China’s darkest days may be over, but uncertainties keep upgrades at bay

BLACKROCK, the world’s largest asset manager, is neutral on China assets overall, as underwhelming policy support, Beijing’s zero-Covid stance and a slowing global economy keep optimism in check.

Speaking at the launch of its mid-year outlook for 2022, Ben Powell, chief investment strategist for Asia-Pacific BlackRock Investment Institute, warned of global challenges and a volatile future amid an inflation that is at a multi-year high.

BlackRock is increasingly more cautious, and said it is not a time to “buy the dip”. The US group has further cut its risk allocation at the portfolio level. It has downgraded US and European equities to underweight, but is neutral on China and Japanese equities.