2025-03-26XThread

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That’s because China’s currency is undervalued and America’s dollar is overvalued. Thus, if you look at financial metrics the US is still #1. But if you look at cost-of-living or manufacturing or GDP-PPP it tells a different story. On those metrics, China became #1 long ago. https://t.co/3XnV6ADnR1 In other words, China's low costs means their living standards are much higher than GDP alone would indicate. For example, see this TikTok user's comparison of groceries in China to the US. https://t.co/AmaSqcBhjf Just to calibrate, this is what the 113th largest city in the second poorest province now looks like. China is not a poor country anymore. https://t.co/LadaqnpPkY It's amazing that one billion people are somehow in stealth mode, but they are. That was Deng's strategy: "hide your strength and bide your time." China's stealth rise was aided by the Zeihanist view that the US is and always will be #1. https://t.co/F0eDSsYNvB https://t.co/pF0ufKTThg Yes. Both China and America want to pretend that China is poorer than America, but for different reasons. China wants to rise in stealth. America wants to say it's still on top. https://t.co/B5BPhGYDil

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This will never not astonish me. Tonight we arrived in the city of Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang province, a city that I'd bet even most Chinese have never heard of. To give you an idea, it is the 113th most populated city in China so the equivalent of Fayetteville, North Carolina in the U.S : not exactly top-tier 😅 Yet check how it looks 👇, I took this video 1 hour ago walking down the street from our hotel. You could easily think you're in a major metropolis: top notch infrastructure, high-rise buildings, luxury shops, sophisticated bakeries, beautiful street lighting, cars everywhere, etc. Needless to say, this is absolutely day and night compared with how this place must have looked just 20 years ago. Especially bearing in mind that Heilongjiang, the province we're in, is the second poorest one in China in terms of GDP per capita. The progress is absolutely mind-blowing, even when you're used to it.
RnaudBertrand ↗

American cultural shock after joining Xiaohongshu aka RedNote https://t.co/ekN4woujmC
CarlZha ↗

@balajis One problem is, people are attached to the idea that China inflates its metrics to “save face” or whatever. But they actually have reasons to to pose as a “developing nation” for trade privileges and Global South solidarity. Yuan is deliberately undervalued too. They're not poor.
teortaxesTex ↗

China has been identifying itself as a developing nation for decades exactly the same way woke people are identifying at whatever gender they think they are. China did it on purpose to benefit from trading perks. More tax breaks on its export sector and higher import tariffs preserving its agriculture and manufacturing. In 2018, it cost China about $1-$2 per kilogram to ship packages to the US while the US Postal Service spent $5-$10 to deliver them domestically. They grew the consumer sector in both their own country and other countries while at the same time attacking them economically and making them more dependent. A genius trade war very few talk about. Its position as the leader of developing nations is a very strong advantage too. They get preferential deals with other BRICS members giving them access to cheap things even cheaper and valuable resources like African minerals without even fighting while developed nations have to use force. It's like in movies when you disrespect a Chinese person then the same day you learn you've been fired because he was actually the boss of your boss or that he bought your company just to fire you.
roushou_ ↗