> "For someone in the middle class, there has never been a better year to live in China. That comes down to the entrepreneurs, who are creating businesses to please people."
Every rich Chinese I know is trying to leave China now. This includes even very well placed regime insiders.
A PLA 2 star general almost forcefully sent his daughter to live in Canada at the peak of COVID travel restrictions. I knew her from my days in a Canadian college.
A grandson of some revolutionary hero whom I took misfortune to acquaintance with by helping his daughter practice English, started recently asking me how immigration to Canada works, and if he can get along there without knowing English.
Even most zombiefied, hardcore pinkos who were going flag waving at West Georgia have shut up for good, and got in line for Canadian passports.
From the middle class you mention, factory owners I knew who were the most staunch, and stalwart when it came to hostile business environment, are now shutting down, selling at n-times discount, and pretty much running from the country.
Yea you’re exactly right. The elite of every non first world country are busy trying to immigrate to the US or one of the Anglo nations. It doesn’t say much about whether a country will continue to rise or not.
But you know what PRC rich don't do? Use their wealth to get richer in Canada. Apart from parking money in unproductive real estate. Their productive economic efforts stay in PRC where the opportunities still are. Ditto with first wave of wealthy HKers who fled post handover.
Majority of rich Chinese I know in Canada who aren't retired are essentially enjoying Canadian social services while contributing to PRC development. Their big spending improves niche BC economy while driving up housing prices. At end of day, Canada/West are just cheap retirement plans. Apart from capital flight which CCP can clamp down on, rich Chinese bailing to Canada aren't substantively detracting away from productivity in PRC.
>are now shutting down, selling at n-times discount, and pretty much running from the country.
And they'll get replaced by other PRC upstarts. Cycles of entrepreneur getting wealthy and then burn out in PRC only to retire abroad / in Canada has been happening since opening up. I saw first gen of new wealth capital flight in 2000s. It's nothing new. What is new is the number of PRC students who want to return and diaspora who went back to PRC to live in covid0. Reality is PRC is more enticing than ever, not enough for rich to ditch back up plans, but enough to keep growing.
>I read a lot of your previous posts. It feels you have zero idea how China works.
>You are too young, too simple.
I've read a lot of your China posts. You do good comment on manufacturing and industry post 2000s. Otherwise, from what I remember about your background, Russia / east Europe, schooling in Canada then work in SZ. It feels like you think your experiences when Russia was failing somehow explains a failing PRC that is mostly succeeding. You may have too much ex-soviet trauma like other east-european diaspora I talk to who try to extrapolate their experiences growing up in broken post soviet states to PRC because "commies bad".
I'm pretty sure I'm older than you, lived/worked in PRC before you (90s-10s) and stayed in touch with developments (beijing/shanghai) longer than you. Hardcore commies / regime insiders have been bailing China for comfy life in west since forever. Not the same industries will rejuvenate, things come/go according to industrial policy, but the cycle will continue. Xi killed industry my family was in dead for a few years, it's booming now. While other sectors stay dead. I've hanged with PLA generals, with more stars, and did all the "eye opening" experiences expats brag/allege gives real understanding of PRC. Except it doesn't. I also have family / relationships with PRC nationals who were part of elite patronage networks. Which is every bit as much of a shitshow as you allege, except I also recognize the broader political system largely works and read enough academic literature to have a sense of why. Whereas your recommended literature on understanding PRC at bottom of thread:
>The few people remaining brave enough to open their mouth are either from religious cults on one side, or former regime insiders themselves on another.
If this is cheek in tongue endorsement of FLG / Guo / other dissident media, then it explains a lot.
>diaspora decided to stay in the COVID ridden West, than to return to China.
Not for a lack of trying. Flights into PRC was extremely limited on top of quarantine. Most people with means I knew tried to go back, but couldn't due to hassle. Eventually they just waited out for vax.
Every rich Chinese I know is trying to leave China now. This includes even very well placed regime insiders.
A PLA 2 star general almost forcefully sent his daughter to live in Canada at the peak of COVID travel restrictions. I knew her from my days in a Canadian college.
A grandson of some revolutionary hero whom I took misfortune to acquaintance with by helping his daughter practice English, started recently asking me how immigration to Canada works, and if he can get along there without knowing English.
Even most zombiefied, hardcore pinkos who were going flag waving at West Georgia have shut up for good, and got in line for Canadian passports.
From the middle class you mention, factory owners I knew who were the most staunch, and stalwart when it came to hostile business environment, are now shutting down, selling at n-times discount, and pretty much running from the country.
It's done for.