FTS, thanks for the Chinese economic update, and I'm sorry about the end-of-time conspiracy theorists amongst us who can't avoid the keyboard. This OP directly addresses a comment I made months ago in another Chinese economic OP:
"The Invisible Hand will reach out and touch all nations, just as it did with the Japanese miracle 2 decades ago. The Chinese have a Field of Dreams goal, "If you build it they will come." It is admirable, but sooner or later the Chinese economy will have to compete directly with the world. Absent serious government support, can it thrive? Do they really have a free market capitalisitic economy? Or is the government propping up currencies, spending on infrastructure and enabling 'capatilistic' endeavors to such a degree that, once it is required to compete mano a mano, it will suffer?? Those are 64 dollar questions. There are others."
The Chinese leaders are aware that, for their economy to thrive in the future they will need to compete with the global economic powers on equal footing. Having said that, Oceans is right about one thing (if you can find something rational in that end of time rant) in that economies are a public/private entity. And they should be. Darwinian survival of the fittest capitalism may be ruthlessly efficient, but it is ruthlessly indifferent to the have-nots, the strivers and those simply incapable of thriving otherwise.
China is doing some amazing things; they have some enormous barriers in front of them. And they know it. Governments can prop up economies for only so long until the world demands equanimity. They can build protective walls around certain industries or capabilities for a while (all governments do it), but The Invisible Hand will have its say.
I'm pulling for the Chinese. And the Russians. And the Liberians . . .