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).
China Growth
01
Aug
Aug
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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
29
Jul
Jul
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China’s Tourism Dimension: From Stereotypes to Economic Impact
Whenever the topic of Chinese tourism arises, it’s hard to resist the temptation of making a tongue in cheek reference to the various stereotypes involving Chinese tourists who obsessively take pictures of various landmarks. Behind those stereotypes, however, lie numbers which paint a remarkably clear picture: there is a tremendous amount of money on the
22
Jul
Jul
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Is China One Huge Economic Bubble?
Whenever one comes across headlines such as those about China consuming more cement in two years than the United States throughout the entire 20th century, there’s a natural tendency to raise an eyebrow and wonder how sustainable China’s growth can be considered or even more so, if the entire construction isn’t actually just one huge
22
Jul
Jul
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China’s Puzzling Contrast: Poverty Reduction vs. Inequality Increase
It goes without saying that China’s impressive post-1978 economic growth came with a more than significant poverty reduction. As inflation-adjusted income went up, the percentage of individuals living under the $1.9 per day poverty threshold plummeted, from almost 90% in the early 80s to low single digits today. However, a distinction needs to made between
21
Jul
Jul
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China’s Retail Sales, Disposable Personal Income and Consumer Spending – Metrics for a Transitioning Economy
Perhaps the number one mistake analysts tend to make when trying to understand China’s economy pertains to simply acknowledging certain facts in a superficial, quasi-axiomatic manner. They read the right charts, draw the right conclusions but don’t internalize the importance of the mega-trends they’ve just been exposed to. If you ask them about China’s infrastructure,
20
Jul
Jul
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China’s Infrastructure Investments: Facts, Myths and Context
Few forces can even come close to competing with China’s infrastructure spending in terms of domestic and international impact. Unfortunately, as it tends to happen with generation-defining narratives, inaccurate information abounds. From those who underestimate the importance of infrastructure spending when analyzing China’s GDP growth pattern to analysts on the other end of the spectrum,
20
Jul
Jul
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China’s Rural vs. Urban Population: Past, Present and Context
A story of GDP growth? Or maybe the story of the world’s most robust emerging middle class? Perhaps a story of gradual geopolitical dominance progress? There a quite a few headlines which describe China’s post-1978 journey. Yet an equally important one tends to receive less attention, the story of China’s massive urbanization, with its various
17
Jul
Jul
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The Good, the Bad and the Misleading: China’s Population
The fact that China’s population number lies north of 1.4 billion represents an element which one cannot afford to overlook in a detailed analysis. Sometimes, this number comes with positive implications, whereas oftentimes, it can be misleading and make us believe that China’s dominance in certain sectors is a function of its efficiency… when in
15
Jul
Jul
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China’s “Emerging” Middle Class?
The average Western investor tends to raise an eyebrow when analysts use terms such as “emerging” to describe China’s middle class. How can the middle class of the world’s #2 nation by nominal GDP be… emerging? The answer is straightforward and lies in simply understanding what the Gross Domestic Product actually measures. Without going into