
China - Strolling through the XXth Century
By keeping a sense of perspective, the confident East-West dialogue, engaged by a Chinese diplomat in the dying days of the Qing dynasty, in the early 20th century, remains just as relevant today



By keeping a sense of perspective, the confident East-West dialogue, engaged by a Chinese diplomat in the dying days of the Qing dynasty, in the early 20th century, remains just as relevant today

Published every other year in January, with new entries, the article is testimony to the resilience of thinkers committed to China's rich moral, social and political tradition of spiritual life, acting in harmony and without struggle

Backed in a corner as debt-financed investment growth fails to deliver, the Chinese economy is facing hard choices to rebalance the country's GDP drivers, and its financial system, while remaining protective of the CCP's social contract

Indirect debt financing (by the Chinese banks) has been highly beneficial for insiders - local governments and state enterprises - but a generational shift towards greater economic balance opens an era of insecurity and opportunity

So distribution should undo excess...and each man have enough (King Lear, Shakespeare, Act 4, Scene 1)

Debt becomes a social risk when excess liabilities create discord and profound inequalities within the community - then comes the time to abandon growth at any cost in favor of more harmonious development - a tall order indeed

China's 20-year growth achievement has been a specular firework supported by awesome debt build-up - The high-wire act of rebalancing growth and debt is not for the faint-hearted

It is about debt... Central government is reining-in out-of-control real estate expansion, local land sales are upended as payments on their multi-trillion debt (in USD) come due, exposing Chinese banks to systemic risk....The growth model stutters

Weak household consumption and high investment in infrastructure and real estate have been the recipe of enduring growth, powered by debt - Those boosters are misfiring (or worse) - Could the economy be skidding to a halt ?

Aimed at social balance between urban and rural constituencies, reform of hukou registration is the nexus of conflicted priorities of China's central authorities, the local governments, the large export conglomerates and the Chinese middle class