Posted on 05/25/2012 8:34:49 AM PDT by John W
XI’AN, China — A nationwide real estate downturn, stalling exports and declining consumer confidence have produced what a Chinese cabinet adviser, quoted on the official government Web site on Thursday, characterized as a “sharp slowdown in the economy.”
Though the Chinese economy continues to expand, construction workers are losing jobs in droves and retail sales grew last month at the slowest pace in more than three years. Investments in fixed assets have increased more slowly this year than in any year since 2001.
The most striking feature of the slowdown is that it extends beyond the coastal provinces, which depend on exports and are closely linked to the global economy, to the country’s far more insular interior, including cities like Xi’an here in northwestern China.
China’s unexpected economic difficulties are starting to unnerve investors in world markets, especially commodity markets, as China is the world’s largest consumer of most raw materials and the second-largest consumer of oil.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
China’s unexpected economic difficulties are starting to unnerve investors in world markets, especially commodity markets, as China is the world’s largest consumer of most raw materials and the second-largest consumer of oil.
First they were concerned that there were shortages because China was consuming too many raw materials. Now they are concerned that the Chinese are not consuming enough raw materials.
What I am watching for is when the Infrastructure and Show-off buildings China has been building at a furious pace start to show signs of cracking and disrepair. As someone once said; Modern China is a three foot civilization. Once you get within three feet of the walls and such you start to see shoddiness.
We were in China about a year and a half ago and noticed the shoddiness of the construction. My husband is a custom builder and was amazed at what they got by with.
I lived on Taiwan in the 60’s, I admire the Chinese people very much. For most of the history the majority have made do with what they had available to work with. Unfortunately for today that carries over. for most of their existence as a people their buildings and common every-day items were utilitarian and designed to be used until it broke. Then it was repair it or tear it down and build the same thing over again.
Their artists through much of their history were amazing, simply amazing. But thanks to the Cultural Revolution they destroyed their heritage and most of the remaining examples are not in the National Museum on Taiwan.
Today though they have taken the worst aspects of their heritage of do just enough to get by and combined it with a state-sponsored version of Capitalism and now they produce things that are designed to just get by for a few years.
Take that attitude and transpose it onto their Buildings and their infra-structure of Roads, Bridges, Railways and Dams. Especially the Three Gorges Dam. And when it starts to fail and it will, then watch out. The CCP will do their utmost to blame anyone but themselves and the country. So by necessity it was foreign enemies who brought down __________ (Whatever).
The businesses and capital assets are owned by Party members, PLA officers, and their relatives. If their investments go up in smoke, expect civil war among the ruling class.
Their artists through much of their history were amazing, simply amazing. But thanks to the Cultural Revolution they destroyed their heritage and most of the remaining examples are not in the National Museum on Taiwan.
Should Be:
Their artists through much of their history were amazing, simply amazing. But thanks to the Cultural Revolution they destroyed their heritage and most of the remaining examples are in the National Museum on Taiwan not on the mainland.
...knock, knock, knock...
USA: “Yes, can I help you?”
CHINA: “You know those trillions we loaned you? We would like our money back.”
Well now the bloody Commie chinks get a dose of real capitalism up close and personal, har-dee-har-har!
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