As a China correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, I wrote about the economy, with a special focus on the property market and urban development.
China’s Economy
Chinese Cities Buy Off Housing Glut with Borrowed Money
BEIJING — A push by the Chinese government to ease local housing gluts and fill empty apartments is creating a different headache by driving indebted cities deeper into the red.
China Looks to Build a Major City from Scratch
XIONGAN NEW AREA — When the Chinese government announced plans earlier this month for a new megacity a two-hour drive south of Beijing, instant gold fever erupted.
China Pushes Modern Farming as Tariffs Make U.S. Crops Costlier
YANGXIN COUNTY, China — To keep bugs from spoiling her wheat and corn, Wei Junxia walks her plot of land spraying pesticide from a container on her back.
China’s Got Talent, and Cities Are Fighting for a Piece of It
XI’AN, China — This ancient city, famed for its terra-cotta warriors, is at the forefront of a more modern Chinese Battle: for skilled workers.h
In China, Iowa Farmers Try Their Hand at Trade Diplomacy
CHANGCHUN, China—As U.S. farmers found themselves this month at ground zero in the trade fight between Washington and Beijing, a group of Iowans barnstormed through China farm country, hoping to salvage relations with buyers who are already turning their backs on America’s harvest.
China’s Ghost Towns Haunt its Economy
In China’s Inner Mongolia province, in the middle of the Gobi desert, row upon row of largely vacant apartment towers line the streets of Kangbashi, a new district of the city of Ordos. Earlier this month, Xu Yongfen and his family moved into one 28-story building. In the hallways there are a few signs of life—tricycles, slippers and pink children’s shoes in front of some doors. But most apartments remain unoccupied, their doors still covered in plastic wrap, and at street level, barren storefronts are visible in all directions. “This area is nearly totally empty,” Mr. Xu says, tapping a cigarette into a bowl of ashes at his dining room table.
China’s Property Market, Once a Lifeline, Now Carries Economic Risks
SHANGRAO, China — Investors were pouring into this sleepy city in southeastern China until late last year to scoop up apartments as new high-rise projects mushroomed.
Real Estate
Rising High Above Beijing, a Security Puzzle
BEIJING — Construction at the top of the tallest building in China’s capital has stalled because of government security concerns, according to people involved in its design and construction, in a new example of how China’s passion for skyscrapers is cooling.
Rich, Young Chinese Are Buying Overseas Properties on Their Smartphones
BEIJING — Zheng Xiaohei, a marketer from Urumqi in western China, made his first overseas property investment without so much as a visit.
In the Office of Tomorrow, Tech Takes a Load Off – But Watch Out for Weight Gain
SHENZHEN, China — Tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s new twin-tower headquarters in this southern megacity offers a glimpse into the future of office life, a future where China is pulling ahead in the race for innovative workspaces.
Western Cities Want to Slow Flood of Chinese Home Buying, Nothing Works
Crowds swept into the Beijing Exhibition Center on a recent morning for a real-estate expo that drew thousands of people interested in foreign property.
China’s Property-Market Woes Deepen With Rising Rents
BEIJING — Apartment rental prices are soaring across China, posing a new challenge to Chinese authorities and compounding the threat of sky-high housing prices to the economy.
China’s Booming Housing Market Proves Impossible to Tame
GUANGZHOU, China — The more China tries to rein in its roaring housing market, the more obsessed people get about buying.
China’s Hot Housing Market Begins to Cool
BEIJING — China’s housing market has defied gravity and government restraints for two years, floating on a tide of bank loans and speculation. Until now.
China’s Anbang Puts a $5.5 Billion Luxury Hotel Portfolio on the Block
China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. is looking to unload a luxury hotel collection that it acquired for $5.5 billion two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter, as pressure builds on the company to raise cash following its seizure by the government.
Chinese Developers Face Debt Reckoning After Boom
BEIJING — A wave of local-currency debt coming due next year alongside new stricter lending rules are bearing down on China’s developers and posing a risk to the country’s economy.
Society
Homeward Bound: Beijing Boots Migrants to Trim Population
BEIJING — After two years of ferrying thousands of meals across the capital on his moped for Chinese food-delivery startups, Li Xiaolong was rushing to leave the city Wednesday rather than face the eviction crews that come knocking on doors around him each night.
China’s Approach to 2022 Winter Olympics: Faster, Higher, Stronger, Cheaper
CHONGLI, China — A decade ago, China pulled out all the stops in an effort to dazzle the world for the Beijing Summer Olympics, spending an estimated $42 billion and building showcase projects such as the “Bird’s Nest” stadium that sits mostly empty now.