Current Events

[amberjack1234]

That's terrible. I suppose it will only be a matter of time before it hits here.

[Allon]

The wife and family who are in China discuss this topic worriedly. The price in China, at least Liaoning (Shenyang, Fushun, Dalian -- a northern province) is really so high most people cannot afford it anymore. We were shopping here and she was astonished at how cheap pork is -- almost 3 times less. And when the sale occurred, her eyes just dropped. She snapped a picture of the pork with the price and sent it back. Her niece in China, was almost in tears. They have said when the wife told them of gas prices here, it was cheaper than water there.

 

I really do feel for the Chinese people. Our farmers and manufacturers are hurting too but China still has memories of famine. If they could just come to some agreement on intellectual property, something China has serious trouble enforcing, I think we could settle a lot of troubles.

[Randy W]

The wife and family who are in China discuss this topic worriedly. The price in China, at least Liaoning (Shenyang, Fushun, Dalian -- a northern province) is really so high most people cannot afford it anymore. We were shopping here and she was astonished at how cheap pork is -- almost 3 times less. And when the sale occurred, her eyes just dropped. She snapped a picture of the pork with the price and sent it back. Her niece in China, was almost in tears. They have said when the wife told them of gas prices here, it was cheaper than water there.

 

I really do feel for the Chinese people. Our farmers and manufacturers are hurting too but China still has memories of famine. If they could just come to some agreement on intellectual property, something China has serious trouble enforcing, I think we could settle a lot of troubles.

 

 

I hate to say it, but I think China has Trump's number - the only real option they have is to come to the table when summoned, agree to any tariff relaxation, and simply wait it out until we can get someone rational in the White House. Making internal changes for Trump's sake is not something they're going to consider.

[Allon]

One year for many Chinese people can make a difference. The American people can wait but despite the Chinese gift for saving money, they don't have the cash reserve to make it that long. It could be the equivalent of a nice 7.5 earthquake to make the current dynasty listen.

 

Just observation. And the comment was meant to hope neither of us go on with this, whatever history is going to call it.

[amberjack1234]

The wife is saying that her sources in China are telling her that they are just trying to weather the storm and pray that Trump does not go back into the Whitehouse. China, in my opinion, is between a rock and a hard place with everything that is going on right now. With the tariffs and the African hog flu. I kind of think that they were on the down tic with the tariffs and then the African hog flu came along and that really hit them hard.

[Martin B]

The wife and family who are in China discuss this topic worriedly. The price in China, at least Liaoning (Shenyang, Fushun, Dalian -- a northern province) is really so high most people cannot afford it anymore. We were shopping here and she was astonished at how cheap pork is -- almost 3 times less. And when the sale occurred, her eyes just dropped. She snapped a picture of the pork with the price and sent it back. Her niece in China, was almost in tears. They have said when the wife told them of gas prices here, it was cheaper than water there.

 

I really do feel for the Chinese people. Our farmers and manufacturers are hurting too but China still has memories of famine. If they could just come to some agreement on intellectual property, something China has serious trouble enforcing, I think we could settle a lot of troubles.

 

I was recently in China (a T3 city in Guangdong) and the COL really jumped out at me.

 

New 2br condos going for $150k in a city where the average wage is like $5000 a year...

 

Quality food is very expensive. Pork prices are in the stratosphere. Any decent restaurant or grocery store is on par with US prices. Yes you can save by eating street food or going to the wet market exclusively but there's a reason why those prices so low.

 

Good health care is expensive. Education is costly.

 

My BIL has a good job, and his wife also makes decent part time income. He is supporting two kids, paying a mortgage, and is supporting his mother and both of his wife's parents. They are struggling despite being in probably the top 5% socioeconomically in their city.

[danb]

I am not that savvy about economics. I am also not that in the know about the high cost of living in China, especially recently. The cost of housing in China has always seemed high to me and I was always puzzled how housing cost were met. I mostly heard that the family helped out and also mortgage were not the same as in the US. Aside from the swine flu issue has the cost of living in China just gone up after the start of the tariff wars? Or was China's economy slowing down for the past few years? I wonder how depend China economy is depend on the US and also how dependent is the US economy on China. Christmas is coming. I wonder how the shopping will go this year. I was told by a friend who had just came back from China, that the price of pork and housing was very high in Nanning. I guess I may see how they are when I go this year at Christmas. Danb

[Randy W]

I am not that savvy about economics. I am also not that in the know about the high cost of living in China, especially recently. The cost of housing in China has always seemed high to me and I was always puzzled how housing cost were met. I mostly heard that the family helped out and also mortgage were not the same as in the US. Aside from the swine flu issue has the cost of living in China just gone up after the start of the tariff wars? Or was China's economy slowing down for the past few years? I wonder how depend China economy is depend on the US and also how dependent is the US economy on China. Christmas is coming. I wonder how the shopping will go this year. I was told by a friend who had just came back from China, that the price of pork and housing was very high in Nanning. I guess I may see how they are when I go this year at Christmas. Danb

 

 

Pork is about 50% higher than it used to be. Everything else seems to be holding steady, with some collateral damage due to the higher demand for other meats.

 

The steaks we buy are now Canadian Angus, at about the same price we used to pay for USDA Choice ribeyes.

 

Rent is $75 in our building if you only need a single room, on up to about $125 for 3 rooms.

 

Check out Gweilo60's recent videos for his comments about prices in Nanning (since his return).

Edited November 4, 2019 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Martin B]

 

I am not that savvy about economics. I am also not that in the know about the high cost of living in China, especially recently. The cost of housing in China has always seemed high to me and I was always puzzled how housing cost were met. I mostly heard that the family helped out and also mortgage were not the same as in the US. Aside from the swine flu issue has the cost of living in China just gone up after the start of the tariff wars? Or was China's economy slowing down for the past few years? I wonder how depend China economy is depend on the US and also how dependent is the US economy on China. Christmas is coming. I wonder how the shopping will go this year. I was told by a friend who had just came back from China, that the price of pork and housing was very high in Nanning. I guess I may see how they are when I go this year at Christmas. Danb

 

 

Pork is about 50% higher than it used to be. Everything else seems to be holding steady, with some collateral damage due to the higher demand for other meats.

 

The steaks we buy are now Canadian Angus, at about the same price we used to pay for USDA Choice ribeyes.

 

Rent is $75 in our building if you only need a single room, on up to about $125 for 3 rooms.

 

Check out Gweilo60's recent videos for his comments about prices in Nanning (since his return).

 

 

How is the rental market in China?

 

When I was there I saw apartments that would cost over $200k to buy being rented out for $300/month which to me is absolutely insane (we have rental properties here in the US).

 

(1) I don't know why anyone would, from a strict mathematical point of view, buy when they can rent at such a discount (I know, cultural reasons....)

 

(2) I also don't understand why anyone would rent out their place at such a low rent - that rent probably doesn't even cover wear&tear and maintenance! And because of the preference to "buy new", I wouldn't be shocked if the unit depreciates by more than $275/month just because it's occupied. And this doesn't even touch the mortgage payment, condo fees, property taxes + insurance (if any) !!!!

Edited November 9, 2019 by Barf (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

 

I am not that savvy about economics. I am also not that in the know about the high cost of living in China, especially recently. The cost of housing in China has always seemed high to me and I was always puzzled how housing cost were met. I mostly heard that the family helped out and also mortgage were not the same as in the US. Aside from the swine flu issue has the cost of living in China just gone up after the start of the tariff wars? Or was China's economy slowing down for the past few years? I wonder how depend China economy is depend on the US and also how dependent is the US economy on China. Christmas is coming. I wonder how the shopping will go this year. I was told by a friend who had just came back from China, that the price of pork and housing was very high in Nanning. I guess I may see how they are when I go this year at Christmas. Danb

 

 

Pork is about 50% higher than it used to be. Everything else seems to be holding steady, with some collateral damage due to the higher demand for other meats.

 

The steaks we buy are now Canadian Angus, at about the same price we used to pay for USDA Choice ribeyes.

 

Rent is $75 in our building if you only need a single room, on up to about $125 for 3 rooms.

 

Check out Gweilo60's recent videos for his comments about prices in Nanning (since his return).

 

 

How is the rental market in China?

 

When I was there I saw apartments that would cost over $200k to buy being rented out for $300/month which to me is absolutely insane (we have rental properties here in the US).

 

(1) I don't know why anyone would, from a strict mathematical point of view, buy when they can rent at such a discount (I know, cultural reasons....)

 

(2) I also don't understand why anyone would rent out their place at such a low rent - that rent probably doesn't even cover wear&tear and maintenance! And because of the preference to "buy new", I wouldn't be shocked if the unit depreciates by more than $275/month just because it's occupied. And this doesn't even touch the mortgage payment, condo fees, property taxes + insurance (if any) !!!!

 

 

 

Our entire building cost us around $200,000, which we get around a 10% annual return on - no mortgage payment, condo fees, property taxes, or insurance. We do pay American taxes on the income. When someone moves out, we find a new tenant within a week or two since it's within a block or two from the city center.

 

People buy individual units of bigger complexes for future occupation or resale - any rental income simply helps out. But buying property for investment is usually discouraged.

 

There aren't a whole lot of investment opportunities in China, so people make do with what they can.

[Randy W]

I've never understood the mindset that some (US) people have that per month rentals are supposed to cover mortgage payments, owner fees, property taxes, and insurance - and then still expect to make a killing when they sell the home at a profit. That pretty well blew me out of the market - whenever I needed a rental, I found a cheap apartment to throw my money away on.

 

And by the way, no one actually holds a 70 year lease - no money is paid on it (after the builder initially PURCHASES it from the local government). It is renewed automatically (although it's not yet clear exactly what that means) for a nominal fee, which I expect will be a one-time fee less than what an American pays annually in property taxes. You OWN your home. If the government wants your home back, they must provide you with a new living space at least 1.3 times the size.

 

Resold homes are often gutted and re-finished by the new owner.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Quite a mouthful

 

Doctor uses mouth to suck urine out of elderly passenger in distress on plane

 

Over the course of 37 minutes, he spit out 800 ml of pee

 

 

Afterward, Zhang told reporters that he was only doing his duty as a doctor.

 

 

 

It doesn't say if anyone smoked a cigarette afterward.

[Randy W]

from the Shanghaiist on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/shanghaiist/posts/10158779549901030

3 people still missing after falling into massive, 38-meter deep sinkhole in Guangzhou

Shanghaiist

·

Quote

A subway line was under construction underneath the road.

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

On 9/7/2019 at 1:55 PM, Randy W said:

On 4/27/2019 at 1:28 AM, Randy W said:

 

in the NY Times - also other sites, if you're out of free articles. When consumers start shunning a meat, then what's left unsold becomes fairly dicey, so even if you're not worried about how the disease affects consumption, you need to be concerned about the quality of what's on the shelves.

A Vicious, Untreatable Killer Leaves China Guessing

African swine fever, which harms pigs but not humans, has swept across the country, the world’s largest pork producer. And the government knows about only some of the cases.

An update - pork prices here seem to be up by as much as 50%

from the SCMP

China tapping national pork reserves will not satisfy shortage of the culturally symbolic meat, analysts warn

• Use of national reserves shows how deeply crisis has shaken China, where pork is crucial part of the diet and symbol of well-being
• The nation is in the grip of an African swine fever epidemic that could wipe out half its pig population by the end of the year, analysts warn

Quote

China has begun to tap its national pork reserves, a sign of Beijing’s urgency to curb widespread discontent over the sharp spike in pork prices, but analysts warn that stocks are nowhere near big enough to keep the popular meat on dinner tables across the country.

. . .

The central government announced at the end of August that it would start to release frozen pork reserves into the market, but local governments started acting earlier. . . .

 

China’s entire frozen pork reserves amount to roughly 990,000 tonnes, according to Lei Yi, an analyst at China Merchant Securities. “The impact is really limited, compared to the supply gap of over 10 million tonnes,” he said.

 

And the problem is likely to get worse before it gets better. China’s pig population is forecast to drop by around 50 per cent this year, according to a quarterly report of Rabobank released in July.

. . .

Trade war tariffs of up to 72 per cent on US frozen pork imports have effectively cut American farmers out of the Chinese market, meaning buyers in China have had to look to pig farmers in new markets like Argentina and Portugal to try and fill the gap.

 

However, even with American supply, there would not be enough pork in the world to satisfy China’s demand. The US Department of Agriculture estimated that total worldwide pork exports in the first 10 months of this year will be 8.8 million tonnes.

 

from China Daily on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/chinadaily/posts/10157887066471291

China Daily

·

Quote

China's pork production is expected to recover gradually and return to normal by 2021, according to an action plan released on Friday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. (China Daily)

 

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

Even though their pigs are in close quarters they are not nearly as confined as our pig farms. They can't even turn around and China's pigs, or at least the one in these pictures, are much cleaner and so was the one that I saw on the way to the slaughterhouses.