China tells Taiwanese that China's threats of force against Taiwan is not directed at most Taiwanese, just the ones who don't want to surrender. China says threats of force over Taiwan not aimed at most Taiwanese
China's stock market is undergoing a massive meltdown, with $6.3 trillion in stocks sold off. Tokyo is now Asia's biggest equity market, not Shanghai. China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day
In addition to all of its financial problems, China is losing its war on pollution. After a decade of improving air quality, China's air quality made a turn for the worse in 2023. Increased coal usage is cited as one of the reasons. Study makes concerning discovery about China’s air quality: ‘The overall increase … has pushed the pollution level higher’
The CSI is down 44 percent from its highs and had 3 straight losing years now. There are lots of reasons, but the biggest one is that companies there are increasingly at the whims of an ever more authoritarian government. No investor wants Xi controlling their money.
One year from today, they will view Americans as the stupidest people on earth. And they will be correct
If thats recent maybe China will see it and wait until after the election to invade Taiwan should (cough, cough) Trump win.
China's future is described as "rapidly dwindling". They are currently in their third straight month of deflation, which is the longest such period since 2009. (Maybe they should have learned to get along with other countries without threatening or abusing them.) China's fall is expected to have global impacts. The fact that the housing industry is at the center of their economic problems, combined with the fact that 70% of Chinese savings is tied up in real estate, makes this problem all the more scary to Chinese consumers. According to Ben Bernanke, even moderate deflation (about 1%/yr) can cause damage to an economy that lasts for years and years. The U.S. in the 1930's and Japan in 1980's and 1990's were given as examples of the long-lasting effects of deflation. China's rapidly dwindling future will shape the world for decades to come
Seeing those stories of huge cities built with no one living in them, the fact that real estate is in trouble is hardly surprising.
Thanks for continuing this thread. From people who have lived in China and done business there I do not trust one iota of information that comes out of Beijing. No ill will to the Billion+ folks; but, their government has messed them up. Unfortunately, this is the kind of disruption and economic turmoil that results in going after others (Hello, Taiwan!). Who knows how China's deflating economy and possible attack of Taiwan will affect the rest of the world.
The perceptions and strategies of major powers like China and the U.S. have significant implications for global geopolitics. Such discussions are crucial for understanding the evolving nature of global power structures and security challenges. Well, let's discuss it.
Taiwan has doubts that the U.S. would be serious about defending the country from a Chinese invasion. Some of this goes back to Jimmy Carter's cowardly decision in 1979 to rip up a 1971 treaty that obligated the U.S. to defend Taiwan, and remove the 9,000 U.S. soldiers from the island, all to appease mainland China. Some of it is more recent, due to the traitorous behavior of republicans in Congress who chose to withhold military aid to Ukraine for their own selfish reasons. Many Taiwanese concluded that America could not be trusted. That's a shame. Taiwan’s Doubts About America Are Growing. That Could Be Dangerous.
I don't trust US policy either. Every four years (or sometimes two) it's a switcheroo. Who can make policy based on partnering with us?
China (the people, not the gov't) declares 2024 The Year of the Widow. It is apparently extremely bad luck to get married in the Year of the Widow, so don't expect any more children for a while, even if Chinese women were willing to have children. The topic is so hot that officials cannot mention it by name, lest their wives become widows . . . Chinese people are debating a superstition that says 2024 is the 'Year of the Widow.' Beijing is starting to pay attention.
Only 27% of U.S. military experts think that China is militarily capable of pulling off an invasion of Taiwan. China's military strength seems to be in question, possibly because their missiles contain water instead of rocket fuel due to hot pot usage. About half of Taiwan's military experts believe that China could successfully invade Taiwan. Experts believe that a blockade might be more likely. China doesn't have the military power to successfully invade Taiwan, the majority of 52 US experts said in a survey
Taiwan extends mandatory military conscription from four months to a full year. Taiwan begins extended year-long conscription
Chinese-born engineer in San Jose steals latest U.S. nuclear secrets on more than 3600 files from his employer. The man was known in the past to be interested in providing information to aid China's military. Somehow that was not a red-flag that might prevent him from being hired . . . Engineer steals US nuclear secrets worth millions from California employer, feds say
