China's Future Looks Shaky – From Tariffs to a Potential Debt Crisis

Stansberry Investor Hour

On this week's Stansberry Investor Hour, Dan and Corey welcome Charlene Chu to the show. Charlene is the China and India macrofinancial senior analyst at the independent global research firm Autonomous Research. Dubbed the "rock star" of Chinese debt analysis, she joins the podcast to talk all about China and India's current economic happenings.

Charlene kicks off the show by explaining her macroeconomic background and experience studying China's economy. She discusses whether China is still worth investing in, which specific area of the Chinese market looks most promising, and what's going on right now in China's property sector. Charlene also goes in depth on President Donald Trump's tariffs that will impact China and what the administration is potentially hoping to gain in negotiations. (1:41)

Next, Charlene explores India's weaknesses versus China in becoming a global manufacturing hub – this includes its bureaucracy, onerous labor laws, and lack of infrastructure. She says that India is currently where China was in the 1990s, and the country will require much more development and investment to catch up. Charlene then talks about the good and bad economic effects of China's communist government, China's looming debt crisis, and how the average Chinese consumer differs from an American one. (19:57)

Finally, Charlene examines China's demographics and explains why she believes the country's population will fall 60% to 70% by the year 2100. However, despite birth rates dropping, AI and technology may be able to make up for the declining number of humans in manufacturing roles and fill those gaps for several decades. And Charlene closes the conversation by urging U.S. investors not to worry too much about the Trump tariffs just yet, as there may be a method to the madness. (41:55)