Saturday, May 1, 2010

A Gloomy View of China

Here is a pessimistic view of the future of China, written for World Affairs Journal by Gordon G. Chang. He summarizes:
In addition to its outdated economic model, China faces a number of other problems, including banks with unacknowledged bad loans on their books, trade friction arising from mercantilist policies, a pandemic of defective products and poisonous foods, a grossly underfunded and inadequate social security system, a society that is rapidly aging as a result of the brutally enforced one-child policy, a rising tide of violent crime, a monumental environmental crisis, ever-worsening corruption, and failing schools and other social services. These are just the most important difficulties.
It is a good, long article for the person who is interested in an in-depth discussion of China. Others have more optimistic views of China's next 5-10 years.