Nothing is permanent, even China wobbles

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Fri 29 Sep   [Ron Derby] When we tend to think of South Africa’s economic travails today, we tend to think we are hopeless, that we are never going to get out of the rut we are in. That’s not the case, there are myriad factors that can converge at any given time to either significantly improve a country’s prospects or, of course, make them ever more dire. I could argue that our best purple patches on an economic front had little to do with apartheid planners in the 1950s — the world, and Europe in particular, rebuilding after World War II and needing resources — and the early 2000s — Chinese appetite for raw materials. These exogenous factors, meaning things out of our control, boosted the South African story regardless of who was in power. With artificial intelligence, energy transitions around the world and other disruptions occurring at a breakneck pace in the global economy, who knows what will come of the African economic story. Nothing is permanent. Which brings us to China and the story of the biggest property company, [Evergrande]( a story I’ve followed for the past couple of years. Its wobbles could be the canary in the coal mine in the case of the Chinese economy, which has already slowed quite significantly from its peaks. Watch the story unfold and keep a tab on the political developments in that most important trade partners for South Africa. At a certain time in our recent history, the Chinese economy was unstoppable and everyone and their dog gobbled up that story. But nothing is permanent. Ron Derby | Editor-in-Chief [@Ronderby]( ADVERTISEMENT [The fiscus will shade the elections]( South Africa’s chickens have finally come to roost, leading the finance minister down a path that may well compromise the ANC [// Read more]( Premium [Ebrahim Patel wants better envoys]( South Africa to oppose reciprocal duty-free access for US companies during the Agoa conference in November [// Read more]( Premium [Fraud claims fly as Pappas hits the KZN campaign trail]( The uMngeni mayor says he is up to the ‘mathematically difficult’ challenge [// Read more]( ADVERTISEMENT Recommended Reads [Editorial: Is Ramaphosa and Manuel’s feted economic plan delayed or dead?]( With most of the NDP targets way off the mark, our fiscal path defers the NDP goals by another decade, if we are lucky, while an incapable state will spell its death [// Read more]( [Political and security considerations missing from Africa’s artificial intelligence strategy]( The continent must develop its own security and political frameworks to prevent undue influence from elsewhere in the world [// Read more]( [‘It is not for Zuma to decide who should prosecute him,’ says advocate Geoff Budlender]( Jacob Zuma’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu said the former president's criminal trial would not proceed soon, because he would again ask for the removal of state prosecutor Billy Downer [// Read more]( Premium [Transnet calls on union to assist with graft claims probe]( The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union has made allegations of procurement and recruitment irregularities at the state-owned entity [// Read more]( [Cabinet yet to discuss damning National Development Plan findings]( A 10-year review of the NDP lays bare the extent to which the economy has regressed, as its targets slip further from the government’s grasp [// Read more]( [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa