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Comment by sharetea | Hacker News Reader

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sharetea·

Latest News: China to lay off five to six million state workers

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-layoffs-excl...

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The report comes from anonymous Chinese government officials and cannot be accepted at face value as fact.

However it is unlikely that China can rebalance from massive overproduction without massive layoffs. The quoted government official, Yin Weimin put the number closer to 1-2 million.

So the western world should just take the Chinese government media at face value? since the foreign media now needs a 'permit' to publish online in China. This is a government that cheats, lies, and steals. Oh, and kidnaps foreign citizens and forces them to tell lies on state TV

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jnylander/2016/01/07/swedens-for...

We both agree. Anonymous Chinese government official statements are two layers of bullshit. Quoted officials are one.

" it is unlikely that China can rebalance from massive overproduction without massive layoffs."

Why is that? it is a genuine question. Do they have an inflation problem?

Problems greater than inflation. Overproduction incentivizes dumping, which results in backlash from trading partners. It is also used to finance regional and local governments, which incentivizes overproduction and waste of resources. Sure, the thousands of construction workers making ghost cities get paid, but someone has to pay them. Not to mention the rampant corruption that occurs like magic when you mix money and power with a dash of unaccountability.

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21693573-chinas-exces...

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