As China’s economy keeps sliding downwards, some Chinese individuals and companies have colluded with others to create fake lawsuits so that they would not have to pay back their debtors during the multi-year litigation period resulting from the lawsuits.

Recently, the Supreme People’s Court of China released information on typical criminal cases exemplifying this debt evasion practice. The highlighted instances illustrate several tactics used to cause delay in settlement of debts. Tactics include fake transfers of assets, fabricated facts hindering court-ordered execution of property, and interference in compulsory property execution.

Source: Xinhua, December 27, 2023
http://www.news.cn/legal/20231227/0ce1147ea9aa4d4c9df9d47a60b8dced/c.html

An on-line document, apparently issued by Hunan Provincial Education Bureau (document number [2023] 358), indicates that China is facing a dramatic decline in population. According to the document:

• “Preschool population is rapidly declining compared with 2021, projected to decrease 33 percent by 2025 and 54 percent by 2030.”
• “Elementary school population will decline in 2024, is expected to decrease 46 percent by 2030 and 62 percent by 2035.”
• “Middle school population will peak in 2024, will decline by 2030, projected to decrease 53 percent by 2035.”
• “High school population will peak in 2027, to start declining by 2033, and will drop 24 percent by 2035.”
• “Research on measures such as ‘transferring surplus teachers’ is required.”

There are also comments saying that the situation in Hunan (a province in central China) is still relatively good; the population crisis is more severe in Northern, Eastern, and Northeastern China.

An independent incident would seem to lend credibility to the picture painted by this document: In July 2022, data on the national population were leaked from a database at the Shanghai Police Bureau, with only 970 million people reported living in China. This suggests that China’s claimed population of 1.4 billion may be far overstated.

Source: Aboluo, December 27, 2023
https://www.aboluowang.com/2023/1227/1996120.html

Xinhua recently reported that, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China’s automobile exports from January to November were 4.412 million units, a year-over-year increase of 58.4 percent. Among them, a total of 1.091 million new energy vehicles were exported, a year-over-year increase of 83.5 percent. Judging from this trend, it is basically a foregone conclusion that the scale of China’s automobile exports in 2023 will exceed the five million vehicle mark.

Japan’s Kyodo News also reported, citing the latest data, that Japan’s automobile exports from January to November this year were 3.99 million units. Although the export data for December have not yet been released, China’s automobile exports are expected to surpass Japan’s in 2023. This will be the first time that China tops the charts as the world’s number one automobile exporter.

In the past year, Chinese car makers have deeply penetrated automobile markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Russia, South America, Asia and Africa, while accelerating the development of the new energy markets such as Europe and North America. For Chinese automakers, Russia offered a large market, and the exit of Japanese and Western automakers from Russia was a boon to Chinese rivals. From January to October 2023, China exported 730,000 cars to Russia, seven times more than the same period in 2022. China’s electric vehicles exports were strong and affordably-priced, one of the primary factors determining China’s top ranking in auto exports worldwide.

Sources:
(1) Xinhua, December 29, 2023
http://www.xinhuanet.com/auto/20231229/5f55c75e3f564789a6fb741e6d85c88c/c.html

(2) Tencent News, December 29, 2023
https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20231229A08X2300