Is this China’s lost decade? The economy is slowing, and now’s the time to focus on quality of life
Richard Harris says China’s decade of development was in the 2000s and as its economic growth inevitably slows, the real target for Beijing is to keep improving its GDP per capita to enhance quality of life for ordinary citizens
Looking north from Jingshan, the little hill just north of the Forbidden City in Beijing, one can see the ancient Drum Tower located between the Old Beijing first ring road and the second ring road that encloses the small houses and hutongs of the pre-1930s.
Outside the fourth stands the exotic architecture and advanced engineering of the 2000s, exemplified by the towers in the Olympic Park that reflect the nation taking its place globally. The fifth ring road encloses land prepared for future development, while there is a sixth, 220km long, whose development has been stalled by China’s lost decade.
The data shows Chinese annual economic growth has fallen from the over 10 per cent per annum to around 6 per cent this decade. This shouldn’t be a surprise as it is impossible for an economy of 1.4 billion people to grow above average forever. The current account surplus has fallen from 4 per cent to just over 1 per cent of GDP. The much-heralded foreign reserves stand at just 8 per cent more.
Total investment and savings rates are down. Chinese GDP per capita at current prices is still only 16 per cent of the US – although that metric will always suffer due to China’s giant population. Chinese government debt has increased by 52 per cent, reducing policymaker flexibility. It is likely that China’s underlying economic growth rate this year will be no bigger than the US’. This is China’s lost decade.
A decade later, Europe was “sclerotic” and it was the US that had a “young, dynamic and digital” economy. China is now a developed economy and future growth will be incremental; with phases of investment opportunity broken by long periods of consolidation.
China’s decade of development was the 2000s, not the 2010s. Sheer numbers mean that the nation will inevitably exceed the GDP of the US in the 2020s. The real target for China will be to keep improving GDP per head to lift the quality of life for the ordinary citizen. It is not for nothing that another young country identified in its constitution that what people really seek is the pursuit of happiness.
Richard Harris is chief executive of Port Shelter Investment and is a veteran investment manager, banker, writer and broadcaster and financial expert witness.