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 ...