Congressional advisers cite AI optimism but question Beijing's openness after being denied access to Hangzhou tech firms A US congressional advisory body on China said the country is projecting an image of confidence even as concerns about its economy and future growth remain beneath the surface,

August 11, 2026: Between April and June, the Chinese economy expanded more slowly than it had since 2022. The cause of this was declining household consumption, which blurred manufacturing efforts and exports. All this increased anxiety over the prospects of long-term sustainability and the creation of unbalanced growth.

There has been no shortage of complaints about Chinese overcapacity in recent years. Beijing’s commitment to driving exports and widening its trade surplus, by any means necessary, has undermined the manufacturing aspirations of advanced economies such ...

Yet even when fighting was most intense, oil prices never reached the $150 a barrel many analysts had predicted at the start of the conflict. For this, thank a few governments. Soon after Iranian munitions made the Strait of Hormuz unpassable,

The official data was far below the economy’s strong 5% pace of growth in January-March, despite a surge in exports driven partly by the boom in artificial intelligence.