He really ought to worry about the granddaddy of all real estate bubbles. China has squandered over $1 trillion of capital building whole cities of apartments, retail space and public facilities. They sit empty and deteriorating with no return on investment. Also most of its urban real estate, upon which huge loans have been made, is greatly overvalued. The communist state planners have made some huge mistakes and those mistakes may be what brings them down.
In one of his addresses to the military last month, Xi called for absolute loyalty to the CPC.
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Xi is right about this.
China is in danger of going the way of the Japanese in the early 20th century. at that time the civilian government was more powerful than the military. but after a couple of victories the military became more powerful than the civilian government.
‘”Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Soviet Communist Party collapse? An important reason was that their ideals and convictions wavered,” the New York Times, which has obtained the summary of his comments, quoted Xi as saying. ‘
The New York Times: they’ve never wavered in their socialist convictions and ideals!
In the battle of ideas in China the truth is that Chiang defeated Mao in the end. The current political and economic structure in the People’s Republic mirrors what Chiang Kai Shek strove to create, far from the one Mao had in mind.
It’s interesting that the fall of the Soviet Union is offered as a bogeyman. Russia’s economy went into a severe, 6-year-long recession, but the per-capital GDP is now twice what it was at the fall of the Soviet Union. Other former soviet states have seen even more remarkable growth. Once relying heavily on grain imports, Russia is now the world’s 3rd largest exporter of food, after the United States and the European Union. Trade in vices is down, the once-collapsing birth rate is recovering (an indication of hopefulness), abortion is still legal yet has nearly disappeared anyway. Suicide has dropped 40%, and life expectancy is at an all-time high (69 years old).
If China goes the way of the USSR, where will the United Socialist States of America borrow money from?
The CPC is a Chinese nationalist party... as Maoism receded and private property has taken root along with the rule of law and orderly succession of power, the party’s primary sources of legitimacy is appealing to traditional Chinese sentiment and culture and defending Chinese prosperity and sovereignty.
Marxism has little relevance for party cadres, bureaucrats and government officials. The party’s main concerns are fighting corruption, avoiding internal infighting and making sure the party remains a good manager of the economy. Failure to address these issues could bring down the party. Xi faces a very difficult job in managing these expectations and satisfying an increasingly diverse nation of a billion people.
There’s a worldwide economic collapse coming, and it won’t be pretty!
Bo Xilai
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In a silly mood this morning, I guess. I know nothing about Chinese pronunciation, but I read that name as pronounced like the wine Beaujolais.