[HSBC: Global Trade Growth May Slow If AI Cycle Cools] Golden Finance reported on July 20 that HSBC economists stated in a report that if demand related to AI weakens, global trade growth could slow down. They pointed out that global trade remains closely tied to the AI cycle, with AI-related goods driving 80% of global export growth in nominal terms. These goods account for approximately 80% of Taiwan's total exports and 27% of the United States' total imports. They noted that export performance excluding tech products has been relatively weak, with growth in other categories of exports essentially stagnating since 2024. Additionally, AI is also supporting growth in service trade. However, they believe that based on capital expenditure forecasts from major global hyperscalers, even if AI investment growth slows next year, this wave of AI boom is still expected to continue for some time. (Jin10)