As part of an initiative to enhance its economic prowess, China is strategizing its auto-exports to grow its global consumer market share and increase the country’s diplomatic influence.

For the past few months, the US economy has been poised in a precarious position: core inflation stubbornly persistent at a smidge above 3% YoY (above the Fed’s target of 2%), job market showing signs of weakness, and unemployment jumping to 4.3% in July (a three-year high).

On Sept. 12, North Korea revealed a glimpse into their uranium enrichment facilities, boasting to the world the speed of their nuclear technology advancement despite the sanctions placed on them by the international community. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Chinese government officials and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) announced a new fiscal stimulus package aimed at uplifting the decelerating Chinese economy and restoring faith in the nation’s domestic stock markets.

On Tuesday, April 9, Chinese State Official Wang Yi hosted his Russian counterpart Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing for talks on economic and security cooperation. The new cooperative measures are set to displace American influence in Asia and Europe, the United States’ most strategically important region and former most strategically important region, according to political scientist and professor John Mearsheimer.

This week, U.S.-based credit rating agency Moody downgraded China’s economic outlook. Though not an official credit downgrade — China’s credit remains rated A1 — the news still carries heavy significance, as an outlook downgrade is generally the first step taken before credit is downgraded in the future.