Damning and lawless -
SCMP today published an article "China’s economic activity in July reflects rough road to recovery amid pains, challenges" writing that "China’s economy continued to be weighed down in July by a persistent property slump, weak consumption and elevated unemployment."
The numbers are disappointing though not surprising given Beijing has not rolled out any strong measures to-date.
Economists, analysts and "experts" have been quick to offer their comments about China's economy. One thing is certain - they are mostly clueless about what's actually happening on the ground.
Pre-Covid lockdown, I suggested the country's economy, particularly at the provincial level, was experiencing severe financial strains.
In fact, 4 days ago in a post "Five years later..." I wrote -
"Beginning three years ago, I suggested in my posts that nearly all local governments were experiencing overwhelming financial stress, with some on the verge of insolvency. That condition continues to persist as the contributing circumstances are not likely to improve in the foreseeable future."
During the pandemic, I wrote about China's SMEs and their struggles to survive during the downturn. I had intimate knowledge of their challenges given that I had extended a lending hand to several entrepreneurs from 长三角 to 珠三角.
This past year, as local governments began to face acute financial pressure, SMEs became easy prey for the authorities to shore up their fiscal gaps. The stories I heard from private sector friends were bitter and numbing. However, I chose not to post about them as there were enough gloomy stories reported by the media.
That is until this article "山东成武县市监局火了！“搞垮企业”录音被曝光，政绩要求5000万" posted yesterday went viral.
It reports how the authorities of 山东成武县市 went outside of their jurisdiction to threaten and blackmail a private enterprise on false charges in order to -
"我们有5000万的政绩要求，罚款最低也得突破2100万."
Behaving like a bandit, the senior cadre of the outfit had this to say in a leaked audio -
"扶持一个企业我没本事，搞垮一个企业，太简单。”
These nefarious tactics are not unique to 山东成武县市. It has become a growing pattern by local governments that are frantically trying to meet their annual targets in a weak economy. Too many of the victimized companies dare not report about these transgressions. In this case, 巴克（唐山）医疗科技集团有限公司 had had enough and took it to the national media to disclose the atrocities leveled at their company.
These are trying times for China's economy and the country's private sector. I post about the topic from time to time, albeit sans sensitive and confidential material.
A few things to keep an eye on which I posted this past week -
2 days ago "To be expected..." about strikes hit China's property, manufacturing sectors as growth slows.
4 days ago "Five years later..." about the financial stress at the local level.
6 days ago "Can we die in peace and dignity?" about the illegal sale of human remains by crematoriums.
#china #economy
