Douglas Bulloch, Forbes: 2017 Was A Bad Year For China. Will 2018 Be Worse?
It seems like a long time since China was routinely the source of good news. Growth rates remain impressive, but it is increasingly obvious that they are being bought at the cost of ever rising debt. Aside from that, there are routine announcements that indicate senior figures are trying to address a range of problems, and bold proclamations about China's ascendant place in the region, but these announcements now seem to raise many questions as once they merely raised expectations.
Warnings from the I.M.F. have started to resemble those from the B.I.S., while Moody's and S&P's have matched each other's pessimism over China's ability to get ahead of its ballooning debt without a dramatic correction. Optimists remain, of course, but explanations of exactly how China resolves its contradictory tensions between economic growth and rising debt are becoming less plausible as time passes.
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WNU Editor: China is now being seen by many in Asia as the "bully on the block", and Chinese reassurances that their behavior should not raise concerns is no longer believed. In short .... at least on the geopolitical level .... China has few if any friends.
