World Dependent on Chinese Growth

The Wall Street Journal writes:

Beijingโ€™s struggles this summer have spooked many investors into viewing China as a threat to, rather than a rescuer of, global growth. During the financial crisis of 2008 and early 2009, China, with a colossal stimulus plan, acted as a shock absorber. Lately, it is China that is providing the shocks.

Over the past week, it has grown clear how dependent a growth-starved world is on China, which accounts for 15% of global output but has contributed up to half of global growth in recent years.

Given this dependency, one reason markets have been so unnerved is that Chinaโ€™s economy remains something of a black box. For starters, analysts have long wondered about the accuracy of government economic statistics. And levers pulled by Chinese policy makers can be unconventional. This is seen in Beijingโ€™s desire to micromanage the yuanโ€™s value, which undercuts its ability to pursue an independent monetary policy because of spillover effects on domestic liquidity.

Chinese Stocks Crash
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Peter Fisher on a Little Bit of Everything

Quotable

“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry A. Kissinger
“Blaming speculators as a response to financial crisis goes back at least to the Greeks. It’s almost always the wrong response.” – Lawrence Summers
The global financial crisis – missed by most analysts – shows that most forecasters are poor at pricing in economic/financial risks, let alone geopolitical ones.” – Nouriel Roubini
“So how does the machine work that you have a financial crisis? How does deleveraging work – what is the nature of that machine? And what is human nature, and how do you raise a community of people to run a business?” – Ray Dalio