“China’s Ministry of Housing asked local governments in hundreds of cities to “vigorously” buy unsold commercial homes and convert units into affordable housing for the working class.” -Ben Norton
“Isn’t it ironic that the Chinese housing bubble was cited across the West as a “failure” of the Chinese gov when it was in fact created by runaway private enterprise, only now being resolved by Beijing’s intervention…?” -Brian Berletic
Like how they got the money for high speed rail. These pricks will never ask “where the government is going to get the money” when it comes to U.S. military spending, for that, money is always available.
Out of thin air, of course, just like every other government!
Unfortunately not every other government. Take the whole Eurozone, for example, which has ceded control to the cartel of European private banks. Or Argentina, where Milei recently nearly had Argentina abandon its monetary sovereignty.
There is an issue to watch out for, here. Local authorities don’t always get their money from the central government. They may have to find another way to raise the capital. This is sometimes achieved by borrowing against or selling other local authority assets. Doing it this way can empower the banks. Michael Hudson has suggested that this is a contradiction that the CPC hasn’t yet been able to resolve.
True, but atleast unlike the west, the commercial banks in China are all state owned. So, any default on debt by local Governments can be written down or written off.