Top Five Challenges Facing the Chinese Economy
The Chinese economic prowess is second to none. They have certainly pulled off an economic miracle since Mao Zedong began unleashing his tough policies on the people. The transformation was painful. However, as a result, China has become a global economic behemoth, a power to be feared.
It is the second largest economy in the world after the United States. It is also the third largest importer in the world after United States and Eurozone. It is also the largest consumer of commodities like oil, cement, iron and steel etc.
These credentials make it abundantly clear that the Chinese economy plays a pivotal role in global trade and commerce. In the past one year, this economy has faced a lot of flak. The stock markets have gone to all time lows. The property market is said to be in a bubble and the Chinese economy seems to be crumbling under its own weight.
In this article, we will look at the major issues that are plaguing the Chinese economy.
Falling Growth Rate:
Chinese economic growth rate has been unprecedented. The economy has been growing over 10% per annum for a couple of decades now. However, since Chinese economy is centrally planned, this growth rate was planned by the government too.
Hence, this growth rate was largely fuelled by the very ambitious infrastructure projects that were undertaken by the government of China. However, there is a problem. The infrastructure projects also caused a lot of debt. Over the years, the economy became overburdened with this debt.
Now since the market sentiment is negative and more debt cannot be added, the growth rate has started crumbling. The most recent statistic has shown growth rate to be close to 6.5% and this has already started causing investor panic based on fears that this number could dip even further if the Chinese are not able to find another cheaper source of funds to fuel their growth ambitions.
Export Driven Economy to Consumption Driven Economy:
The Chinese economic miracle was fuelled by the United States consumption debacle. The United States has almost extensively been consuming Chinas produce. China has been exporting to a lot of other nations as well. However, United States single handedly accounts for over a third of Chinese exports.
The United States consumption has been enabled by loose interest rate policies implemented by the Fed. Zero interest rates led to a lot of money floating around. A huge chunk of this floating money ended up being spent on Chinese goods.
After 8 years of zero interest rate policy, the rates are now set to rise. This is expected to cause a drastic drop in demand in the United States. As a result, Chinese exports will also suffer. Add to this the fact that the economy is already slowing down and we may have a deflationary scenario underway.
Chinas big challenge is to sustain its economic prowess on a domestic economy. Instead of selling to other countries, Chinese businesses now have to sell to each other, if the miracle has to be sustained.
Manufacturing and Banking Viability:
The Chinese government central planning has led to a lot of mal investments. This is particularly true in the manufacturing sector. Since the money was loaned out by state banks, the banking system is also reeling under the effects of this problem. The government is currently managing these non performing assets. However, these assets could cause mayhem in the Chinese banking sector. Also, a lot of money has been lent out to developers who have built ghost (uninhabited) towns with it! This money is also unlikely to be recovered. The Chinese banking system could come under a lot of pressure as these NPAs become certain. The spillover effects of this downturn could be felt in the stock markets as well as across the world.
Tax Revenues and Expenses:
A falling GDP also means falling tax revenues for the Chinese government. This becomes a huge problem when one adds the fact that China is a communist country. A centralized economy is based on funds being disbursed from the center. Falling tax revenues and rising expenditures have created shortfalls which need to be filled by borrowing money. Given the debt trap that China may soon find itself in, borrowing is not really a viable option. China will have to figure out other ways to collect more tax or else it may have to cut spending even further causing the GDP to go into freefall!
Regional Imbalances: Coastal to Internal
The economic boom has led to widespread development all across Chinas coastal periphery. This is obvious given the fact that Chinese growth story was fuelled by exports. Now, since domestic consumption is the key factor, China will have to focus on its severely underdeveloped internal areas. Interior China is still a third world country with low standards of living. This can be viewed as a challenge because sustaining high Chinese growth rates with such poor infrastructure will be difficult to say the least. Also, it can be viewed as an opportunity since developing the internal areas will help give a fillip to the Chinese GDP for several years to come. Thus, there is enough fuel for the Chinese growth juggernaut to continue its run for another year or so.
From Rags to Riches: 15 Best Success Stories to Inspire You
For many people, stories about success can be truly motivational. Indeed, reading about someone’s journey, the hardships they overcame and how they eventually achieved success can become the sort of examples that encourage us to persist in achieving our own goals.
So, if you’re looking for some inspiration, you’re in the right place.
These 15 amazing success stories of famous entrepreneurs, writers and creators will become a source of endless inspiration for you.
Prefer video? Watch these celeb stories to see how they went from rags to riches!
1. Oprah Winfrey
One of America’s most powerful women, Oprah Winfrey had to overcome a myriad of obstacles throughout her life. Growing up in a broken home, Winfrey lived in poverty and endured sexual abuse from male family members for many years. But after moving in with her father, she managed to overcome this trauma and went on to become an honors student with a full scholarship ride to college.
Her career took off while she was still in her sophomore year, working for CBS in Nashville as a news anchor. This was merely the beginning of Winfrey’s successful career, as she climbed her way up the television industry and became America’s favorite TV persona.
Today, she is the founder and CEO of Harpo Productions, a multimedia production company, as well as a best-selling author and philanthropist, all while maintaining her rein on daytime television.
2. JK Rowling
The way the story goes, JK Rowling first conceived the idea about a young wizard on a delayed train travelling to King’s Cross Station in London. She scribbled her thoughts on pieces of scrap paper, gradually developing the story while raising her daughter as an unemployed single mother living on welfare benefits. Five years later, her finished manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was rejected by 12 publishers before finally getting picked up by Bloomsbury Publishing.
The Harry Potter series went on to shape an entire generation of children, selling over 500 million copies worldwide, and made Rowling the first billionaire author in the world. A title, however, which she gave up after donating a large sum of her fortune to charitable organizations.
3. Stephen King
The master of horror has penned over 90 stories throughout his career, most of which have been a definitive success. But the going wasn’t always easy for King.
Raising a family with his wife Tabitha, who is also a writer, the pair could barely make ends meet. When he wasn’t working as a teacher, King worked odd jobs at a laundromat, and as a gas station attendant and a janitor to keep a roof over his family’s heads.
His first novel Carrie, which tells the story of a troubled teen with telekinetic powers, was rejected 30 times before finally getting published, eventually becoming one of the best-selling novels of all time.
ALSO READ The Richest Authors in the World
4. Michael Jordan
The NBA star is dubbed as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But back in high school, Jordan struggled to showcase his abilities, as he couldn’t make the cut for the varsity team, all because of his height. While this was a demoralizing experience for him, it also pushed him to train even harder than before.
It goes without saying that his determination paid off, as two years later he would join the All-American High School Team. Two Olympic medals, six NBA Championships and fourteen MVP awards later, Michael Jordan’s impeccable work ethic and love for the sport led him down the road of success.
5. Anita Roddick
The late founder of The Body Shop could never have predicted the success that her business would bring. Indeed, when Roddick founded The Body Shop, she had a simple plan: to sell cruelty-free cosmetics made from natural ingredients.
Soon after opening the doors to her first store in 1976, its vast popularity led to numerous franchises, resulting in over 700 global stores by 1991.
Thanks to Roddick’s unique vision, The Body Shop became the forefront for ethical consumerism, becoming one of the first businesses to shun animal-tested ingredients and promote fair-trade products. Roddick also used her booming business to support and advocate several environmental and social causes, often working with organizations such as Greenpeace.
6. Sara Blakely
From a young age, Sara Blakely wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a lawyer. But despite her best efforts and raw ambition, she failed the LSAT exam twice, getting an even lower grade the second time around. Feeling defeated, she got a job at Disney World and eventually moved back home with her mother.
Blakely spent the next seven years selling fax machines before she had her “Eureka!” moment. After cutting off the feet of her pantyhose to fit into a pair of white jeans, she saw a new product opportunity. But even after developing the first Spanx prototype, it took months for her to find a manufacturer willing to take on the project.
Fast forward to today, Blakely has established herself as a powerful entrepreneur who built a multibillion-dollar shapewear company based on a simple idea.
7. Eric Yuan
Born in China's Shandong Province, Eric Yuan would often make a 10-hour journey to visit his girlfriend (now wife) as a college student. Wondering about alternate ways of communication, it was during one of those train rides that he conceived the initial idea that became the backbone of Zoom.
Determined to work in Silicon Valley, he chased his dreams to the US, but it took Yuan eight failed attempts before being granted his visa. There, he worked for WebEx, one of the first videocall products on the market. After WebEx was acquired by Cisco, Yuan continued to work on developing the video tool, but he later made the decision to leave the company and pursue his own aspirations.
Yuan’s determination to build a product that would be both fun and accessible to its users soon paid off, leading to the creation of Zoom, which is now worth billions.
ALSO READ The Richest People in the World
8. Sidney Poitier
Born in Florida to Bahamian parents, Sidney Poitier grew up in poverty and received little education as a child. After spending most of his childhood in the Bahamas, he moved back to Florida when he was 15 in search for a job. A year later, he moved to New York City, where he worked odd jobs before enlisting in the army.
Following his brief stint in the military medical unit, he applied to the North American Negro Theater, where the casting director told Poitier: “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?”.
Despite the harsh critique, Poitier spent six months honing his craft and finally had a breakthrough, starring as a lead in a Broadway musical. Soon enough, he became the first Black male artist to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Throughout his career, Poitier redefined the industry by refusing to play parts that were based on racial stereotypes. He received numerous accolades, as well as six Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Following his passing in January 2022, he has left behind an important legacy and is regarded as one of the most distinguished actors and directors of his time, having led the way for other African American artists.
9. James Dyson
As Britain’s richest man, James Dyson has taken the world by storm with his inventions. However, his schooling is not what you’d expect from a world-renowned inventor. Indeed, Dyson was inclined towards the arts as a student and studied furniture design at the Royal College of Art in London.
But his career path would take a turn one day after becoming frustrated with his home vacuum. After breaking it apart and identifying a design flaw in the product, Dyson set out to create what would become a market-changing invention: the first bagless vacuum cleaner.
It took him 5 years and 5,126 failed prototypes before he made one that worked. But after being unable to find a manufacturer that would produce it, Dyson put his house on the line to become a manufacturer himself. Even then, getting sellers and shops to stock his vacuum cleaner was a struggle, and being a one-man operation, he acted as the sole designer, engineer, manufacturer and salesperson of his product.
Although it took a while for his invention to get any attention from consumers, once it did, it inevitably became a billion-dollar idea that set the foundations for Dyson’s empire.
10. George Soros
After surviving the Nazi occupation in Hungary, hedge fund tycoon George Soros moved to the UK following the end of World War II. There, he worked odd jobs to make ends meet while studying at the London School of Economics, where he earned both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees.
After moving to New York City, Soros begun working as an arbitrage trader, making his way through different brokerage firms. Nearly two decades later, he launched his own hedge fund, Soros Fund Management. One of his most notable achievements in his career took place in 1992, after he made a profit of $1 billion in a single day, earning him the title of “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England”.
But despite his world-renowned reputation as an investor, Soros has placed a huge emphasis on his charity work, having donated over $32 billion to support philanthropic causes around the world.
11. Dolly Parton
The Queen of Country music comes from humble beginnings.
The fourth of twelve children, Dolly Parton grew up in rural Tennessee in a one-room cabin, where she would share a bed with three to four of her siblings. Despite her family’s financial struggles, Parton has credited her success to her parents’ endless love and support as well as their musical influence. Her mother, Avie Lee Owens, was a singer and guitar player who often entertained her children with her talents, and her father, Robert Lee Parton, also played the banjo and guitar.
She wrote her first song when she was five years old and, two years later, using an old mandolin and two guitar strings, she made her first guitar. Her uncle, Bill Owens, helped her launch her career, landing her first gig on The Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour in Knoxville when she was just 10 years old.
Today, Parton has established herself as a country music legend, a showbiz icon and a multimillionaire using her resources for good.
Throughout her career, Parton has been a passionate philanthropist, supporting numerous causes from childhood literacy to environmental conservation. Her nonprofit organization The Dollywood Foundation, established in 1988 with the objective of offering scholarships to high school students, was transformed into the Imagination Library in 1995, a program that sends free books to children around the world.
ALSO READ Quotes for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
12. Do Won Chang
The man behind Forever 21 faced numerous struggles before launching the international fast fashion company.
Do Won Chang immigrated to the US from South Korea when he was 27 years old. For three years, he juggled three jobs as a gas station worker, janitor and coffee shop employee, before opening a 900-square-foot shop named Forever 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles with his wife Jin Sook.
The shop’s success was almost instant, achieving $700,000 in revenue the first year alone. This prompted the couple to expand their business by opening a new store every six months. Forever 21’s revenue peaked in 2015, reaching an estimated $4.4 billion.
While the company enjoyed great success, its rapid expansion led in its filing for bankruptcy protection in 2019. Despite this, Chang and his wife had a combined $3 billion net worth during the same year.
13. Céline Dion
The legendary Céline Dion is the youngest of 14 siblings. While growing up in Quebec, Canada, her family often struggled financially, living in an overcrowded house. In an interview with CBS News, the singer said that she slept in the same bed with three or four of her siblings: “I did not have a bedroom. Up the stairs, before going in the bedrooms, there was a little ramp. And my bed was there. So, everybody went up, they saw me, and I could wave goodbye and goodnight”.
Despite her family’s financial shortcomings, the Queen of Las Vegas told Vanity Fair that she and her siblings were never short of love and affection: “We were safe and warm and taken care of”.
Being part of a musical family led to Dion performing in small local events before being discovered by René Angélil at the age of 12, who helped her break into the music industry. From there on, she went on to win numerous awards, release record-breaking albums, singles and number-one hits, and claim the title of Queen of Pop.
14. Halle Berry
Born and raised in Ohio, Halle Berry grew up in a broken household — her father was often abusive to her mother who, following their divorce, raised her children as a single mom.
During her time in high school, she was a cheerleader, an honor student, editor of the school newspaper, and prom queen. She also entered numerous beauty pageants, and was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she placed in sixth place.
Berry eventually moved to New York City to pursue an acting career but, as a starving artist, faced homelessness and slept in a shelter for short periods of time. Eventually, she relocated to Los Angeles, where her career really took off, earning her worldwide recognition and becoming one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood during the 2000s.
15. Steve Jobs
Apple’s founder Steve Jobs was given up for adoption by his biological parents. He was then adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs.
As a high school student, Jobs was a known troublemaker, but thanks to his fourth-grade teacher Imogene Teddy Hill, he soon flourished academically and even skipped a grade. However, the intense bullying he faced by his classmates led to his family transferring him to a new school.
Although he was admitted to Reed College, his parents’ financial struggles led to him dropping out and pursuing part-time courses. During this time, Jobs would crash on different friends’ sofas and use tactics like returning empty Coke bottles to get enough money for food.
Despite his circumstances, he persevered, driven by his curiosity and passion for learning. In 1978, he founded Apple Inc with Steve Wozniak, and two years later, at 23 years old, he hit a $1 million net worth. The rest is history.
Final thoughts
So, what is the secret to success? Sheer determination, ambition and willpower to see your goals to fruition! Of course, that’s easier said than done and, as these stories convey, there will always be obstacles in the way.
But for many of these inspiring individuals, failure was not the endgame; it was merely a part of their journey to success.
What other success stories have inspired you? Share them with us at the comments section below!
Originally published on December 5, 2018.
10 Famous Failures to Success Stories That Will Inspire You
Failure occurs everyday, in school, jobs, housework, and within families. It is unavoidable, irritating and causes pessimism.
While the thought of flinging your hands in the air and walking away is all too appealing, take a second to connect with the people who have been there and survived. In fact, if you have learned some of the famous familures to success stories, you may change your perspective on failure.
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. — Henry Ford
10 Famous Failures to Success Stories That Will Inspire You
Here are 10 famous failures to success stories around the world that will inspire you to keep going and achieve greatness:
1. J.K. Rowling
During a Harvard commencement speech, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling outlined the importance and value of failure.
Why? Simply because she was once a failure too.
A few short years after her graduation from college, her worst nightmares were realized. In her words,
“I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.”
Coming out of this failure stronger and more determined was the key to her success.
2. Steve Jobs
The now revolutionary Apple started off with two men in a garage. Years later we all know it as a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.
Yet, almost unbelievably, Steve Jobs was fired from the very company he began.
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The dismissal made him realize that his passion for his work exceeded the disappointment of failure. Further ventures such as NeXT and Pixar eventually led Jobs back to the CEO position at Apple. Jobs said in 2005:
“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
Lost your job today? Keep kicking and you could be just like this guy!
3. Bill Gates
Bill Gates was a Harvard dropout. He co-owned a business called Traf-O-Data, which was a true failure.
However, skill and a passion for computer programming turned this failure into the pioneer of famous software company Microsoft, and the then 31-year-old into the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
In his own words:
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
This isn’t to say that dropping out of Harvard will make you into a billionaire, but maybe that shiny degree isn’t worth as much as the drive and passion to succeed.
If you haven’t found your passion like Bill Gates, this will help you: What Is Motivation And How To Get Motivated (Your Ultimate Guide)
4. Albert Einstein
The word ‘Einstein’ is associated with intelligence and synonymous with genius. Yet it is a famous fact that the pioneer of the theory of general relativity, Albert Einstein himself, could not speak fluently until the age of nine. His rebellious nature led to expulsion from school, and he was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
His earlier setbacks did not stop him from winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. After all, he believed that:
“Success is failure in progress.”
To this day, his research has influenced various aspects of life including culture, religion, art, and even late night TV.
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Just because you haven’t achieved anything great yet, doesn’t mean you can’t be an Einstein yourself.
5. Abraham Lincoln
Failing in business in 1831, suffering a nervous breakdown in 1836, defeated in his run for president in 1856, Abraham Lincoln was no stranger to rejection and failure. Rather than taking these signs as a motivation for surrender, he refused to stop trying his best.
In this great man’s words:
“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
Lincoln was elected in 1861 as the 16th President of the United States of America.
The amount of rejection you receive is not a defining factor. Success is still within your reach.
6. Michael Jordan
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
This quote by retired basketball legend Michael Jordan in a Nike advertisement speaks for itself.
It would be an easy misconception that Jordan’s basketball skills revolve around natural talent. In fact, in his earlier years, basketball coaches had trouble looking past the fact that Jordan didn’t reach the minimum height. It was years of effort, practice, and failure that made the star we know today.
Michael Jordan’s success all came down to his Intrinsic Motivation, one of the most invincible types of motivation that drives people to succeed.
7. Steven Spielberg
Regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Steven Spielberg is a familiar household name. It is surprising to realize therefore that the genius behind Jaws and E.T. had poor grades in high school, getting him rejected from the University of Southern California three times.
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While he was in college, he caught the eye of executives at Universal, who signed him as a television director in 1969. This meant that he would not finish his college degree for another 33 years.
Perseverance and acceptance of failure is the key to success, after all.
“Even though I get older, what I do never gets old, and that’s what I think keeps me hungry.”
Bad grades in high school aside, there is no questioning the genius involved.
To date, Spielberg has directed 51 films and has been awarded three Oscars.
8. Walt Disney
Mickey Mouse creator Walt Disney dropped out of school at a young age in a failed attempt at joining the army. One of his earlier ventures, Laugh-o-Gram Studios, went bankrupt due to his lack of ability to run a successful business. He was once fired from a Missouri newspaper for “not being creative enough.”
Yet today, The genius behind Disney studios is responsible for generations of childhood memories and dreams. From Snow White to Frozen, Disney will continue to entertain the world for generations to come.
The logic behind this is simple:
“We don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
9. Vincent Van Gogh
During his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh suffered mental illness, failed relationships, and committed suicide at the age of 37.
He only ever sold one painting in his life, pinning him a failure as an artist. However that did not put a damper on his enthusiasm and passion for art.
He would never know that years and years after his death he would become known as a key figure in the world of post-impressionism, and ultimately, one of the greatest artist that ever lived.
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He would never know that he became a hot topic in art classes and his image was going to be used in TV, books and other forms of popular culture.
In the words of this great, but tragic man:
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
10. Stephen King
As a paranoid, troubled child, tormented by nightmares and raised in poverty, it is no surprise that Stephen King grew up to the title: “Master of Horror”.
An addiction to drugs and alcohol were his mechanisms to cope with the unhappiness he felt with his life. The frustration he felt towards multiple rejections by publishers in combination with illicit substances caused him to mentally contemplate violence towards his own children.
These intense emotions were those that he focused onto his writing. And that’s why he said:
“We make up horros to help us cope with the real ones.”
Writing became his new coping mechanism, and this is how the master author we know today grew to success.
Fail More Often in Order to Succeed
Like Albert Einstein said, failure really is just success in progress. If you’d rather not to fail, you will probably never succeed.
Success comes from moments of frustrations when you’ll be most uncomfortable with. But after you’ve gone through all those bitter times, you’ll become stronger and you’ll get closer to success.
If you feel like a failure and think that you’ve failed all too many times, it’s not too late to change things up! Here’s how to turn your limitations into your opportunities:
Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, start failing, and start failing often; that’s how you will succeed.
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