China’s regional gap is worsening
While entrepreneurship flourishes in the south, a rust-belt malaise deepens in the north
“DON’T INVEST beyond Shanhaiguan” is a popular quip in China, referring to a pass in the Great Wall that leads to the north-eastern rust belt. Online pundits have updated the maxim to “don’t invest outside the Southern Song”, a dynasty that fell almost 750 years ago whose territory was roughly the same as China’s southern half today. The joke has a nub of truth: China’s southern provinces are outperforming the north in nearly every economic dimension.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Southern tiger”
Finance & economics January 23rd 2021
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