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Achieving a Sustainable Chinese Recovery
When the 2008 global financial crisis erupted, China’s exports collapsed, threatening massive job losses. In response, China unleashed the world’s biggest-ever construction boom, pouring more concrete between 2011-13 than the United States did in the entire twentieth century. Total investment rose from 43% to 48% of GDP during this period, and total debt from 140% in 2008 to over 200% by 2013, reaching 250% by 2017 as banks lent freely to local governments, state-owned heavy industry, and real estate developers. Construction jobs increased from 39 million to 53 million, and total urban employment continued ... (full story)