Xi's Price War Shakes Up China Markets

'Anti-involution' emerges as catchphrase for deciphering Chinese policy intentions

- BLOOMBERG

For strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group, as well as money managers in Hong Kong and Singapore, an opaque term has suddenly emerged as the catchphrase for deciphering Chinese policy intentions and navigating the stock market.

The term "anti-involution" has cropped up in government documents over the past year, but gained prominence earlier this month when President Xi Jinping chaired a high-level meeting that pledged to regulate "disorderly" price competition. It refers to efforts to root out China's industrial malaise, marked by cutthroat price wars and overcapacity that have hurt profitability in sectors ranging from solar, new energy vehicles to steel.