tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post1179750437862222968..comments2023-08-25T17:30:36.937+05:30Comments on Business Musings: China's IssuesRameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-48918180326402467082017-09-24T09:39:39.819+05:302017-09-24T09:39:39.819+05:30@Deepa - Oh yes, its an issue in many countries. B...@Deepa - Oh yes, its an issue in many countries. But the level of nationalism in China is scary. Even the extremely educated elite can be whipped up. <br /><br />The moral vacuum in India is a different one. Its a degradation of values, not of emptiness. I am de3eply saddened by how much values have degraded in Indian culture. Its universal - not restricted to pockets. That's an even dangerous problem than the one of emptiness in China.<br /><br />North Korea - Your leader seems to be hell bent on provoking a war.Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-88562879954177445442017-09-18T21:55:53.517+05:302017-09-18T21:55:53.517+05:30I think 'rising nationalism' (directed aga...I think 'rising nationalism' (directed against Pakistan) is an Indian issue as well. I think governments love to keep the fire fuelled to manipulate sentiments. <br /><br />Moral vacuum - Again, this does seem to be catching up in India as well in spite of the religious and social orgs this is increasing. In fact ironically there is a materialistic approach in meeting religious and social commitments. I wonder if it is more a population (and the resulting competition) problem than having (or lack of) social checks.<br /><br />North Korea - You bring such different perspective. Here they are shining the tips of their ICBMs just in case! :DDeepahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149267172223745802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-62167066955813356052017-09-18T11:47:44.481+05:302017-09-18T11:47:44.481+05:30@Anne - That is the soft landing problem. In order...@Anne - That is the soft landing problem. In order to keep up growth, the government has continued to massively spend on infrastructure, including a number of white elephants and done so by taking on debt. Hence the high debt levels. Difficult to stop this addiction. If they stop the spending, growth will plummet.<br /><br />China's education system is quite good by Asian standards. They have boosted primary education quite a bit and at university levels, they are having world class universities. Education is very affordable and the culture is of parents paying for it; so students passing out don't start life with huge debt. The only problem with education (as indeed with housing and lots of other things) is the peculiar hukou system. Your ID and permit is linked to your home town and you have to go there to avail of government services. That is a larger problem linked to migration.<br /><br />Nobody in China cares about North Korea. North Korea will make lots of noise, but do very little. The Chinese leadership is pissed off because Kim is not doing their bidding , but otherwise they know that he won't do much other than sabre rattling which North Korea has done for decades. I think both China and South Korea are reconciled to the North having nuclear weapons, but know that they will not use them. Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-10401524537810354202017-09-18T08:18:58.226+05:302017-09-18T08:18:58.226+05:30What about North Korea, which most of the world th...What about North Korea, which most of the world thinks China controls?Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-77833930055730444872017-09-18T08:09:43.564+05:302017-09-18T08:09:43.564+05:30We hear of government projects like roads to nowhe...We hear of government projects like roads to nowhere and apartments built but never occupied that inflate the economic growth by employing thousands upon thousands of people. Such futile exercises can do nothing but increase government debt. What is the thought process - maintain China's image abroad no matter the eventual cost?<br /><br />You do not mention education. Many far eastern countries have a reputation in the west for an intense, perhaps too intense, focus on education, significantly as a means to increasing personal wealth via a more lucrative career. Is education an issue? Has curriculum changed (beyond blotting out unsavory historic events)? If education is controlled locally, is it a reason to protest?<br />Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-79582703747317397472017-09-17T09:47:22.958+05:302017-09-17T09:47:22.958+05:30@Sriram - The debt to GDP ratios I have quoted are...@Sriram - The debt to GDP ratios I have quoted are total debt - public, private, government all put together. In the US that number is high, but the assets to GDP ratio is also high - the US has far more assets than its borrowings. That doesn't mean its debt is not at ridiculous levels, but still at least as a nation, there is enough assets to cover the debt.<br /><br />In China and India , large proportion of these debts have to be written off. China has more capability than India to absorb the writeoffs, but for both it will be a significant loss. Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-44759134982663937492017-09-16T20:58:32.989+05:302017-09-16T20:58:32.989+05:30Yes, it is brutal on every possible front that the...Yes, it is brutal on every possible front that the "Communist Party" has reduced human existence to nothing but money, and any value other than money is snuffed out by the lethal arm of the government. I view this Chinese system as even worse than the Soviet system--because, there was a view of humanity that continued through the repressive Soviet system. It was also that underlying humanity that got rid of the Soviet Bloc. From the Orthodox church to writers to ballet, various aspects of humanity continued on behind the Iron Curtain. But, in China, it has been an annihilation.<br /><br />BTW, a trivial question ... the debt-to-GDP ratios sound way high. Really? Those are the numbers?<br />And even then, we should tease out the public debt versus the household debt, right?Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.com