress about how the export sector was really

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<v Speaker 6>at that point the only bright spot in China's economy,

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<v Speaker 6>and it was facing serious threats from Trump's tariffs. I

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<v Speaker 6>wonder now, you know, as we look back, what kind

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<v Speaker 6>of report card grade does China get in navigating this

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<v Speaker 6>trade war.

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<v Speaker 1>I would say it gets a B plus. And the

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<v Speaker 1>reason it doesn't get an A is instead of shipping

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<v Speaker 1>all those goods to the United States, they're still getting

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<v Speaker 1>shipped out of China, They're just getting shipped to other markets.

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<v Speaker 1>But China has a trade surplus of over a trillion

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<v Speaker 1>dollars for a second year, and it's not a sustainable

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<v Speaker 1>way to run an economy.

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<v Speaker 6>What is that though? Say to you about China that

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<v Speaker 6>it's managed to pull off a record trade surplus of

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<v Speaker 6>a trillion dollars, that it's emerged unscathed really from this

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<v Speaker 6>trade war.

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<v Speaker 3>Economic central planning has its advantages, right Like, you cannot

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<v Speaker 3>pull this feast of blocking rear earth exports if you

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<v Speaker 3>do not have a powerful central planner. It's pros and

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<v Speaker 3>cons And in the way, you start to see a

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<v Speaker 3>little bit more central planning even coming out of the

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<v Speaker 3>US the trump An administration. They are trying to adapt

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<v Speaker 3>somewhat China's industrial policy because they do recognize its advantages.

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<v Speaker 2>Trade war winds aside, we're also seeing China's tech industry

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<v Speaker 2>drive the stock market revival. After a couple of really

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<v Speaker 2>rocky years, we're now seeing tech rallies and markets rebound,

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<v Speaker 2>and I guess that raises the question is China investible again?

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<v Speaker 1>So this is a little bit processing, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>every morning we get together as a newsroom and we

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<v Speaker 1>decide what are going to be the biggest stories of

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<v Speaker 1>the day. And when we have a exciting IPO coming

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<v Speaker 1>to market, as we had today the company called meta x,

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<v Speaker 1>which makes chips, people are hoping it might one day

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<v Speaker 1>be China's answer to Nvidia. For a company like this,

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<v Speaker 1>for an IPO, we set a bar for, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>how much the stock has to go up before we

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<v Speaker 1>send alerts and red flashy headlines everywhere to let people

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<v Speaker 1>everywhere know something big has happened. And as we were

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<v Speaker 1>talking about it, our colleague on the stock market team

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<v Speaker 1>said the bar would be a fifty percent increase in

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<v Speaker 1>the stock and I had to stop. I said five zero,

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<v Speaker 1>and she's like, yes, fifty percent. I know our expectations

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<v Speaker 1>are very high. When I looked before I came back,

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<v Speaker 1>the shares were up seven hundred and fifty five percent.

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<v Speaker 5>Wow, that's crazy.

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<v Speaker 1>That's something that would not have happened in twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four in China, and I think it speaks to greater confidence,

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<v Speaker 1>more optimism about technology and the investability of China. But

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<v Speaker 1>that's primarily a local Chinese investor base we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>getting into that stock. I don't know that investors in

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<v Speaker 1>the US or Europe their minds I don't think have

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<v Speaker 1>changed as much.

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<v Speaker 6>So then what do you think in terms of the

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<v Speaker 6>broader picture? I mean, are we seeing that fundamental shift

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<v Speaker 6>in how foreign investors are now looking at the Chinese

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<v Speaker 6>market as well?

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<v Speaker 5>This year?

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<v Speaker 3>In twenty twenty five, AI is a huge theme and

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<v Speaker 3>that any market that doesn't have the AI exposure, they're

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<v Speaker 3>just not going to do as well. And I'm about India,

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<v Speaker 3>whereas China right now we have this AI exposure and

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<v Speaker 3>you just cannot stay out of this market at this

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<v Speaker 3>point because we all know this. This theme is going

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<v Speaker 3>to continue into twenty twenty six, and there are two

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<v Speaker 3>competing forces fighting for the crown jewel, right who wins

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<v Speaker 3>the AI race? And you cannot invest in the US

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<v Speaker 3>without investing in China somewhat as well.

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<v Speaker 6>Just as diversification now to the extent that China's navigated

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<v Speaker 6>this year's turmoils so well, how much of the credit

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<v Speaker 6>goes to present Cijinpin and what that says about his leadership?

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<v Speaker 1>I think, you know, in a system like China that

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<v Speaker 1>is so top down, there has to be a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of credit given to Sijinpin and the way that he

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<v Speaker 1>not only executed his strategy, but his decision to use

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<v Speaker 1>the strategy to stand up to the United States by

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<v Speaker 1>putting up tariffs every time Trump put up tariffs, to

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<v Speaker 1>put an emphasis on technology, to be willing to spend

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<v Speaker 1>the billions and billions of dollars that Beijing has thrown

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<v Speaker 1>at chips and ai, not knowing if ultimately it would

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<v Speaker 1>pay off. I think a lot of credit goes.

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<v Speaker 6>To him, truly, you have any thoughts on that.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it cuts both ways. This year we are

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<v Speaker 3>seeing a very strong China standing up to a bully

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<v Speaker 3>basically President Trump, right, But three years ago we also

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<v Speaker 3>saw a very unfitted China refusing to exit COVID zero

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<v Speaker 3>and locking down the big chunk of the nation. So

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<v Speaker 3>I think it all depends on the narrative, right, Like

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<v Speaker 3>maybe in twenty twenty six or twenty twenty seven, the

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<v Speaker 3>narrative will shift back. It's just the nature of China's

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<v Speaker 3>political system.

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<v Speaker 1>I suppose, I think truly makes a very good point,

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<v Speaker 1>and I would add that like on certain fronts, the

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<v Speaker 1>success that President She has had Visa v. Trump, Visa

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<v Speaker 1>VI Tech, Visa v. Markets belies the fact that actually

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<v Speaker 1>the domestic economy in China is in many ways still

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<v Speaker 1>suffering and in many ways probably in a way worse

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<v Speaker 1>condition today than it was at the end of twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four.

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<v Speaker 2>Coming up after the break, how China's domestic challenges from

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<v Speaker 2>rising deflation to youth unemployment could undermine the gains it

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<v Speaker 2>made this year. Going into twenty twenty five, China's top

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<v Speaker 2>priority was to get its populations spending. Again, that push

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<v Speaker 2>hasn't had much success. Consumption was soft throughout the year,

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<v Speaker 2>and China's leaders have again made consumer spending the top

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<v Speaker 2>priority for twenty twenty six.

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<v Speaker 5>It's an uphill battle.

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<v Speaker 2>Chinese consumers are increasingly priced sensitive. That's prompting businesses to

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<v Speaker 2>roll out steep discounts to lure buyers. But Bloomberg surely

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<v Speaker 2>Ren and John Lieu say the price wars don't seem to.

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<v Speaker 5>Be helping much.

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<v Speaker 3>I just don't see Chinese people consuming at all. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>this whole deflation thing. It's a mindset, right, If you

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<v Speaker 3>expect a cup of coffee to cost a ten end

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<v Speaker 3>this year, next year, it might just be a u

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<v Speaker 3>n right, Like it's so ingrained, Like it's very common

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<v Speaker 3>for consumers to go to a restaurant I ask for

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<v Speaker 3>deals at this point, Like before people start ordering, they

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<v Speaker 3>will open their dmping or made to one at app

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<v Speaker 3>and start looking for online deals.

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<v Speaker 6>What does it feel like for you, John on the

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<v Speaker 6>ground there in terms of spending and deflation.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I can feel the prices going down because

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<v Speaker 1>I am enjoying a lot of discounts, so in some

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<v Speaker 1>ways not bad. But the other thing that I've noticed

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<v Speaker 1>is how much people are saving. Chinese households have always

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<v Speaker 1>been big savers, but during the pandemic it got really outsized.

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<v Speaker 1>I think at some point people were saving a third

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<v Speaker 1>of their incomes, and I think that reflects the sense

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<v Speaker 1>that you know, if you're getting ready for retirement, you're

0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:11.199
<v Speaker 1>getting ready for old age and maybe needing medical care.

0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:15.480
<v Speaker 1>You are depending on yourself, You're depending on your family.

0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:18.280
<v Speaker 1>You are not expecting very much help from the government.

0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.920
<v Speaker 6>So with all that saving that's going on, what does

0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.880
<v Speaker 6>it mean for China on whether it's on track to

0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.040
<v Speaker 6>meet the five percent growth target that it had set

0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:26.840
<v Speaker 6>earlier this year.

0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.320
<v Speaker 1>I think China will meet the five percent GDP target

0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:32.640
<v Speaker 1>that I believe is pretty clear. But I think what's

0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.720
<v Speaker 1>interesting there is the five percent GDP target is real

0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.920
<v Speaker 1>GDP growth. So real GDP growth is nominal. So you

0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:45.600
<v Speaker 1>take the actual dollar terms of GDP this year, and

0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.280
<v Speaker 1>you subtract what last year was and you get the difference,

0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:54.199
<v Speaker 1>and then you account for inflation or in China's situation, deflation,

0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.679
<v Speaker 1>and so actual nominal GDP is Actually, it may not

0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:02.640
<v Speaker 1>even hit four percent this year because there's deflation in China.

0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:05.120
<v Speaker 1>You know, we're adding on another percent of growth to

0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:07.960
<v Speaker 1>compensate for that, which is how you get to five percent.

0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.360
<v Speaker 1>So yes, we'll get to the target, but no, it

0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:16.640
<v Speaker 1>may not feel like we're growing that fast on the ground.

0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.280
<v Speaker 2>With prices falling all across the board, China is experiencing

0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:25.720
<v Speaker 2>its longest streak of deflation since the nineteen nineties. Economists

0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:29.480
<v Speaker 2>worry that if deflation persists, China could end up experiencing

0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:33.880
<v Speaker 2>its own version of Japan's lost decades of economic stagnation.

0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:36.840
<v Speaker 2>One of the biggest issues China has to deal with,

0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:39.280
<v Speaker 2>John says youth unemployment.

0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:45.400
<v Speaker 1>Youth unemployment is much higher, multiples higher than the rate

0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.960
<v Speaker 1>of unemployment for other segments of the population, and I

0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:54.960
<v Speaker 1>think that reflects both a stagnation with corporates because of deflation.

0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.640
<v Speaker 1>They're not growing, so they're not hiring more. I think

0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:02.800
<v Speaker 1>it's probably also starting to reflect the prevalence of AI

0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:08.240
<v Speaker 1>and so companies just in their hiring their behavior has changed.

0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.240
<v Speaker 1>Other than that, I think property is still a big issue.

0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:16.880
<v Speaker 1>Falling home prices makes everybody feel a little poor, even

0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:21.280
<v Speaker 1>if their incomes are not changing. There's talk about providing

0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:25.360
<v Speaker 1>subsidies for people's mortgage payments and so that could help,

0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:27.760
<v Speaker 1>but you know, we're still watching prices go down.

0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:32.560
<v Speaker 2>China's real estate sector has been declining since twenty twenty one.

0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.800
<v Speaker 2>Both investment in property and sales of real estate have

0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:39.600
<v Speaker 2>fallen since their peaks that year. Local governments, which rely

0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:42.560
<v Speaker 2>on property sales to fund their budgets and invest heavily

0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:46.560
<v Speaker 2>in real estate, are trillions of dollars in debt. All

0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.960
<v Speaker 2>of these domestic issues are leaving the Chinese economy vulnerable

0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.880
<v Speaker 2>to risks abroad. China shifted its economic strategy to a

0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.960
<v Speaker 2>reliance on foreign demand to drive growth for much of

0:15:57.000 --> 0:16:01.160
<v Speaker 2>this year. That created a trillion dollar trail surplus that

0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.760
<v Speaker 2>John says could create a problem for China down the line.

0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:08.960
<v Speaker 1>You cannot have the livelihoods of your people based on

0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.160
<v Speaker 1>your ability to sell a trillion dollars more stuff than

0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:15.960
<v Speaker 1>you buy from other people. That sort of statistic means

0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.440
<v Speaker 1>that there's just going to be endless trade tensions, and

0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:22.960
<v Speaker 1>we've seen that between China and the Europeans, Latin America,

0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.680
<v Speaker 1>even with some African countries. Just the flood of goods

0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:29.000
<v Speaker 1>coming from China, you know, they're cheap, and companies in

0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:31.760
<v Speaker 1>those other jurisdictions find it very hard to compete. For example,

0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.440
<v Speaker 1>recently there was a spat with the EU trying to

0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:38.840
<v Speaker 1>put tariffs on European pork imports that you put tariffs

0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.800
<v Speaker 1>on Chinese cars, And actually just this week China actually

0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:46.480
<v Speaker 1>lowered the tariffs that it was putting on European pork too,

0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:51.480
<v Speaker 1>somewhere between four to fourteen percent, and it had been

0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.440
<v Speaker 1>as high as over sixty percent. And in turn, you

0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.680
<v Speaker 1>saw the French President Emmanuel Macron saying that you know,

0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.920
<v Speaker 1>putting up tariffs would not the cooperative way to deal

0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.880
<v Speaker 1>with these differences. And so I think you see both

0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.720
<v Speaker 1>China and its trading partners trying to find a way

0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:08.600
<v Speaker 1>to get through this.

0:17:10.960 --> 0:17:12.040
<v Speaker 5>However you slice it.

0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.760
<v Speaker 2>Twenty twenty five has been a big year for China

0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:19.159
<v Speaker 2>and uncertain start, a mountain of opposition, but the country

0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.560
<v Speaker 2>has stuck to its principles and done a good job

0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:24.919
<v Speaker 2>of resisting a double barreled onslaught in the form of

0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:29.720
<v Speaker 2>tariffs and verbal abuse from Donald Trump. But that resistance

0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:32.200
<v Speaker 2>hasn't come without a cost, and there are plenty of

0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.120
<v Speaker 2>challenges ahead for China.

0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:38.399
<v Speaker 3>If you speak to business people in China, people still

0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:41.720
<v Speaker 3>talk about Taiwan. It's still an issue that has not

0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:46.400
<v Speaker 3>been resolved. So this kind of tensions my flare up.

0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.800
<v Speaker 3>And again the interaction with the White House, I mean,

0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:51.920
<v Speaker 3>that is still a question mark.

0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:55.480
<v Speaker 1>So in twenty six I think there's a very interesting

0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:59.640
<v Speaker 1>phenomenon where President Trump says he's going to visit China

0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.280
<v Speaker 1>in April and that he wants President she to then

0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:05.560
<v Speaker 1>visit the US. But then at the end of the year,

0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.720
<v Speaker 1>China is hosting APEC in the middle of November and Shinjin,

0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:11.720
<v Speaker 1>and then the United States is hosting G twenty in Miami,

0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:14.240
<v Speaker 1>and so you have the situation where the two presidents

0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:16.560
<v Speaker 1>could meet each other face to face four times in

0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:22.560
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty six. That could provide pillars of support stability

0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.359
<v Speaker 1>for the relationship. But it could also, as we've seen

0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:29.560
<v Speaker 1>ahead of these meetings, you have the potential for flare

0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.560
<v Speaker 1>ups to happen. People are trying to put themselves in

0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.960
<v Speaker 1>the best bargaining position by putting out this tariff or

0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:39.080
<v Speaker 1>that export control and so it could also be that

0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.280
<v Speaker 1>next year we're going to see four flare ups before

0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.520
<v Speaker 1>we see four solutions, and so it could be more

0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:44.760
<v Speaker 1>tumult of anything.

0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 6>So as we wrap up music for thought, what do

0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.920
<v Speaker 6>you think is a good theme song for China as

0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:54.920
<v Speaker 6>it steps into twenty twenty six.

0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:57.040
<v Speaker 5>I will pick a beto'sa Yellow sup Ring.

0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:04.679
<v Speaker 3>We just have no clarity into the future, right like

0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:06.959
<v Speaker 3>we just have a glimpse of this and that, and

0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.240
<v Speaker 3>then we're just hidden under the water. And I feel

0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:12.639
<v Speaker 3>like twenty twenty six is going to be like that.

0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:13.960
<v Speaker 6>And John, what about you?

0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:16.280
<v Speaker 1>One of the big issues for China at the moment

0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.240
<v Speaker 1>is there is a lack of money for a lot

0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:21.800
<v Speaker 1>of local governments and to some extent even the central government.

0:19:21.800 --> 0:19:23.679
<v Speaker 1>And you see a lot of local governments because the

0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:25.560
<v Speaker 1>property market is so bad. They used to make so

0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.199
<v Speaker 1>much money selling land. That money's gone. They're finding it

0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:32.439
<v Speaker 1>hard to finance the projects they want to do. And

0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.679
<v Speaker 1>so the song I would pick is there's an old

0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:38.800
<v Speaker 1>Motown song called money.

0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:39.239
<v Speaker 5>Our best thing.

0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.000
<v Speaker 1>I think it goes, but you can keep them for

0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:45.440
<v Speaker 1>the birds and bees. I want.

0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:48.080
<v Speaker 6>What I want.

0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:53.800
<v Speaker 1>That's what I want. That's what I want. That's how

0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:54.120
<v Speaker 1>it goes.

0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:57.639
<v Speaker 2>That's Bloomberg's John Lee. Ladies and gentlemen, John truly, you

0:19:57.680 --> 0:19:59.960
<v Speaker 2>guys have been fantastic. Happy holidays.

0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:08.160
<v Speaker 5>Thanks to you all. This is The Big Take Asia

0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:10.000
<v Speaker 5>from Bloomberg News. I'm wan hu.

0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.080
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0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.920
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0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:19.240
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0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:21.520
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0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:23.080
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0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:26.600
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