On Chinese consumption.

• Author: Rees, Matthew
• Position: China - Brief article

"Consumers are not to blame for the extra thrift that has driven China's trade surplus. Companies are. Since 2000 household saving as a share of GDP has barely changed, but companies' gross saving rate has shot up by nearly seven percentage points, because of bumper profits. That profit surge has, in turn, made consumption look weaker than it really is. As profits have climbed as a share of...