In interpreting China’s current economic difficulties fundamental issues of analytical approach are at stake, which I have started a Chartbook mini-series to address the issue. What might be called the “authoritarian impasse” (on second thoughts I’ve amended the
China’s current economic difficulties? China? For God's sake!
China's economy will grow $1.5 trillion this year. Only 3 years in history can match that.
China has $9 trillion in foreign reserves.
Chinese personal savings are $3-$6 trillion, matching corporate liquid assets.
China leads the world in all fields of scientific research (it outspends the US 4:1) and technological innovation.
It also leads in diplomacy and social development, and its military hardware is a full generation ahead of ours.
You seem to rely on Fox News for your knowledge of China, which is fine for boosting readership, but is steering us into a ditch, in case you haven't noticed.
Why not focus our our own myriad, serious problems, which you can see for yourself, instead of inventing problems for a country about which you know nothing?
Many thanks for writing this mini series, Adam, and comparing and contrasting the various theories and interpretations of China's problems.
I highly respect Michael Pettis' analysis as I started as an emerging market debt analyst in the 1990s and Pettis is one of the key economists I followed and a person I met a couple of times over the years. His solutions for China are more holistic and inclusive, I guess this is also because he has been living and breathing in China for 20 years! China is such a different country than Venezuela and anywhere else - China relies on domestic demand (around 65% of GDP like the US) while Venezuela is trade-dependent (65% of GDP). So traditional macroeconomic policies still have a large part to play in China. China's wealthy and educated ones are already leaving China on their own and hardly need any other forces to incite! Looking forward to the next series!
It provokes interesting responses among my Chinese friends, family, and social circle when I point out that China’s trade surplus represents neither thrift nor hard work but rather something very akin to theft, in this instance perpetrated by the government and export sector (both private and SOE) against the working and middle-class.
Takes a bit of explanation but folks eventually cotton to the fact that US Treasuries and domestic property holdings in a rich person’s bank account or cheap land for an SOE-owned factory are not in fact a national triumph compared to the alternatives: more money for middle-class consumers or a better education and healthcare system for everyone.
While Pettis and Klein’s take is not the end-all and be-all of explanations for China’s struggles (and its triumphs), it is a very important one.
China’s current economic difficulties? China? For God's sake!
China's economy will grow $1.5 trillion this year. Only 3 years in history can match that.
China has $9 trillion in foreign reserves.
Chinese personal savings are $3-$6 trillion, matching corporate liquid assets.
China leads the world in all fields of scientific research (it outspends the US 4:1) and technological innovation.
It also leads in diplomacy and social development, and its military hardware is a full generation ahead of ours.
You seem to rely on Fox News for your knowledge of China, which is fine for boosting readership, but is steering us into a ditch, in case you haven't noticed.
Why not focus our our own myriad, serious problems, which you can see for yourself, instead of inventing problems for a country about which you know nothing?
Many thanks for writing this mini series, Adam, and comparing and contrasting the various theories and interpretations of China's problems.
I highly respect Michael Pettis' analysis as I started as an emerging market debt analyst in the 1990s and Pettis is one of the key economists I followed and a person I met a couple of times over the years. His solutions for China are more holistic and inclusive, I guess this is also because he has been living and breathing in China for 20 years! China is such a different country than Venezuela and anywhere else - China relies on domestic demand (around 65% of GDP like the US) while Venezuela is trade-dependent (65% of GDP). So traditional macroeconomic policies still have a large part to play in China. China's wealthy and educated ones are already leaving China on their own and hardly need any other forces to incite! Looking forward to the next series!
It provokes interesting responses among my Chinese friends, family, and social circle when I point out that China’s trade surplus represents neither thrift nor hard work but rather something very akin to theft, in this instance perpetrated by the government and export sector (both private and SOE) against the working and middle-class.
Takes a bit of explanation but folks eventually cotton to the fact that US Treasuries and domestic property holdings in a rich person’s bank account or cheap land for an SOE-owned factory are not in fact a national triumph compared to the alternatives: more money for middle-class consumers or a better education and healthcare system for everyone.
While Pettis and Klein’s take is not the end-all and be-all of explanations for China’s struggles (and its triumphs), it is a very important one.