SCMP seems to be a little more independent than say the Renmin Ribao, but skepticism is warranted. I would add to your list that Chinese capital has been compl

SCMP seems to be a little more independent than say the Renmin Ribao, but skepticism is warranted. I would add to your list that Chinese capital has been completely misallocated. Roads and bridges to nowhere, ghost cities. They've poured more concrete in the last 5 or so years than the US did in the first 100 years of its history [1] to give you a sense of the scale. There are cities that are unoccupied - entire cities. I'm still unclear on how these were financed, but my guess is with liberalization of the financial sector these were packaged up somehow and sold to Ma and Pa. It's going to end like it always does, with lots of tears (except for those like Kyle Bass who have positioned themselves to profit). [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/24/how-china-used-more-cement-in-3-years-than-the-u-s-did-in-the-entire-20th-century/?utm_term=.0f20c328c19b https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/24/how-c... More on ghost cities: https://www.wired.com/2016/02/kai-caemmerer-unborn-cities/ https://www.wired.com/2016/02/kai-caemmerer-unborn-cities/ http://www.businessinsider.com/china-ghost-cities-satellite-images-2017-3/#-streets-full-of-mcmansions-in-2015--7 http://www.businessinsider.com/china-ghost-cities-satellite-...