China continues to benefit from Russia's desperate need for supplies to prosecute its quixotic war in Ukraine. Russia is unable to stop in its offensive goals (despite those goals repeatedly shrinking) because to do otherwise would be to acknowledge the failure of the entire enterprise. Which, in turn,
Xi Jinping, Paramount Leader of China, has often criticized the focus on growth rates, emphasizing 'quality growth' over a headline number, and this is a good point certainly. Still, the government is deeply committed to their process: Growth is targeted and achieved. This decision to aim for "
I enjoyed this excellent article from Architectural Digest on China's abandoned developments very much, it's a really great piece of reporting. The article spotlights a development of hundreds of mini-mansions in Shenyang, dating back to 2010. Construction stopped in 2012. They've been sitting there
Another day, another media-driven outrage in China. The government wants positivity, but the state media seems unable to deliver anything but anger and distrust. This time, it's all about Messi. The famous footballer didn't feel up for the match in Hong Kong, and the 'people&
In light of reporting that the US and China have had talks on fentanyl, I've been thinking about other areas that the US and China can work on. As China works through this economic rough patch, there would be big benefits in working together with global partners. The
I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw that China plans to encourage or subsidize small private businesses. The government’s attitude towards small businesses was very, very different back in 2013. The Bo Xilai case in 2012 had made it quite clear that China’s leadership was not
That Evergrande would end up in liquidation was never much in doubt, but here we finally are! Huge news out of Hong Kong, and the next few months will certainly be filled with interesting tidbits about the process unfolding. This is very much a story of how authoritarian governments don&
A lot of big news today on China's continuing economic problems. One thing I've been thinking about is the interesting news that China's football team was made to watch the confession video of their former coach. On the eve of the tournament, China’s
Paul Krugman writes an excellent piece on China's economic woes. He hits most of the major issues, starting at the very top with bad leadership. Krugman writes that Xi Jinping is starting to look like a "poor economic manager". Over his 10 years in power, he&
An interesting analysis from Andy Xie today, focusing on one of the ways China can begin to re-establish new sources of economic growth. In this case, solar power. I don't know if Andy's positivity on solar power is supported by current technology, but given the long-term
Deflation is such a negative word that journalists don’t think more deeply about the market forces at play. Here, CNBC warns that falling consumer prices are “not helping”: Plunging pork prices in China are pushing the world’s second largest economy closer to deflation, in what could be another
As we move into 2024, a lot of critical decisions will be made. Resources are limited, and funds pushed in one direction means less funding for other things. The Chinese government really seems to be trying to have it both ways. A strong statement about Taiwan, claiming that 'reunification&