[1rudeboy]

It's more than that. It is argued up and down these threads that the Chinese are poor, and don't have the money to buy stuff. If that was truly the case, then why does Wal-Mart have 40+ stores in China, and plans to open 10+ more?

[Mase]

"It is argued up and down these threads that the Chinese are poor, and don't have the money to buy stuff. If that was truly the case, then why does Wal-Mart have 40+ stores in China, and plans to open 10+ more?"
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Amazing isn't it? A 1.65 trillion dollar economy growing at 9+% a year and no wealth is being created. The Chicom leadership are many things but they are certainly not stupid. They know that if this wealth creation does not start reaching the average Chinese and create some sort of middle class then they will have another Tianeman Square x 10.

I have not been there in more than a year but on my last visit I spent most of my time sitting in traffic jams because they have so many automobiles now. There was no such problem 10 years ago.

[jpsb]

'Security analysts estimate that China's true defense budget -- as opposed to its declared military spending -- has reached $80 billion, the third-highest in the world after the U.S. and Russia."

[jpsb]

"Improved Chinese capabilities threaten U.S. forces in the region," CIA director Porter Goss told a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday."

"In a defense doctrine last December, the Japanese government for the first time said China and its military buildup posed a regional risk."