The last few days I’ve been listening to the PBS Newshour podcasts of Paul Solman’s special report on the Rise of China. In his seven part series he provides an indepth look into the economy in that country, the Chinese consumer, and the impact urban growth has had on rural China.
In particular two things struck me:
- Rural china is real economic terms is worse off now than it was 20 years ago. The government has essentially robbed from the poor to develop its cities.
- The lack of controls placed on the huge investments made by the government. Only a fraction of the investments end up making a profit. For example in looking at the Shanghai Stock exchange it has contracted over the past 10 years (despite the HUGE perceived expansion in that city).
Entrepreneural China is on the rise however and it will be fascinating to watch them and work with them over the next few years.