With China’s stock markets at their lowest level in four years, the country’s bond markets may provide some respite for investors, says Uwe Parpart, chief strategist for the Seven Stars Cloud Group.
“It’s not that big a deal at the moment because you can always move in the direction of bonds,” Parpart told Bloomberg television on Monday.
Although the threat of US$200 billion in additional US tariffs continues to weaken the markets, a turnaround could quickly change the picture.
“The negative sentiment could go away very quickly because there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the Chinese economy,” he said, adding that “we could see a very quick snap back in stock prices.”
In the meantime, China’s bond market provides a significant alternative.
“It’s an important thing for all foreign investors to begin to realize that the Chinese bond market is the big new thing,” Parpart said. “It’s going to come into all asset management operations.”
Parpart is also editor and a principal shareholder in Asia Times.