Changing China
Giant on the move
from George Chen:
China is still waiting for inflation to peak
By George Chen
The opinions expressed are the author’s own.
How time flies. It's already the end of August and speculations naturally arise about what China's inflation reading will be for this month.
The most optimistic view these days is that the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) could decline to below 6 percent. The most pessimistic view I've heard is that growth has slowed down in August, but probably only to 6.2 percent or 6.3 percent.
But, why should we care about the August CPI so much? One month cannot tell the whole story.
The reason we care so much is because if the August CPI growth slows down (we will see the official release of August economic data in the coming weeks), it's good news for the central bank as well as for the ordinary people in China who have been fighting with fast inflation for more than three years already. But, it's not good enough.
Snapshots of a China in flux
Not so many weeks ago, selecting a name for this newly rechristened blog would have been a snap
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The ideas came pouring in, with variations centered on the rising might of China’s economic powerhouse, fresh from memories of Beijing’s triumphant hosting of the Olympic Games and following years of double-digit economic growth that have made China the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and Japan.
