Nothing New Over the Weekend: Chinese Official Denies Reality
The China drama continues. On one side, those who believe China remains the mighty economic engine driving ever forward, despite temporary challenges. On the other, those who predict China will experience a "hard landing" from this obvious slowdown, dismissing all the stats coming from the Chinese Communist government that point to continued strength. Here now the latest parry from a Chinese Communist official:
Singapore reported a decline of 10% exports; this includes a 25% decline in exports to China.
Japanese exports plunged 12.29% in January, the steepest since 2009; exports to China were down almost 18%.
What happened to Chinese demand here?
We're not going to prove anything now; just letting you know which side of the dispute seems to make the most sense. And since we don't believe any reports that the Chinese government puts out, we have nothing to counter the reports coming from, in this case, Singapore and Japan. Not that all governments aren't tempted to manipulate statistics to suit their political ends, of course. For example the U.S. government's statistics on employment that conveniently ignore the 93 million people without work who no longer "count" as unemployed.
But you should understand that a government officially declared as "communist" by its very nature has no regard for truth, as we might understand it (or should understand) in the non-communist world. We'll set aside for now the sad fact that even here in the "post-Christian" West, the reality of objective truth has been denigrated for too long. And we'll reserve comment on what that will likely mean (and does now mean) for our society and culture. But know that Communism holds no regard for objective truth. Whatever suits their political aims counts as true - the facts not withstanding - period. Wrap your mind around that, if you didn't already understand it, and, going forward, do yourself a favor and consider it whenever you read or hear Chinese officials opine on, well, anything.
Like the following:
Believable?
If you've got doubts - and you should - then you'll need to consider that falling demand in China has and continues to have - at the very least - a significant impact on the slowing economies of Asia, who rely on China as a major recipient of their exports. Whether that will impact the rest of us, we'll leave off the table for now. But if you're getting the impression that global economic slowdown has begun, don't let the Chinese government dissuade you.
BEIJING—The head of China’s top economic-planning agency Sunday rejected suggestions the Chinese slowdown was dragging on global growth and markets, saying the world’s second largest economy continues to be a source of demand and vitality.Whichever side of this disagreement you fall on, consider just a couple of items:
Singapore reported a decline of 10% exports; this includes a 25% decline in exports to China.
Japanese exports plunged 12.29% in January, the steepest since 2009; exports to China were down almost 18%.
What happened to Chinese demand here?
We're not going to prove anything now; just letting you know which side of the dispute seems to make the most sense. And since we don't believe any reports that the Chinese government puts out, we have nothing to counter the reports coming from, in this case, Singapore and Japan. Not that all governments aren't tempted to manipulate statistics to suit their political ends, of course. For example the U.S. government's statistics on employment that conveniently ignore the 93 million people without work who no longer "count" as unemployed.
But you should understand that a government officially declared as "communist" by its very nature has no regard for truth, as we might understand it (or should understand) in the non-communist world. We'll set aside for now the sad fact that even here in the "post-Christian" West, the reality of objective truth has been denigrated for too long. And we'll reserve comment on what that will likely mean (and does now mean) for our society and culture. But know that Communism holds no regard for objective truth. Whatever suits their political aims counts as true - the facts not withstanding - period. Wrap your mind around that, if you didn't already understand it, and, going forward, do yourself a favor and consider it whenever you read or hear Chinese officials opine on, well, anything.
Like the following:
“China is fully capable of keeping economic growth within a reasonable range,“ Mr. Xu said Sunday at a news conference on the sidelines of China’s annual legislative session. ”All predictions of a hard landing will definitely fail.”Sure. The mighty central government will control things and keep them wherever they decide they should be. At least that's what they'll report now and in the future.
Believable?
If you've got doubts - and you should - then you'll need to consider that falling demand in China has and continues to have - at the very least - a significant impact on the slowing economies of Asia, who rely on China as a major recipient of their exports. Whether that will impact the rest of us, we'll leave off the table for now. But if you're getting the impression that global economic slowdown has begun, don't let the Chinese government dissuade you.
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