Posted on 02/18/2016 3:06:09 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Overproduction Swamps Smaller Chinese Cities, Revealing Depth of Crisis
Beijing had hoped small cities like Suizhou would help drive the expansion of the middle class and sustain economic growth
By James T. Areddy
Updated Feb. 17, 2016 10:16 p.m. ET
SUIZHOU, China--Even in China's remotest places, relentless overproduction—here it is mushrooms and cement trucks--is clouding the country's path to prosperity and jolting the global economy.
When 48-year-old farmer Yang Qun began trading at Suizhou's bustling morning mushroom market a half decade ago, the fungus industry was expanding, even attracting a rural lending arm of British financial giant HSBC Holdings PLC. Ms. Yang saved enough to buy a minivan. When wet snow fell last month, she was settling for closeout prices to unload six bags of dried mushrooms that took a half year to cultivate.
For Xu Song, a clanging sound was once a welcome reminder that his 200 colleagues were busy pounding steel into the giant barrels used on cement trucks. On a recent day, he sat alone watching videos in an unheated office, the only worker left on an abandoned factory floor where dozens of rusting barrels were stacked like multi-ton footballs.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
P!
Unfortunately, China tried to combine state run philosophy with capitalism. The hybrid failed because it is powered by politics rather than profit. It is unlikely that a true capitalist system would fall prey to over production, at least not twice. On the other hand, the Chinese government is terrified of having unemployed people. Unemployed people riot against the government. When things got bad capitalists would lay off workers and that can not be allowed. Pity the government. Their only choice would be to govern less. Much less.
Incidently, GM regularly had a huge backlog of the unpopular Volt. They over built because the Administration insisted on it. Politics.
Building a cement truck by hand?
Selling/handling food next to an industrial area??
An example of how deeply ingrained the lack of safety in their food products.
I can imagine pre cast forms being set up at key locations near the border, more than likely near rail access, its going to take LOTS of Portland cement, of which really needs to come from America, NOT China.
Build a cement plant, Brownsville? Near a port, near rail and interstate. Then set up the pre cast yards with mobile batching plants.
I cannot fathom why we are importing any food products from China. I won’t feed Chinese products to my dog.
Don’t forget the added benefit...the lovely air they breathe.
“Their only choice would be to govern less. Much less.”
YES. And that is the only “solution” for the US. It is TIME to DownSize DC! Eliminate entire Rogue/Unconstitutional Departments, including their SWAT Teams.
Washington is not the solution, but it is the problem.
Bingo. Good synopsis of why fascism fails.
One card that is missing from that pile is their rapidly aging population. One child policy not only made a lot of bachelors, but also a rapidly aging population without relatives to support them.
“Chinas House of Cards”? Looks more like America to me.
Another card to include is the pollution and the effects on the health of the population.
“it is unlikely that a true capitalist system would fall prey to over production, at least not twice.”
It happens all the time. That’s what booms, busts, corrections and recessions are. Production of one thing is very profitable, so many people start making it until competition becomes so great that there is oversupply and loss of profit. Those businesses that can’ t do it fail.
The big problem is underproduction and resource diversion in command economies. Not enough toilet paper and too many paper clips.
The Chinese should read comments on Amazon.. the first question is always, ‘where is this item made’... When the answer is ‘China’ there’s a wince...
The Chinese make crap... if they want to do better they should form a Better Business Bureau or something like it. That said, the best solution is to elect Trump and bring our own industries back to the United States. A curse on the Chinese and their endless devaluations.
Didn’t Obama promise to buy a Volt when he left office?
I’ll buy every word of that post
However, if you build it, they will come
China has lots and lots of room for growth. Over production is the result of to rapid a rate of growth. If the slope of the growth curve is reduced, things can proceed.
The question then becomes , how long will it take to get back on track?
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