Workers on the production line in Hebei Province, China. Credit: chinahbzyg, Shutterstock
On July 16, China announced that in the second quarter of this year, its economy grew 3.2 percent, a remarkably strong showing at a time when much of the global economy is in tatters because of the ongoing effects of a global pandemic. The figure suggested that China, once again, could lead the global economy during an economic and financial crisis.
But a closer reading of the data points to a much darker picture, for China and the rest of the world — including signs that structural problems at home could have deep and lasting negative effects on China and the global economy. The most serious problems could even exacerbate inequality, at home and abroad.
Let me explain. My reading of recent economic data released by China indicates that while it’s headline growth is strong, domestic consumption is weak and the country’s massive workforce of migrant and unskilled labor — workers who are the backbone of this “workshop of the world” — are being hit hard.While some figu
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
In public, Chinese diplomats and climate negotiators deny that they see any link between climate change and geopolitics. But there is a deeply cynical consensus within China’s academic and policy communities that climate change creates geopolitical opportunities that China can exploit — and must exploit before its rivals do. Greenland was the proof of concept for this strategy. And it caught the U.S. flat-footed.
The EU Chamber of Commerce in China president talks about China's self-inflicted problems; how he gets away with being so outspoken; and why he believes in China's comeback gene.
