The Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008), which began due to the collapse of the U.S. housing market, had a negative effect in many regions across the globe. The global recession which followed the crisis in 2008 and 2009 showed how interdependent and synchronized many of the world's economies had become, with the largest advanced economies showing very similar patterns of negative GDP growth during the crisis. Among the largest emerging economies (commonly referred to as the 'E7'), however, a different pattern emerged, with some countries avoiding a recession altogether. Some commentators have particularly pointed to 2008-2009 as the moment in which China emerged on the world stage as an economic superpower and a key driver of global economic growth. The Great Recession in the developing world While some countries, such as Russia, Mexico, and Turkey, experienced severe recessions due to their connections to the United States and Europe, others such as China, India, and Indonesia managed to record significant economic growth during the period. This can be partly explained by the decoupling from western financial systems which these countries undertook following the Asian financial crises of 1997, making many Asian nations more wary of opening their countries to 'hot money' from other countries. Other likely explanations of this trend are that these countries have large domestic economies which are not entirely reliant on the advanced economies, that their export sectors produce goods which are inelastic (meaning they are still bought during recessions), and that the Chinese economic stimulus worth almost 600 billion U.S. dollars in 2008/2009 increased growth in the region.

The graph shows national debt in China related to gross domestic product until 2024, with forecasts to 2030. In 2024, gross national debt ranged at around 88 percent of the national gross domestic product. The debt-to-GDP ratio In economics, the ratio between a country's government debt and its gross domestic product (GDP) is generally defined as the debt-to-GDP ratio. It is a useful indicator for investors to measure a country's ability to fulfill future payments on its debts. A low debt-to-GDP ratio also suggests that an economy produces and sells a sufficient amount of goods and services to pay back those debts. Among the important industrial and emerging countries, Japan displayed one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios. In 2024, the estimated national debt of Japan amounted to about 250 percent of its GDP, up from around 180 percent in 2004. One reason behind Japan's high debt load lies in its low annual GDP growth rate. Development in China China's national debt related to GDP grew slowly but steadily from around 23 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2012, only disrupted by the global financial crisis in 2008. In recent years, China increased credit financing to spur economic growth, resulting in higher levels of debt. China's real estate crisis and a difficult global economic environment require further stimulating measures by the government and will predictably lead to even higher debt growth in the years ahead.

Additional file 1: Spearman correlation matrix.

China Government Expenditure: PS: Expenses on Disaster Relief data was reported at 6,297.000 RMB mn in 2005. This records an increase from the previous number of 4,904.000 RMB mn for 2004. China Government Expenditure: PS: Expenses on Disaster Relief data is updated yearly, averaging 902.000 RMB mn from Dec 1952 (Median) to 2005, with 51 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,297.000 RMB mn in 2005 and a record low of 87.000 RMB mn in 1958. China Government Expenditure: PS: Expenses on Disaster Relief data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Government and Public Finance – Table CN.FA: Government Expenditure: By Other Category.

CWT plots comparison of the COVID-19 and the GFC.

Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Closing Cash and Bank Balances data was reported at 0.000 HKD mn in Sep 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 HKD mn for Jun 2018. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Closing Cash and Bank Balances data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 HKD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 92 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.090 HKD mn in Sep 2017 and a record low of 0.000 HKD mn in Sep 2018. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Closing Cash and Bank Balances data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by The Treasury. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong – Table HK.F010: Government Fund: Disaster Relief Fund.

From the Summer of 2007 until the end of 2009 (at least), the world was gripped by a series of economic crises commonly known as the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008) and the Great Recession (2008-2009). The financial crisis was triggered by the collapse of the U.S. housing market, which caused panic on Wall Street, the center of global finance in New York. Due to the outsized nature of the U.S. economy compared to other countries and particularly the centrality of U.S. finance for the world economy, the crisis spread quickly to other countries, affecting most regions across the globe. By 2009, global GDP growth was in negative territory, with international credit markets frozen, international trade contracting, and tens of millions of workers being made unemployed.

Global similarities, global differences

Since the 1980s, the world economy had entered a period of integration and globalization. This process particularly accelerated after the collapse of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War (1947-1991). This was the period of the 'Washington Consensus', whereby the U.S. and international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF promoted policies of economic liberalization across the globe. This increasing interdependence and openness to the global economy meant that when the crisis hit in 2007, many countries experienced the same issues. This is particularly evident in the synchronization of the recessions in the most advanced economies of the G7. Nevertheless, the aggregate global GDP number masks the important regional differences which occurred during the recession. While the more advanced economies of North America, Western Europe, and Japan were all hit hard, along with countries who are reliant on them for trade or finance, large emerging economies such as India and China bucked this trend. In particular, China's huge fiscal stimulus in 2008-2009 likely did much to prevent the global economy from sliding further into a depression. In 2009, while the United States' GDP sank to -2.6 percent, China's GDP, as reported by national authorities, was almost 10 percent.

The objective of this study is to explore the impact of working capital management on firms’ financial performance in China’s agri-food sector from 2006 to 2021. In addition, we analyze whether this impact is the same during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Working capital management is measured by working capital investment policy (measured by current assets to total assets ratio), working capital financing policy (measured by current liabilities to total assets ratio), cash conversion cycle, and net working capital ratio. The results reveal that current assets to total assets ratio and net working capital ratio positively influence financial performance measured through return on assets (ROA), while current liabilities to total assets ratio and cash conversion cycle negatively influence ROA. We also find that the relationship between working capital management and financial performance is more affected during COVID-19 than in the 2008 financial crisis. The findings might provide important implications for company managers to make optimal working capital management practices, depending on the economic environment.

data for financial development and emission

K-S test for the asymmetry of risk spillovers from the US to China and from China to the US.

The linkages between the US and China, the world’s two major agricultural powers, have brought great uncertainty to the global food markets. Inspired by these, this paper examines the extreme risk spillovers between US and Chinese agricultural futures markets during significant crises. We use a copula-conditional value at risk (CoVaR) model with Markov-switching regimes to capture the tail dependence in their pair markets. The study covers the period from January 2006 to December 2022 and identifies two distinct dependence regimes (stable and crisis periods). Moreover, we find significant and asymmetric upside/downside extreme risk spillovers between the US and Chinese markets, which are highly volatile in crises. Additionally, the impact of international capital flows (the financial channel) on risk spillovers is particularly pronounced during the global financial crisis. During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine 2022 war, the impact of supply chain disruptions (the non-financial channel) is highlighted. Our findings provide a theoretical reference for monitoring the co-movements in agricultural futures markets and practical insights for managing investment portfolios and enhancing food market stability during crises.

In 2024, China’s level of total investment reached around 40.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This value is expected to remain stable in 2025 and increase slightly in the following years. Final consumption accounted for 55.7 percent in 2023. International comparison of total investments The GDP of a country can be calculated by the expenditure approach, which sums up final consumption (private and public), total investment, and net exports. The ratio of consumption to investment may vary greatly between different countries.Matured economies normally consume a larger share of their economic output. In the U.S. and many European countries, total investment ranges roughly at only 20 to 25 percent of the GDP. In comparison, some emerging economies reached levels of 30 to 40 percent of investment during times of rapid economic development. Level of total investment in China China is among the countries that spend the highest share of their GDP on investments. Between 1980 and 2000, 30 to 40 percent of its economic output were invested, roughly on par with South Korea or Japan. While the latter’s investment spending ratio decreased in later years, China’s even grew, especially after the global financial crisis, peaking at staggering 47 percent of GDP in 2011.However, returns on those investments declined year by year, indicated by lower GDP growth rates. This resulted in a quickly growing debt burden, which reached nearly 285 percent of the GDP in 2023, up from only 135 percent in 2008. The Chinese government defined the goal to shift to consumption driven growth, but the transformation takes longer than expected.

Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Other Cash Movements data was reported at 11.326 HKD mn in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 10.546 HKD mn for Dec 2017. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Other Cash Movements data is updated quarterly, averaging -5.994 HKD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 90 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28.441 HKD mn in Mar 2010 and a record low of -70.862 HKD mn in Jun 2010. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Other Cash Movements data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by The Treasury. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong – Table HK.F010: Government Fund: Disaster Relief Fund.

This statistic depicts the direct economic loss caused by geological disasters in China from 2009 to 2019. In 2019, the economic loss caused by landslides, structural collapses and mudslides in China amounted to about 2.77 billion yuan.

This statistic depicts the direct economic loss due to marine disasters in China from 2009 to 2019. In 2019, the economic loss caused by marine disasters ranged at approximately **** billion yuan.

The growing trend of interdependence between the international stock markets indicated the amalgamation of risk across borders that plays a significant role in portfolio diversification by selecting different assets from the financial markets and is also helpful for making extensive economic policy for the economies. By applying different methodologies, this study undertakes the volatility analysis of the emerging and OECD economies and analyzes the co-movement pattern between them. Moreover, with that motive, using the wavelet approach, we provide strong evidence of the short and long-run risk transfer over different time domains from Malaysia to its trading partners. Our findings show that during the Asian financial crisis (1997–98), Malaysia had short- and long-term relationships with China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and Indonesia due to both high and low-frequency domains. Meanwhile, after the Global financial crisis (2008–09), it is being observed that Malaysia has long-term and short-term synchronization with emerging (China, India, Indonesia), OECD (Germany, France, USA, UK, Japan, Singapore) stock markets but Pakistan has the low level of co-movement with Malaysian stock market during the global financial crisis (2008–09). Moreover, it is being seen that Malaysia has short-term at both high and low-frequency co-movement with all the emerging and OECD economies except Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia during the COVID-19 period (2020–21). Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia have long-term synchronization relationships with the Malaysian stock market at high and low frequencies during COVID-19. While in a leading-lagging relationship, Malaysia’s stock market risk has both leading and lagging behavior with its trading partners’ stock market risk in the selected period; this behavior changes based on the different trade and investment flow factors. Moreover, DCC-GARCH findings shows that Malaysian market has both short term and long-term synchronization with trading partners except USA. Conspicuously, the integration pattern seems that the cooperation development between stock markets matters rather than the regional proximity in driving the cointegration. The study findings have significant implications for investors, governments, and policymakers around the globe.

Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Surplus or Deficit for the Period data was reported at -11.326 HKD mn in Mar 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of -10.546 HKD mn for Dec 2017. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Surplus or Deficit for the Period data is updated quarterly, averaging 5.994 HKD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 90 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 70.874 HKD mn in Jun 2010 and a record low of -28.441 HKD mn in Mar 2010. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Year to Date: Surplus or Deficit for the Period data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by The Treasury. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong – Table HK.F010: Government Fund: Disaster Relief Fund.

Revenue for the Residential Real Estate industry in China is expected to decrease at a CAGR of 9.8% over the five years through 2025. This trend includes an expected decrease of 9.6% in the current year.Since August 2020, the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission have proposed three debt indicators for real estate development and management companies through which the company's financial health can be rated. This new policy has exacerbated the company's debt pressure, making it unable to repay old debts by borrowing new debt. Some real estate companies faced a liquidity crisis.In 2022, the city's lockdown and laying-off caused by COVID-19 epidemic led to the pressure of delaying the delivery of houses. The industry's newly constructed and completed areas decreased significantly throughout the year. In addition, the epidemic has impacted sales in the industry, and some sales offices have been forced to close temporarily. In 2022, the residential sales area decreased by 26.8%, and the residential sales decreased by 31.2%.Industry revenue will recover at an annualized 0.7% over the five years through 2030. Over the next five years, the industry's drag on GDP will weaken, and industry growth will stabilize. However, high housing prices have become a major social problem in China. Under the measures on the principle that residential real estate is used for living, not speculation, the financial attributes of real estate will gradually weaken, and housing prices will tend to stabilize.

The regression results during the US-China trade war (only including the period before the COVID-19 pandemic).

Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Rev: Year to Date: Interest data was reported at 0.000 HKD mn in Sep 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 HKD mn for Jun 2018. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Rev: Year to Date: Interest data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 HKD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 75 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.794 HKD mn in Mar 2000 and a record low of 0.000 HKD mn in Sep 2018. Hong Kong Disaster Relief Fund: Rev: Year to Date: Interest data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by The Treasury. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong SAR – Table HK.F010: Government Fund: Disaster Relief Fund.