2018: The year China cleans up and other thoughts

Bitcoin bubble?

2018 will be a year in which China cleans up: on the environment, in the banking sector and in the continuing fight against corruption. As a result, China will become ever-more investable.

The degradation of the environment has long been recognised as the unfortunate side effect of China's rapid economic growth over the last four decades. But China is making substantial progress in tackling the problem. Anecdotally, recent visitors to Beijing comment on the improved air quality for example. However, there is much further to go. Cutting capacity in heavy industries - steel, cement and glass - which are the biggest polluters is the key to progress. But China is also a leader in new, cleaner technology. China has more installed wind power than all the EU and twice the amount ...