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Fake Banking Lending Casts a Spotlight on Ongoing Problems in China’s Economy As anyone who, as I did, spent years living in China knows, the country’s treasure trove of splendid monuments, like the Great Wall and Forbidden City, are juxtaposed against sea of things the Chinese call 假的 (Jiǎde), or “phony/fake.”   The latter range from “Rolex” watches peddled by street hawkers that cease functioning within days to cheesy knockoffs of foreign UNESCO World Heritage Sites.   A recent addition to this fakery is the growth of “scam” loans issued by Chinese banks.   This development reflects continued weakness in the post-Covid Chinese economy.   Back in mid-November, Bloomberg  reported that the owner of an auto parts manufacturer in Zhejiang, one of China’s most prosperous and economically advanced provinces, received a highly unusual proposition from one of the big Chinese banks.  A loan officer at the bank requested that this businessman borrow 5 million RMB ...
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China’s Late Summer Economic Numbers Point to Ongoing Structural Weakness in its Economy The string of recent largely disappointing economic data drops from China continued during the late summer, underscoring ongoing structural problems in the world’s second largest economy.   While deflationary pressure eased a bit, factory gate prices continued their now close to 3-year decline, while the GDP deflator remained underwater for the 9 th quarter in a row, pointing to continued anemic household consumption.   Industrial profits rebounded in August, but this recovery was uneven across different sectors and in some measure a statistical artifact.   Fixed asset investment, on the other hand, turned negative year-on-year in late summer, reversing gains made earlier in 2025, while the prolonged slump in housing showed little sign of easing.   Although China may be on track to meet the government annual economic growth target of “around 5%,” this achievement rests on the in...
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  From China Dream to Nightmare for College Educated Chinese Youth: Chinese children have long made the following compact while growing up.   They bury their heads in their books and study like crazy from a very early age up through high school to get ahead in China’s ultracompetitive education system, causing them to miss out on the fun and play of a normal childhood.   By making this sacrifice, these kids can gain admission into a top-flight university and obtain stable and remunerative white-collar jobs, thereby avoiding the drudgery and insecurity of blue-collar work or a life of grinding poverty in rural villages.   Unfortunately, in recent years, particularly after the Covid Pandemic, this compact has broken down. The jobless rate among urban Chinese aged 16-24 rose sharply this summer, reaching 17.8% in July  (the August data has yet to be released).  The July figure was the highest since August 2024 and was well above the 14% youth unemployment le...
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