And I don’t know what it is. For that matter, I don’t think anybody knows what it is for sure. But unusual things are happening in China. The foreign minister, a close associate of Xi Jinping, all of a sudden disappeared and after almost a month was replaced by the man he replaced, all with no explanation.
The head of the PLA Army’s rocket force, a separate branch of the Chinese military, was replaced by a person from outside the rocket force, the first time this has happened.
And more: The economy has not taken off after the strict Covid restrictions were lifted late last year. The prices for housing, a key way of saving for Chinese, are down. Jobs for graduates are harder to come by (and the government has stopped reporting youth unemployment statistics). And the economy is suffering from a bout of retail price deflation, even though the government is saying deflation isn’t happening.
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