(RepublicanDaily.org) – President Joe Biden has continued to raise concerns over issues regarding China, this time over the country’s economy.
The President called China’s woes a “ticking time bomb” and expressed apprehension about what Beijing might do in response. Speaking at a fundraising event in Utah, Biden said, “when bad folks have problems, they do bad things.”
China’s growth rate has somewhat slowed of late, as the country experiences a plethora of economic challenges including dips in the level of foreign investment, deflation, declining trade, and an unstable housing market.
For the first time in two years, China’s shop and factory prices have dropped, and in tandem with deflation – where prices are falling nationwide – has financial experts concerned, especially given the massive debt that China carries on its shoulders. According to estimates from Bloomberg, China’s current debt has ballooned up to 282% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In contrast, the U.S.’ debt stands at 122.8% our nominal GDP as of June this year, according to data from economic think tank CEIC.
Chinese official are on damage control mode after hopes for a post-pandemic economic rebound fizzled out. Financial Times reported that according to its sources, Beijing is asking local economic experts and analysts to avoid talking about the country’s economic problems, and instead portray a rosy image of the China’s economic prospects, or, “interpret bad news from a positive light,” as one source told the news outlet.
In addition to its economic woes, Beijing also has to contend with a new policy from the Biden administration that has banned U.S. companies from investing in key sectors in China. The government has reasoned that it could be very possible that the Chinese could use both funding and knowhow from U.S. tech to strengthen its military capabilities, which in turn poses a greater threat to U.S. national security. These sectors covered by the investment prohibition include microelectronics, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technologies. The White House has cited national security concerns as the reason for the ban, saying that the sectors covered are “critical to the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities” of both nations.
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