China's Slowing Down

The Chinese are not immune to the global financial meltdown.

From Reuters:

DONGGUAN, China (Reuters) - Like tens of millions of young Chinese before her, Yu Juan left China's hinterland for factory work near the coast four years ago with the dream of getting rich.

An acquaintance from her hometown of Dazhou in Sichuan province told her about an exporter in Dongguan, an hour-and-a-half north of Hong Kong, that was hiring.

The Hejun Toy Factory was large, Hong Kong-owned and paid well and on time. It also had an imprimatur that Yu and others working there thought was a virtual guarantee of job security: a stock code.

"At that time, we considered this company good because it was listed on a stock exchange," she said.

Last week, however, Hejun's owner, Smart Union Group, closed the factory gates, suspended its shares and said provisional liquidators had been appointed.

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In today's globalized economy, it's not surprise that the world's financial problems will affect everywhere.

I'm really curious to see what happens in the coming months. New shopping malls, apartment blocks, houses are going up everywhere in Xi'an. These days still, on the surface, appear to be boom times in China.

When I see this rampant consumerism flourishing, I can't help but wonder will happen if a world recession, or maybe even depression, is looming. Chinese people are just starting to whet their materialistic appetite. A quick economic turnaround would be ugly.