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The Last Pillar Of The Chinese Economy Falls
原作者: Douglas A. McIntyre
譯者: caoti
http://www.247wallst.com/2009/01/the-last-pillar.html
簡介
全球性的經濟危機已是不爭的事實。那麼在全球化的背景下,中國是否能獨善其身, 或者說能儘快上岸呢?在很多國內媒體大喊信心的時候,不是所有人都很樂觀的。
中國大踏步成為頭號經濟強國的方式相對簡單。不斷擴大的全球需求將會驅動這台出口機器。其不斷壯大的中產階級,將瘋狂的消費產品,無論是中國國產的,還是海外進口的。
道理太簡單。甚至智慧出眾的經濟學家和新聞記者都在談論以及撰文有關「中國奇迹」。2007年中國GDP達到3.2萬億美元,增長率11%。同年,美國是14萬億多,但是其增長率是3%。中國超越美國只是時間問題了。
中國長期以來依賴巨大的後備農村勞動力。在中國內地,人口從農村向大型工業城市轉移,許多中部城市人口現在已達數百萬。工廠密集於這些城市。當需求上升,這些地區的勞動力需求也隨之而上升。中國創造了屬於自己的中產階級,他們正在以前所未有的速度消費產品。
中央政府相信全球經濟衰退導致的出口疲軟,可以通過新興的中產階級化解,他們的消費能保證GDP繼續增長。
該計劃已如同一塊破手錶般分崩離析。據華爾街日報,「中國12月份出口比一年前下降2.8%,為1111.6億美元,而同月進口下降21.3%,為721.億美元。」
一年前無法想象的事情現在發生了。中國已經進入衰退而且可能陷得比美國還深。目前尚不清楚,政府能否構建一個創造1000萬就業的計劃。如果出口持續快速下跌的話,政府將面臨的更為嚴峻的任務。中國沒有一個能像美國一樣的,能佔到其GDP相當大比重的服務業。
過去十年夢幻般的發展,似乎讓人感覺中國已經成為了一股獨立的力量,好像已經有相當數量人的消費能力達到了前所未有的程度。在過去的兩個季度中,很明顯,情況恰恰相反。中國經濟可能是地球上最具依賴性的。
如果今年美國,歐盟,日本的GDP縮小5%,那麼中國縮水的速度會更快。中國製造和出口面臨巨大的下挫。尤為重要的是,大量勞動力將會離開新興工業城市,返回農村,在那裡至少他們至少可以糊口。娟娟細流已經匯聚成滔天洪水。那些回到農村的人將不再是凈消費者。
隨著中產階級的曇花一現,中國失去了繼續」奇迹「的經濟核心。它又成了一個有麻煩的大國。
原文:
January 13, 2009
The Last Pillar Of The Chinese Economy Falls
The way that China was going to roll forward to become the No.1 economy in the world was relatively simple. An expanding global need for cheap goods would drive a massive export machine. An expanding middle class would become rabid consumers of items made both overseas and within China.
The system was fool-proof. Even remarkably intelligent economists and journalists talked and wrote about "the Chinese Miracle." In 2007, the nation's GDP was $3.2 trillion, growing at 11%. US GDP was well over $14 trillion that year, but its growth rate was 3%. It was only a matter of time before the lines crossed.
China has been able to draw upon a huge reserve of rural labor. People have moved from the country to a number of large industrial cities in the interior of the country, many of which now have populations in the millions. Factory complexes were built in these same areas. As long as demand for output moved up, the labor forces in these regions grew. China created its own middle class which made and consumed goods at record rates.
The central government has believed that as the demand for exports softened recently due to the global recession, the country's new middle class would continue to help GDP grow through consumption.
The plan has fallen apart like a cheap watch. According to The Wall Street Journal, "China's exports in December fell 2.8% from a year earlier to $111.16 billion, while imports in the month fell 21.3% to $72.18 billion."
What was unimaginable a year ago has now happened. China has entered a recession and it may end up being deeper than the one in the US. It is not clear that the government can mount and manage a plan to create about 10 million new jobs. This will be an even more difficult task if exports continue to fall sharply. China does not have a service industry which is anywhere close to being as large a part of the GDP as it is in the US.
The illusion developed over the last decade was that China had become an independent power with a population which could make and consume goods at levels which have never been seen before. During the last two quarters, it has become clear that the the opposite is true. China's economy may be the most dependent large economy on earth.
If GDP in the US, EU, and Japan contract at 5% this year, China's economy is very likely to shrink faster. It will be faced with a sharp drop in what it makes and exports. More importantly, large numbers of Chinese are leaving the huge new industrial cities and going back to rural regions where they can at least find work growing their own food. What is more than a trickle now could become a flood. Those who have gone back to non-industrialized sections of the country will not be net consumers at all.
With a short-lived and dwindling middle class, China no longer has the economic core to continue the "miracle." China has just become another big country in trouble.
Douglas A. McIntyre
[ 本帖最後由 goodoctor 於 2009-1-19 18:01 編輯 ] |
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