BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Those interested in short selling the Chinese market believe the trade war will force the Chinese economy into a hard landing. They might be in for a surprise, however, when the Chinese economy deals the first blow.
Their bearish tone was halted by a slew of China's positive economic indicators since the start of China-U.S. trade disputes over a year ago.
China's economic output exceeded 90 trillion yuan (13.03 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2018, with per capita GDP nearing 10,000 U.S. dollars. Foreign trade volume hit a record high of over 30 trillion yuan last year, and consumption has contributed over 75 percent of China's GDP growth.
Contrary to short sellers' claims that China will be hurt very badly if the two countries do not reach a trade deal, global organizations and foreign enterprises have unwavering faith in the world's second-largest economy.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April revised up the 2019 growth projection for China to 6.3 percent from 6.2 percent, while downgrading global growth forecast to 3.3 percent. Global index provider MSCI has recently added 26 China A shares to the MSCI China index.
China has been one of the most popular destinations for global investment with foreign direct investment (FDI) into China ranked first among developing countries for 27 consecutive years in 2018.
China short sellers are disappointed to find that the trade war has not stopped the pace of China's technological advancements but highlighted its innovation strength.
Following restrictions on the sale or transfer of technologies from the U.S., Chinese telecom giant Huawei said it would use backup chips it has independently developed for years to cope with the ban.
Huawei Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei told the press that even a setback to the company finances would not affect its spending on research and development.
The total number of R&D personnel in China was estimated at 4.18 million in 2018, the highest in the world. China's number of patent applications and approvals both rank first in the world, while the contribution rate of technology is as high as 58.5 percent.
Short sellers need to face the reality that China's breakthroughs in science and technology are not because of the U.S. having its technology IPR stolen, but China's transition from being the world's factory to being the world's innovation platform.
Instead of living in a bubble of disillusion, China short sellers should do their homework: it is not the time to short sell the Chinese market, and it will never be.
