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There's not a day goes by that I don't see some variation of the theme that China is going to crash, or that somehow that nation will blindside us, and that its markets may fall 60%.
This is like saying the U.S. markets were in for a hard landing in March of 2009 after they had fallen more than 50%. Folks who bit into this argument and bailed not only sold out at the worst possible moment, but then added agony to injury by sitting on the sidelines as the markets tore 95.68% higher over the next two years.
People forget that the U.S. stock market - as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average using weekly data - fell more than 89% from 1929 to 1932, more than 52% from 1937 to 1942, and more recently experienced a decline of more than 53% from 2008 to 2009 - and that doesn't even account for four 40+% declines beginning in 1901, 1906, 1916, and 1973.
Each was a great buying opportunity, and following those meltdowns, our markets rose more than 371% from 1929 to 1932, more than 222% from 1949 to 1956, more than 128% from 1937 to 1942, and more than 95.68% in just over two years starting in March 2009 - one of the fastest "melt-ups" in market history.
People forget that world markets dropped 40%-80% in 1987. And as legendary investor Jim Rogers noted earlier this month, that was not the end of the secular bull market in stocks, either.
People forget that our nation endured two world wars, a depression, multiple recessions, presidential assassinations, the near complete failure of our food belt, not to mention the deadliest terrorist attacks the world has ever seen, and more.
And guess what? It's still been the best place to invest for the last 100 years.
So what if China backs off or slows down?
The Asian currency markets blew up in 1997. Mexico's market fabulously went up in smoke during the great tequila crisis of 1994. And Argentina failed to the tune of a 76.9% crash starting in 1997 only to give way to a 1,724.56% rally from 2001 to 2011.
Gold rose by more than 600% in the 1970s, then fell by 50%, which terrified investors at the time. It subsequently rose by more than 850%, something else Mr. Rogers noted in recent interviews, as have I.
China is undoubtedly going to have several hard landings in our lifetime. Despite the fact that China is thousands of years old, modern China is a mere 40 years old, if you consider its opening following the historic Nixon-Kissinger visit in 1972.
And today's China has 1.3 billion people -- all of whom want to live the way you do.
It's growing by an average of 9% a year or more and has done so every year for the last 41 years straight. We've just poured an estimated $7.7 trillion into our economy and the best we can do is 2.5%. The European Union (EU) is on track for 0.2% growth in 2012 after trillions in euro backing there.
Make no mistake: China's government is well aware that it has a problem. Unlike our own government and those in the EU, it has raised bank reserve requirements repeatedly before loosening them a bit last month. Beijing hiked interest rates six times in the last two years.
They are deliberately tapping on the brakes. They actually want segments of their economy to fail so they can reboot parts of the system, including China's real estate market, which is a
prime example of this.
The Reality of Real Estate
Real estate has been bid up to obscene levels in many parts of the country - not throughout the entire country, but in parts. And those are the places Beijing wants real estate developers to fail so that values can come back to more realistic levels while capital gets freed up for additional investment.
Take Beijing for example. There are plenty of writers at the moment who love to point out that it will take the average Beijing resident 36 years to pay for their house versus 18 years in Singapore, 12 in New York, and 5 in Frankfurt.
Well, Beijing is a first-tier metropolis so right away you know this number isn't an apples to apples comparison. Factor in second- and third-tier cities like outside Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guanzhou and prices drop to 3,000-5,000 RMB/m2 and take 4-10 years to pay back, which is roughly in line with international standards.
Look at cities like Moscow, Zurich, or Tokyo and the argument falls apart further.
For example, in Tokyo and other cities across Japan, Japanese banks at one point offered 100-year mortgages. And property, once acquired, tends to stay in the family for generations. You can still get 50-year mortgages if you want, and you might need to because property values remain unthinkably high even after a 30-year collapse.
Here are some other things to think about:
- Unlike the U.S. property bubble, which was nearly nationwide, Chinese borrowers must put 30% down for first-time purchases, 50% down on second purchases, and make full cash payments for third properties (where third properties are allowed). This means Chinese homeowners and banks can withstand a 30%-50% drawdown in prices before actually experiencing negative equity and stands in stark contrast to the United States, which is riding Occam's Razor in that regard.
- Using Beijing as an example for the entire Chinese housing market is shortsighted. While prices in second- and third-tier cities have also experienced increases in value, they are far less (relatively) than first-tier cities. And it is in second- and third-tier cities that the majority of Chinese citizens live. Using Beijing (or Shanghai) as a gauge for the entire Chinese real estate market would be like using Las Vegas, Miami, or Phoenix as a gauge of the entire U.S. property market in 2007.
- Chinese banks have not collateralized their mortgages into risky collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and subsequently insured them with unregulated credit default swaps (CDS).
- And lastly, when the U.S. property bubble burst our country had more than $12 trillion of debt. China, by contrast, is sitting on $3.2 trillion in reserves (which represents 54.5% of the country's entire GDP). While Beijing would obviously rather not do it, it could theoretically recapitalize its entire banking sector and have plenty of money to spare.
More Than Manufacturing
Another doomsday scenario people like to bandy about is the notion that China will collapse if exports fail or U.S. demand drops. That's a gross exaggeration and much of the pabulum that you hear is completely wrong.
For example, it's commonly cited that exports make up approximately 40% or more of China's GDP. In reality, the figure is between 10%-20% even after decades of explosive growth. The CIA estimate is 18%, and of those exports, the U.S. accounts for a mere 18% of the total.
Fully 75% of the GDP comes from domestic spending and domestic investment.
As for the notion of U.S. demand, what China bashers don't realize is that the United States is dangerously close to being completely irrelevant to the Chinese growth model. China will not live and die by U.S. demand.
There is always going to be an imbalance between the value-added content of what China imports and what the country exports. China's exports are becoming more and more upscale just as Japan's did, which is probably the same pattern for all developing nations.
This is sort of like the great days of the British Empire - you sell us iron ore and we will sell you nails, hammers and shovels. If the value of an economy goes up, it's only natural that the value of the products it deals with, sells, and consumes will, too.
Also, China's trade surplus is shrinking as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), from almost 11% in 2007 to 3%-4% in 2010 to 0.246% ($14.5 billion) of its $5.87 trillion GDP as of November 2011 - further reinforcing the notion that domestic consumption is becoming a bigger force in China's economy even with the slowdown.
Don't Miss Out
I'm not saying China is going to have smooth sailing - but then again, neither did the U.S. in the 20th century, and the DJI gained 24,000% over that 100-year period. China is merely going through the first uncomfortable growing pains of its adolescence.
Remember, in 1912 the United States still used child labor, had massive inequalities of wealth, and women still couldn't vote. So holding China to the same standards as the modern United States is inappropriate, considering the country has only been open to the rest of the world for 40 years.
You have to look at China appropriately. You can't arbitrarily force the 21st century U.S. lens onto other countries in a vain effort to judge them.
Additionally, other parts of the Chinese economy are doing very well. Most manufacturing, agriculture, pollution treatment, water treatment, power, and resource development are just a few of the areas undergoing tremendous growth.
The point is, many people look down upon China with the same sort of derision once reserved for post-war Japan. And if you grew up in the 1950s or 1960s and thought Japan was only for cheap tin toys and didn't invest there, you missed out in the same way investors who look down their noses at China will.
Keep in mind that China's economy is roughly one-third the size of the overall U.S. economy and growing fast. Together America and the EU are approximately 10 times the size of China.
So if it does suffer a major correction, it's not the end of the world - nor the financial markets. And if the markets fall by 60% next year as some people suggest, I know what I'll be doing...buying.
Four Ways to Safely Invest in China
In the meantime, it's best to look at China within the overall scheme of things. And here are the investments you might want to consider:
- Buy yuan. It's still a blocked currency but you can legally get your hands on it using bank deposits, CDs, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The official story is that it's being held down. Bull. Since 2005 it's already risen by 23.29%, which is more than the U.S. government wants you to believe. If anything, the dollar is worth too much.
- Buy commodities. When China's markets grow, so too does global demand for raw materials. The nation has no choice but to buy because it doesn't have many native resources.
- Buy shares in Chinese companies on Chinese exchanges. One of the things that people miss in their rush to dismiss China is that they're tracking those shares of Chinese companies listed in the United States. That's a mistake. If the U.S. markets take a header, of course Chinese-listed companies on the NYSE and other U.S. exchanges will, too. Still, it's probably best to wait for the dust to settle before wading in.
- If you're aggressive, you can even try a classic "short" then go reverse long once the markets gain their footing.
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About the Author
Keith is a seasoned market analyst and professional trader with more than 37 years of global experience. He is one of very few experts to correctly see both the dot.bomb crisis and the ongoing financial crisis coming ahead of time - and one of even fewer to help millions of investors around the world successfully navigate them both. Forbes hailed him as a "Market Visionary." He is a regular on FOX Business News and Yahoo! Finance, and his observations have been featured in Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, WIRED, and MarketWatch. Keith previously led The Money Map Report, Money Map's flagship newsletter, as Chief Investment Strategist, from 20007 to 2020. Keith holds a BS in management and finance from Skidmore College and an MS in international finance (with a focus on Japanese business science) from Chaminade University. He regularly travels the world in search of investment opportunities others don't yet see or understand.
Probably the best article I've read about China.Don't forget that China has millions of poor people who want to get ahead and will work hard to do so.Not like in the U.S. or Europe,where most citizens have gotten satisfied,lazy and entitled.
How right You are. And I don't mean right wing
JRJ90620, that is a narrow minded and ignorant comment. You assert that all poor Chinese are that way against their will and are willing work their fingers to the bone to succeed and that all poor Americans and Europeans are poor because they are lazy. You know a sliver of a fraction of the US poor population, if any at all based on what I assume is your zip code, and even less of the Chinese poor.
America does not have it's standing in the world today by a majority of us being satisfied and lazy. We are extremely driven as a whole which is well represented by our education.
This is completely unrelated to Keith's argument which I enjoyed.
In my view Kieth Fitzgerald analysis of the Chinese economy and its strengths and weaknesses is spot on.
The only thing he hasn't factored in is that no one knows how much local governments owe the banks. But it must be massive!
Back in 2008-9 when the government was busy pumping money into the economy and most of it did not go into necessary infrastructure and projects that has a financial return. The High Speed Train network is just one example. Instead of building a system to ferry the rich and high ranking Communist officials around in luxury at high speed they could have rebuilt the freight network on which the Chinese economy depends as well as improve low budget passenger service for the migrant workers.
Despite wasting money on a prestige project like the High Speed Train network there are far worse example of financial mismanagement.
There are copies of the Potala Palace, the White House, the Forbidden City etc. constructed by numerous local authorities all over China at great public expense over the last few years. These 'Prestige' projects are the object of much anger and derision by China's large army of 'net-citizens.'
Even the government admits that much of this money won't and can't be repaid and worse still, won't generate revenue but cost money to maintain.
If Kieth Fitzgerald spend a little more time with ordinary Chinese people he would find out that the waste of public money as well as official corruption are among the Chinese people's biggest concerns: and rightly so!
Apart from the above criticism, his understanding of how the Chinese functions and what are its strengths and weaknesses as well as his investment advice is as good as you can get.
How the globalists are going to deal with China not having insiders there?
And how China will deal with globalists? The Chinese are well aware about the globalists past and current activities.
The globalists may start a war somewhere to increase the cost of resources like oil to slow down the Chinese economy.
The globalist are already in China. I watched an interview with Jamie Dimon where he talks about negotiations to bring US banking knowledge to China–isn't that hilarious? Like any other politicians, the Chinese leaders can be bought off to ensure a compliant, slave wage economy.
dont forget their long term strategy is to control the raw maerials they believe are critical to their future growth and also control other resources the rest of the world need. they already have europe groveling
Hi Arvid,
Have not seen your name in a long time since I was in London in 1970-1976 an used your stock market expertise at Hamil and Shearson took over.
While I accept some of the reasoning in this article, you and modern analysts sin by continuosly overrating China and repeating the fallacy that China is only 40 years old. China is the greatest underachiever in history. Here's a nation that was a major civilization even before the Roman Empire and it has taken a millenium for the Chinese to become a developing nation according to recognized standards. China is another Russia, a pervasive underachiever, which has military power and its people are still slaves to dictatorship.
China's growth has nothing to do with virtuosity, but rather the fact that a country trying to catch up with centuries of backwardness has only one way to grow, and that's up. The vast empty spaces of underdevelopment require grow.
United States and Europe are overbuilt. Growth in the mature western world cannot exceed developing nations, once properly called underdeveloped.
Brazil still doesn't have a single world class university.
China doesn't have a single world class brand name like Coke, Pepsi or Google. It has no music, or culture that has world mass appeal.
While I understand enthusiastic fervor for the so-called new China, it's important to put things in perspective. China is still one of the most backward nations in the world and the lack of freedom is alarming.
I think you failed to mention some key things.
#1. You're talking about these market bottoms as if you could look into the future and see the recovery. You could buy countless things after falling 50%, only to see them fall another 50%. Bottom picking is a fools game.
#2. You seem to conveniently forgo mentioning Japan in the late 80's. Books like "Japan as number 1" and talk of Japan becoming the next super power were quite prevalent. Similar to a lot of the talk about China. You did not mention the lost decade(s) were Japanese growth has been slow and unemployment high.
#3. The Chinese stimulus package in 2008-2009. Equivalent to nearly $600 billion US dollars. If they were purposely trying to slow their economy what was the stimulus for?
#4. The bank bailouts in October 2011. The Chinese government purchased shares on the open market trying to stop banks from going under.( I've hear rumors they also supported the developers, so your theory about them wanting them to fail is off the market in my opinion)
#5. You did not mention inflation in China, their number 1 problem. You look at GDP numbers of 9% and fail to mention inflation is running at %5(government number) or in the double digits as per the private numbers.
#6. You also do not mention in your article the % of GDP related to construction/real estate.
China has serious problems to deal with. Inflation leading to civil unrest is their number 1 problem in my eyes.
very good China ideas.