Shopping center in Beijing's upscale Sanlitun area. Consumer spending in China as a proportion of GDP has persistently lagged behind other major economies. Credit: Morio/Wikipedia
NEW HAVEN – When it comes to the Chinese economy, I have been a congenital optimist for over 25 years. But now I have serious doubts. The Chinese government has taken dead aim at its dynamic technology sector, the engine of China’s New Economy. Its recent actions are symptomatic of a deeper problem: the state’s efforts to control the energy of animal spirits. The Chinese Dream, President Xi Jinping’s aspirational vision of a “great modern socialist country” by 2049, could now be at risk.
At first, it seemed as if the authorities were concerned about a one-off personnel problem when they sent a stern message to the irreverent Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce platform. Ma’s ill-timed comments at a Shanghai financial forum in late October 2020 about the “pawnshop” mentality of the bank-centric Chinese financial system crossed the line for China’s leaders. Early the following month, a record $34 billion initial public offering for Ant Gr
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For years, Amazon recruited Chinese sellers aggressively, profiting handsomely from the surge in product offerings and low prices. But many Chinese sellers' bad practices — from selling counterfeits to manipulating reviews — now have the e-commerce giant on the defensive.
