This isn't about jewelry. It's about finding the one asset that requires zero trust in any institution. No bank. No developer. No government policy meeting. Just metal. You can hold it. It doesn't default.
Walk into any major jewelry store in China on a weekend. You'll find two people at the same counter. A 62-year-old buying gold bars. A 27-year-old buying gold "beans." Different generations. Same fear. Same hedge.
In 2013, the Western press mocked Chinese grandmothers for buying gold on the dip. Then Evergrande collapsed. Property fell 30%. Bank products went negative. Who was unsophisticated? A thread on why millions of Chinese people are quietly building a Plan B
42 million people quietly opting out of the pension system is a signal.
Not of defiance. Of disillusionment.
The full piece — including what this means for China's economy and why it matters globally — is on Substack:https://t.co/e73TaO8MXL
A pension crisis = less consumer spending = weaker domestic demand.
Beijing has been trying to shift China's economy from exports to consumption for years.
That shift is almost impossible when young people feel financially insecure and don't trust the system to catch them.
42 million opt-outs isn't a rebellion.
It's a rational response to a broken contract.
China's birth rate just hit its lowest since 1949. Fewer workers. More retirees. Shrinking contributions. Rising payouts.
The math doesn't work