China

• 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