Right off the bat, it’s important to make it clear that a “threat” in the true sense of the word is not something that might bring about let’s say a growth rate decrease from 10% to 6.5% but rather an event/phenomenon so dramatic that it might even generate a recession. Believe it or not, even
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Understanding the Renminbi/Yuan: History, Context and Perspectives
Ask the average Westerner a thing or two about China’s currency and he will most likely explain that he KNOWS it is highly, grossly, outrageously devalued (especially if we are referring to individuals who actively watch the news and are most likely well aware of the significant trade tensions between China and the United States).
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The People’s Republic of China (PRC), AKA “Today’s China”
When referring to certain aspects related to China, you have to be specific and make it clear which “China” you are thinking about. Are you talking about one of the (many) Chinese dynasties? Or perhaps about the Republic of China (ROC), the “China” of 1912 to 1949* (the latter represents a more complex discussion, please
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Aug
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Should You Invest in China… Now? (If Not, When?)
One of the most common discussion themes among current and potential investors in China alike is represented by the timing element. In other words, is now the right time to back up the truck and invest in China or would it be wise to wait? As (pretty much) always when it comes to such broad
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Aug
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The Three Teachings: From Cultural Foundation to… Frustration Cause?
In previous articles, we’ve analyzed the three most important cultural frameworks associated with China one by one: Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. We have tried to understand some of the differences as well as the many similarities between them and all in all, it should be quite obvious that the three thought currents complement one another
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Aug
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Chinese Diplomacy: From Low-Key Pragmatism to Assertiveness
Right from the very first ChinaFund.com article, we’ve made it clear that as peculiar of a paradox as it may seem, China was a huge economy (along with India, as outlined in the previously mentioned article) throughout most of its history without being all that interested in trading with other nations. As such, diplomacy was
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Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) and Buddhism: The Middle Way for China?
A fair case could be made that from a cultural perspective, China is governed by the so-called Three Teachings. Two of them: Daoism and Confucianism, have been covered through previous articles. Today, it’s time to put Buddhism under the proverbial microscope to understand its role in Chinese culture and, yes, ultimately even economic behavior. To
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Can You “Get” China Without Understanding Confucius and Confucianism?
As important as it is to understand what made China’s most important leaders tick (especially relatively recent leaders) and as useful as it is to have a firm grasp on history (once again, especially China’s relatively recent history), we need to acknowledge that to truly “get” China, we need to move away from an exclusively
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(Anything but) Worrying China-Related Energy Consumption and Production Trends?
A recurring theme here on ChinaFund.com is represented by the idea that being stuck in the past is in no way conducive to wise investment decisions. In other words, the economy of China mustn’t be viewed in a linear manner, a manner which revolves around the assumption that the nature and pace of China’s economic
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Understanding Laozi (Lao Tzu) and Daoism (Taoism)
There are pieces of information one can consider vital to an economic analysis that pertains to China, pieces of the puzzle without which the final construction makes little sense. China’s population, GDP and so on. There are, however, many tidbits of information in the “nuance” category. In other words, pieces of the puzzle one can