The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg What Should We Want From China? | Interview: Andrew Collier
8 snips
Mar 2, 2026 Andrew Collier, a China macroeconomy and financial-system expert and former Bank of China International USA president. He discusses China’s property boom and how local land-sale reliance and savings behavior created a bubble. He explains Xi Jinping’s economic mindset and why Beijing cracked down on tech firms. They also examine what practical aims the West should pursue with China.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Property Bubble Fueled By Land Sales And Speculation
- China's property boom was driven by local governments selling land and speculative household investment, making housing about one-third of GDP at peak.
- Xi Jinping's 2021 crackdown (three red lines) forced banks to restrict developer lending, collapsing heavily indebted firms like Evergrande and halving property values.
Seeing Empty 125‑Story Towers Illustrates Bubble Mentality
- Collier recounts touring empty 125‑story high-rises and provincial officials' attitude: "If we build it, they will come."
- That mindset, plus land‑sale revenue incentives, fueled decades of overbuilding and the ensuing bubble.
Shift Credit Away From Property Toward Industry
- Reduce reliance on property and redirect credit toward productive sectors like tech and industrial investment rather than speculative real estate.
- Xi enforced lending limits with the "three red lines," immediately crushing over-leveraged developers and reallocating funds to favored sectors.
