Politics blamed for China's trillion-dollar bad debts

The Australian ^ | May 09, 2006 | Minxin Pei

[NZerFromHK]

Now will this catch Freepers' attentions? I doubt it.

[Brilliant]

If true, then China is on the verge of economic collapse.

[Former Proud Canadian]

This equals 40 per cent of gross domestic product and China has already spent the equivalent of 25-30 per cent of GDP in previous bank bail-outs.

As much as 70% of the GDP in bad loans? Yeah, I'd say they are in big trouble. This is the 900 pound gorilla. How is this going to affect the US economy?

[righthand man]

bump

[PeterPrinciple]

46 per cent said their banks made no efforts to uncover bad loans.


The good news is we will be able to buy the loans for cents on the dollar.......any takers?

[NZerFromHK]

Our alarmists here love to point out "Look, the Chinese buy our bonds and they are owning us!". At the other side of the fence the thinking in China goes that "The US can actually freeze all the bonds these Chinese Communist nouveau riche and corrupt party officials if necessary, and because they are stored in the US the Chinese can't really withdraw them."

[Navy Patriot]

The good news is we will be able to buy the loans for cents on the dollar.......any takers?

So this means that we will own all the businesses in China, and China will own all the businesses in the US?

[NAVY84]

Just another poor third world nation that us evil Americans have gutted and filleted.

[NZerFromHK]

The bonds, money deposits, and investments mean nothing for the Chinese side because they are mostly stored in the US rather than China. They think the US can call them checkmate in the event of a Taiwan war by freezing and confiscating all these capitals.

[Brilliant]

For one thing, it would force them to devalue their currency.

[denydenydeny]

If true, then China is on the verge of economic collapse.

We can only selfishly hope.

It would mean a collapse in gas prices, just like in the late 90s, when the "Asian Tiger" economies bellyflopped, giving us 99 cent a gallon gas that Bill Clinton took credit for.

It would be a great thing for the world.

[The Red Zone]

If China can keep on keeping on with things this bad, wait till they fix it. Goods will be twice as cheap.

[BlazingArizona]

Our alarmists here love to point out "Look, the Chinese buy our bonds and they are owning us!". At the other side of the fence the thinking in China goes that "The US can actually freeze all the bonds these Chinese Communist nouveau riche and corrupt party officials if necessary, and because they are stored in the US the Chinese can't really withdraw them."

We would be able to do that precisely once. Then our own economy would collapse because no one would buy US bonds ever again.

[gaijin]

Wow! They're not just replicating the Japanese economic miracle, but it appears they are COMPLETELY replicating it, to include the eventual collosal crisis.

Don't forget their energy crisis and the fact that 30 million men there have no hope of EVER marrying...

What, I ask freepers, is the NEXT step, if they have a full-blown crisis?

I say Japan needs air-to-air refueling capability and more SDI stuff NOW.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

As long as the communist party relies on state-controlled banks to maintain an unreformed core of a command economy, Chinese banks will make more bad loans.

The alternative is more civil strife (already reported as more than 60,000 instances per year). Cutting off those Mao-era "enterprises" would throw tens of millions more out of work.

Government figures show that, in 2003, 5.3 million party officials held executive positions in SOEs.

Hey! that close enough to be a free market, capitalist system. Right, free traders?

Let's ramp up the free tradin' transfer of technology, wealth, and production to our "business partners."

[NZerFromHK]

Apparently China's side thinks otherwise. They sees that is possible in the case of war erupting over Taiwan. I report, you decide. Too few Americans know what the Chinese side is saying behind your backs.

[G Larry]

Wonder how "Trapper" from "MASH" feels about his China investments now?

Clown bashes Walmart and praises China in the same breath!?!?!?

[boycottliberalhollywood.com]

The writer, author of China's Trapped Transition, is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington Globalists Trying To Convince Us That China Is Our Friend Endowment

[DB]

There are many issues like this in China.

That is why in the longer run I don't fear China economically.

Yes, they've been producing lots of growth. But when you start out dirt poor there's plenty of room to go up. I'd guess their per capita income is a tenth of ours. They have a long, long way to go... Their corrupt communist government is not compatible with the freedom required to truly catch up.