On September 24, 2013, Gao Peiyong, Director of Institute of Finance and Trade Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) spoke at an economic forum in Beijing. At the forum, Gao stated that the ultimate risk that occurs as a result of local governments’ debts is not due to the size of the debts themselves, but to the nature of the government system.
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Economic Bubble: China’s Economic Growth Model Faces a Serious Challenge.
On September 19, 2013, 21cbh.com, a professional financial news website under the 21st Century Media Group in Guangdong Province, published an article titled, “The Economic Bubble: China’s Economic Growth Model Faces a Serious Challenge.” According to the article, China’s export-oriented economy is going nowhere because China’s strength in its large population of cheap labor, its vast cheap land, and the government controlled depreciated RMB exchange rate no longer exist. China is now experiencing an economic bubble:
- In 2012, the ratio of broad money supply (M2) to GDP reached 188 percent in China, while the ratio of M2 and GDP in the U.S. was only 90 percent.
- In 2012, the ratio of investment in fixed assets to GDP in China was over 70 percent.
- China’s PPI has been declining over the last 18 consecutive months, since March of 2012. Meanwhile, China’s CPI has been increasing sharply. The prolonged divergence between PPI and CPI, which has not happened before in history, indicates a prolonged excess production capacity and lingering inflation, with a huge credit expansion.
Source: 21cbh.com, September 19, 2013
http://finance.21cbh.com/2013/9-19/2OMzcxXzc3NTU2OA.html
Xinhua: Survey Showed 67.6 Percent of People Found Housing Prices Unacceptably High
Total Donations Declined for Two Consecutive Years
According to the 2012 China Charity Donation Report which was published on September 21, the total charitable donations in 2012 amounted 81.7 trillion yuan (US$13.35 trillion), down 3.31 percent from 2011. 2012 was the second consecutive year that saw a decline in charitable donations. According to the report, the contributing factors included the slowdown in the economy, fewer natural disasters, and people not trusting in the accountability of charitable organizations.
Social organizations received over 70 percent of the total charitable donations to all organizations. A number of foundations ranked as the top donation recipients. They received over 30.5 trillion yuan (US$4.98 trillion) which accounted for 37.4 percent of the total charitable donations. Business enterprises remained as the top donors with total donations of 47.4 trillion (US$7.74 trillion). Of those, 57.98 percent or 27.5 trillion (US$4.49 trillion) came from private enterprises. It was also noticed that the amount of donations made online in 2012 exceeded 2011, thus establishing a new trend in the donation market.
Source: Xinhua, September 21, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-09/21/c_117441606.htm
Severe Air Pollution in Northern China
On September 18, 2013, six cities and regions in the northern part of China signed an agreement with the Ministry of Environmental Protection to control and prevent air pollution. The six cities and regions are Beijing, Tianjin, the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong, as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region – regions that are suffering from severe air pollution.
Datong’s Deep Debts Amount to 13 Billion Yuan
According to China Business, as of 2013, the City of Datong, Shanxi Province had accumulated debts exceeding 13 billion yuan. Datong paid off 2 billion in the first half of the year, with over 110 billion still outstanding. A few municipal construction projects have been suspended due to lack of funding.