- China is the worlds largest miner and buyer of gold (circa 2018)
- Official name is "The People's Republic of China"
- Chinese governments typically have a long-term plan and view (vs. shorter term in the West)
- Longer political terms and top-down planning help influence this
China Economic Concerns
- Growing more toward totalitarianism vs. authoritarianism (2018)
- Poor Demographics - shrinking working age population (2018)
- Expected to Peak in 2020s and drop significantly into 2100
- Workforce peaked in 2011
- Concerns that previous economic gains were based on positive demographics
- Heavy debt burdens (2018)
- Faced the Mundell Fleming Trilemma from 2016 to ???
- Government regulation is too strict
- Limits on free speech limit innovation
- Endless supply of cheap labor is diminishing
- Other Asian countries can offer cheaper manufacturing
- Banking and Shadow Banking Assets have grown $ 29Trillion in last 9 years (2018) vs $7 Trillion in GDP