The really worrying financial crisis is happening in China, not Greece

The Telegraph ^ | 07/08/15 | The Telegraph

[Enlightened1]

China looks like it is heading for its version of the 1929 stock market crash

While all Western eyes remain firmly focused on Greece, a potentially much more significant financial crisis is developing on the other side of world. In some quarters, it’s already being called China’s 1929 – the year of the most infamous stock market crash in history and the start of the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression.

In any normal summer, a 30pc fall in the Chinese stock market – a loss of value roughly equivalent to the UK’s entire economic output last year – after an ascent which had seen share prices more than double within the space of a year would have been front page news across the globe.

The dramatic series of government interventions to stem the panic – hitherto unsuccessful, it should be added – would similarly have been up there at the top of the news agenda. Yet the pantomime of the Greek debt talks, together with the tragi-comedy of will they, won’t they leave the euro, has relegated the story to little more than a footnote - even though 940 companies, more than a third, have now suspended trading on China’s two main indices.

[Former Proud Canadian]

"So where how and when does China go to war?"

You asked.

Several flashpoints. The two obvious ones are the East China Sea (Senkaku Islands) and the South China Sea (Paracels/Spratleys). Japan pushed back a bit on the Senkaku gambit so that one might be on the back burner for now.

The South China Sea conflict can become much hotter. The prize is much bigger and the enemies are much weaker.

When will it happen? Probably when the leadership decides that a war is needed to distract people from the fact that their lives are getting worse.