Christy and I try to stay apprised of world events and developments, but we may not always read the same stuff. I had bumped into the following document by HSBC (the division that isn’t kiting gold on the LBMA;-) at zerohedge and found it interesting, and different than my ill-informed impression gleaned from miscellany.
This document, though lengthy, paints a China that is less centrally-controlled than we might from the outside believe. True, if you want to get any power you still need to climb the communist party ladder, but the degree of autonomy “granted” to (assumed by?) provinces and larger cities is greater than I would ever have suspected. There also appears to be more diversity and specialization within the country from a politico-economic perspective than I had imagined. The half-empty bullet trains I expected.
It seems like China has embraced the “growth is good” story from the west in a bear-hug, and given the way incentives are working within their system, it is unlikely the pedal will come off the metal any time soon. Especially if no-one listens to Beijing. Should we expect the end-game there to turn out any differently than it did for “us”?
Long but informative, enjoy.