those copycatting chinese

this is what you get for trying to be the next hegemon, china. now you're gonna start inheriting all of our serious problems. first up: a real estate bubble explosion.

from the economist:

Property investors around the country are now holding their breath to see whether markets in other major cities will follow the spectacular tumble in Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, where the average per-square-metre price of new residential units dropped from over Rmb16,000 in February to Rmb11,000 at the end of May. Reports of last-minute discounts, free renovation, free cars and "cost sharing" for down payments abound, suggesting even bigger concessions to come.

...

Housing prices are also vulnerable in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Haikou on the coast, and Wuhan, Nanning, Xi'an, Lanzhou and Urumqi in the interior. All these cities experienced spectacular growth in 2007.

you know, i can't help but smile a little bit. this is what you guys get for trying to be the next america, complete with the rampant use of fossil fuels, excessive military budget, and cheap exports (remember those?).

funniest part about this? their newly empowered middle class is going to be pissed. this should be an interesting context for the beijing olympics, especially with all the other social repression issues they're going through right now.