Some market commentators have suggested that China has been stockpiling commodities. If that is true then do we know the size of the stockpiles? How long would they last at current rates of consumption? Six months? One year? Two years?
They have gone much, much further than simply stockpiling the raw materials.
Also consider that in a desperate attempt to keep millions employed in the cities (for now at least - but what about when their economy actually slows significantly for whatever reason - and it WILL at some point) the Chinese have converted much of their mountainous stockpiles of "raw materials" into an equally massive stockpile of EMPTY skyscrapers, EMPTY office blocks, EMPTY factories and EMPTY multi-story accomodation units.
Sort of a "hidden" stockpile. For some reason, little attention seems to be paid this by the mainstream, dumb, media.
Good grief. If OUR government spent 100's of Billions building 1,000's of empty structures like this, would we gleefully accept it? A resounding NO I suspect!
Yet here is the Western world applauding & cheering like fawning sycophants for a COMMUNIST regime to do so, because it offers our own greedy societies a brief respite from recession?
Go figure....
1. China's cash-fueled bubble trumps a credit or debt-fueled bubble.
For one, China is being driven by cash ”” not credit. (You may remember this thing called "cash" from back in the day...)
If you count public and private sources, China has 5% to 6% of global GDP in cash; if you count the broadest measures, China has almost three trillion dollars in foreign reserves. And the economy and tax revenues are growing ”” not shrinking ”” as they are in other parts of the world.
Interesting too Motorway, that currency reserves as high as China has, have their own problem. Generally over history countries that have accumulated huge reserves have not done well, and I'm not fully understanding of the reasons. Perhaps the Duc - ster could help me out on that one.
Basically from what I've read recently, and I'll try to find the link, China has another problem in the quantity of reserves itself....beside the issue with the currency.
CanOz
et al,
China, currently, by purchasing land that provides raw materials, or access to raw materials, is practicing a form of colonialism. Whether it would ever progress to outright war and conquest, we'll just have to wait and see.
jog on
duc
Interesting in that they were quoted in the media in the last 18 months as being the equivalent of colonialists in Africa.
War is not in the interest of Social Stability, at this stage....
Thanks for the insight Ducs.
CanOz
The Chinese economic growth rate in 2009 was 8.7 percent. What would it have been without the economic stimulus?
How long can China keep pump priming it's economy to maintain an 8% growth rate if export markets remain weak?
Personally I don't think there will be much of a economic recovery in the western world.
The recoveries now have a name "LUV". Europe's will be an "L" shape recovery, The US a "U" shape, and Asia a "V" Shape.
Some guy on Bloomberg reckons so anyway!
CanOz
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