Why Chinas Yuan Weakness Is Splitting Asian Exporters

China Economy with Fexingo: Beijing's Policies, Trade, and Asia-Pacific Markets · May 23, 2026 · 7m · transcript

The yuan has hit a multi-year low against the dollar, but this episode argues that the old playbook—a weak yuan helps Chinese exporters—is breaking down. Lucas and Luna examine how the yuan's decline is now squeezing smaller Asian economies like Vietnam and Thailand, which rely on Chinese intermediate goods and now face both currency pressure and rising tariffs. With the trade-weighted dollar index at 119.3 and the yuan at 6.81 per dollar, the hosts dig into data showing China's exports are up while imports are growing faster, suggesting domestic demand is actually rebounding. They…