1. When discussing China, the conversation tends to focus more on its ruling authorities. Due to the K-shaped economic divergence, contracting consumption, and the real estate bubble bursting, which is leading the country toward a Japan-style trajectory, 90% of Chinese people are trapped in a quagmire of negative wealth.
2. As the total population declines and the share of the elderly population continues to rise, China will become an increasingly conservative country with diminishing vitality. It is difficult to imagine such a nation presenting itself on the international stage with a more assertive and powerful posture in the future.
3. In the past few years, freedom has declined further, compliance costs have risen sharply, and social resources have become even more concentrated in government departments. This has led to a continued decline in resource utilization efficiency, while education has become increasingly disconnected from societal needs. This has largely offset the progress brought by AI. In the long run, production relations determine productive forces, just as electric motors and the internet have not changed the fate of many poor countries.