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Laura He

 

From Evergrande crisis to tech crackdown: The biggest business stories from China in 2021

It's been a tumultuous year for business in China.

 

A sweeping regulatory crackdown, championed by President Xi Jinping, has shaken private enterprises in sectors as diverse as tech, finance, property, education, gaming and entertainment.

 

Beijing has said it wants to fix longstanding concerns about economic inequality in the country and promote "common prosperity." But analysts say the unprecedented regulatory action is also about Beijing's desire to rein in the growing power of Big Tech and reassert the Communist Party's dominance in every aspect of the economy and society.

 

However, the world's second-largest economy is also looking a lot shakier now than it did at the start of this year.

 

Faced with the prospect of an economic hard landing, Beijing appears to be backing off the tough stance it took on the private sector for most of this year and may focus on maintaining stability in 2022.

 

Here are the business stories that have shaped China over the past 12 months.

 

Economic recovery meets speed bumps

 

China was the only major economy to grow in 2020 — but expansion slowed this year as the country faced repeated Covid outbreaks, supply chain disruptions, and a deepening real estate slump. That could threaten social and political stability in the country and have serious consequences for the global economy.

 

Beijing's regulatory crackdown triggered huge layoffs among many companies, pressuring the job sector as it tries to recover from the pandemic.

 

China's economy is still expected to grow significantly in 2021 — but not as quickly as previously projected, with the World Bank cutting its forecasts for the country's economic expansion this year and next.

 

Power shortages hit manufacturing

 

A boom in construction and manufacturing drove much of China's economic recovery this year, and continues to play a vital role in growth.

 

But that work requires tons of power and thus massive amounts of coal.

 

Power shortages began to bite in June, and worsened in the fall when coal prices soared. 

 

For weeks, the power crunch triggered blackouts for households and forced factories to cut production — a threat to the country's vast economy.

 

And Beijing's targets to reduce carbon emissions only added to the pressure.

 

Finally as winter approached, factories began recovering from the impact with the help of a big jump in coal supply. Power shortages eased, and the price of raw materials had dropped significantly by the start of December.

 

China's disappearing ships

 

Ships in Chinese waters are disappearing from industry tracking systems, creating yet another headache for the global supply chain.

 

China's growing isolation from the rest of the world — along with a deepening mistrust of foreign influence — may be to blame.

 

Analysts say they started noticing the drop-off in shipping traffic toward the end of October, as China prepared to enact a new legislation to increase government control over data and information.

 

A loss of information from mainland China — home to six of the world's 10 busiest container ports — could create more problems for an already troubled global shipping industry. Supply chains have been under strain this year as badly congested ports struggle to keep up with a rapidly rebounding demand for goods.

 

China's desire to retain absolute control over all data and information within its borders isn't surprising. The country has been pushing for economic self-sufficiency as it faces external threats, such as US sanctions on key technologies.

 

Didi to delist from New York after disastrous IPO

 

Ride-hailing giant Didi announced in early December that it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange and move to Hong Kong.

 

The move came just five months after Didi launched its blockbuster, $4.4 billion IPO in the United States — a decision that turned into a fiasco for the company. Its share price collapsed as Beijing cracked down on the firm, saying shortly after the offering that it would ban Didi from app stores in China because it broke privacy laws and posed cybersecurity risks.

 

Beijing's decision to target Didi was widely seen as punishment for its decision to go public overseas, and the company became a poster child of China's efforts to rein in what the government sees as unruly Big Tech firms. In the weeks after the IPO, Chinese authorities proposed that companies with data on more than 1 million users seek approval before listing overseas.

 

Evergrande's debt default

 

Evergrande, the embattled Chinese property developer, has defaulted on its debt. Now Beijing is intervening to prevent a disorderly collapse of the indebted real estate group that could wreak havoc on the economy.

 

Fitch Ratings earlier this month declared the property developer has entered "restricted default," reflecting its inability to pay overdue interest on two dollar bonds.

 

Evergrande's apparent failure to pay that interest has revived fears about the future of the company, which is reeling under more than $300 billion of total liabilities. Evergrande is massive — it has about 200,000 employees, raked in more than $110 billion in sales last year, and owns more than 1,300 developments in over 280 cities, according to the company.

 

Analysts have long been concerned that a collapse could trigger wider risks for China's property market, hurting homeowners and the broader financial system. Real estate and related industries account for as much as 30% of GDP. The US Federal Reserve warned in November that trouble in Chinese real estate could damage the global economy.

 

There's already plenty of evidence that Beijing is taking a leading role in guiding Evergrande through a restructuring of its debt and sprawling business operations.

 

But analysts warned the real estate crisis remains a looming threat for China.