\nSome commentators say not to worry, that China has strong, smart leaders who will do whatever is necessary to cope with a downturn. Implied though not often stated is the thought that China can do what it takes because it doesn\u2019t have to worry about democratic niceties \u2026.<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth, statements about economic policy from Chinese officials don\u2019t strike me as being especially clear-headed. In particular, the way China has been lashing out at foreigners \u2014 among other things, imposing a punitive tariff on imports of U.S.-made autos that will do nothing to help its economy but will help poison trade relations \u2014 does not sound like a mature government that knows what it\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n
And anecdotal evidence suggests that while China\u2019s government may not be constrained by rule of law, it is constrained by pervasive corruption, which means that what actually happens at the local level may bear little resemblance to what is ordered in Beijing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At The New York Times, Paul Krugman points to China as an emerging “danger spot” in the world economy, and warns that even if Beijing is able to plot a course through looming trouble, it may lack the control necessary to stick to it. Some commentators say not to worry, that China has strong, smart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":962,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[116,2,14744,14745],"tags":[2011,1776,3050],"class_list":["post-128685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-economy","category-level-2-article","category-level-3-article","tag-economic-bubble","tag-paul-krugman","tag-real-estate-bubble","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
Krugman: Will China Break?<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n