There's much less focus on China's rental real estate market, but it's pretty interesting. Rents have fallen in recent years. This chart shows a modest 6.5% drop in rental prices from mid-2021 through 2024. Price drops accelerated in 2024, and the article's explanation in a mixture of general economic conditions, but also the build-out of 保障性租赁住房, or 保租房, affordable rental housing is how I see it translated.

Knows nothing about China, but writes in Jacoblin like he does. Leusder is an embarrassment. Let's go through the errors. jacobin.com/2026/01/china-… First suggests that rents are high in China, particularly for young people.

Just looked at this, well at least the bits about China as a EA dev state, which the authors say is incorrect. They are very wrong (at least post 2003). Their arguments:

https://twitter.com/vshih2/status/1661736435958046726

1. "First, compared with the East Asian developmental states, China’s economy
was relatively decentralized and lacked a 'pilot' ministry." Did. Doesn't anymore. Not a valid objection.

'Initally' doing a lot of work here lol. The fully foreign owned Telsa was the largest winner of Chinese EV subsidies in 2020 (325 million US), and 2nd largest in 2021 (437 million US). Tesla could choose whatever battery it wanted and could earn the subsidies (they chose LG).

https://twitter.com/Brad_Setser/status/1661428203653660679

Given that there was no viable electric car that could have been exported into China, the restrictions on domestic production are irrelevant.

Invariably when solar PV production in China is mentioned, genius reply guys will say 'but the coal!' I looked into it today, unsurprised to report back it is a BS argument. First, ALL panels' manufacturing carbon emissions are 'earned back' in the first few months: Next, China's electricity carbon intensity is within the ballpark of the other major solar PV panel producers: (includes top 4):

Taiwan's elderly vax rate was pretty low (exactly where China is now) when it abandoned its zero COVID policies in April. I would imagine there a lot of press reports about the horror of mounting deaths and disruption. Let's see...