GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON
21 AUGUST 2026. CHINA POST #635.
CHINA AND THE FOREIGN MEDIA
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IN THIS ISSUE
- “THE WORSENING HEALTH OF DEMOCRACY”
GLOBAL FREEDOM DECLINES
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- CHINA’S OVERSEAS TRAVEL NUMBERS
THE FT CONFIRMS SURGE IN TRAVELEX
PREDICTIONS
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
- LAST QUARTER SEES 25% JUMP IN CHINA’S EXPORTS
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
- CHINA’S ECONOMIC FALL-OUT FADES
BLOOMBERG
- SEE THE COMMENTS AT THE END ABOUT DR JI AND JACK PERRY AND THE NATURE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
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#1. RE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
“The worsening health of democracy has become a problem in countries around the world. According to Freedom House’s annual assessment, the average level of global freedom across more than 200 countries and territories has decreased for 20 consecutive years. The decline has been especially steep in the United States. Earlier this year, the research institute V-Dem downgraded the country from a “liberal democracy” to an “electoral democracy,” stating that “democracy in the USA has fallen back to the same level as in 1965,” the year of the Voting Rights Act’s passage.”
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS’-
So often the issue of democracy focuses critically on China. The country is alleged to be “Totalitarian, Authoritarian, Oppressive” The above extract is taken from Foreign Affairs, the leading U.S. Journal on World Politics, which in its current issue focuses on the “worsening health of democracy” specifically in relation to the United States.
Here in the West our media is quite smug about the democracy that is the declared norm of our politics. But is the assessment too rosy? An article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs thinks so. The US has been downgraded from “a liberal democracy” to “an electoral democracy”. This is a reflection of the extent to which President Trump has driven a coach and horses through the norms of Western models of government. His rampaging, law-breaking instincts are in free flow – whether it is immigrants, political opponents or, even, the non-communist governments of other countries in the world – Greenland and Denmark for example.
But it is not just the U.S. – There is also Marie Le Pen in France, Nigel Farage in the UK and the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom (PVV) and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang (VB).
The post-World War II One Man One Vote consensus is under attack at just the time more people are beginning to look with interest at China’s authoritarian democracy where examples of freedom and democracy sit alongside examples of centralisation and control.
Zhang Wei-Wei, Professor of International Relations at Fudan University accepts that the Chinese system of government and democracy is far from perfect, but he argues that the Chinese system is not the crude autocracy, regularly presented by the very critical Western media. It is a system, he argues, that is deeply rooted in the Confucian tradition of meritocracy. This has developed a complex system of “selection plus election”, whereby “competent leaders are selected based on merit and popular support through a vigorous process of screening, opinion surveys, internal evaluations and various small-scale elections.”
The Party’s meritocratic credentials are safe-guarded through rigorous examination systems, and leaders are chosen only if they have proved their talents at political management through governing provinces. A leader can be tracked from leadership roles in the grass roots in villages in the countryside and local communities in the cities. Progress will be reflected in promotion within the ascending levels of provincial government including posting to diplomatic appointments overseas. Ultimately there will be a move to senior levels of authority within the State and Party organisations in Beijing. Some, including Professor Marubani, consider China the best example of meritocracy where appointment to the highest echelons of Party and State is based on performance and not birth, wealth or Party connections.
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#2. THE CHINESE TRAVELS OVERSEAS
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
“Just as Chinese travellers were checking into hotels and boarding planes for summer holidays booked through Trip.com, the country’s biggest online travel agent received some painful news. The State Administration for Market Regulation imposed Rmb5.18bn ($770mn) in penalties on the US- and HK-listed company, saying a six-month antitrust investigation had found it abused its market dominance.”
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS;
China and Travel? Chinese Tourism? That can’t be right. Isn’t China one big prison where people are controlled, restricted, and oppressed – as Ian Duncan Smith MP keeps telling us?
So where do the Chinese visit? Which are their favourite destinations? Seaside and Beaches or Monuments and Culture? How much do they spend? Where do they stay? Do they return and return or venture to new destinations? And how are their trips organised? Individual Tourists or Group Tours? Which do they prefer?
The Facts;- China’s vast travel landscape is dominated by massive online travel agencies (OTAs) like Trip.com Group (formerly Ctrip), Qunar, and Fliggy, alongside sprawling traditional hybrid networks like Traveling Bestone, which commands over 5,000 offline retail branches across the country.
Well – OK – but maybe this is just weekend breaks for leading political politicians.
Again – No. Remember it is one of the world’s largest international foreign currency suppliers – Travelex – that has predicted that in just four years 200 million plus Chinese will, annually, take holidays outside China. Yes – 200 million+. The Airport Lounges will be busy.
Tell me more.
China’s major online travel businesses are
- Trip.com Group: The undisputed giant of Chinese tourism, controlling a massive share of flights, hotels, and international bookings. Now facing anti-Trust investigation relating to market dominance.
- Qunar: A major search-based booking site popular for competitive domestic pricing and flight comparison te.ch.
- Fliggy: Alibaba’s travel branch, targeting younger digital natives with live-streaming and customized digital itineraries.
- Tongcheng (LY.com) & Tuniu: Leading leisure-focused online services specializing in organized group tours and regional getaways.
China is challenging the West’s ignorance and the West’s prejudice. More to come.
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#3. CHINA’S EXPORTS SURGE
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
“China’s exports rose by almost a quarter last month on a year earlier, the latest in a series of sharp monthly increases that highlight the resilience of its trade engine and global demand for high-tech products. Exports added 23.9 per cent in dollar terms year on year in July, official data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed on Friday, with tech shipments showing signs of strength on the global AI build-out.”
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS;-
The West loves gloomy news about China. They are always looking for the negatives – hoping for more reports of setback, opposition and re-thinks. And to be fair China does experience all three. The information is there and those of us who are Positive about China must never – never – close our eyes to the negatives. They exist. They are part and parcel of China’s Big Experiment as it sets about doing something quite new in World History – Building, in China, a Socialist State with Chinese Characteristics.
Today the Negative Western Commentary is about
- A slowdown in growth,
- Youth unemployment
- Consumer under-spend
Is Growth slowing? Yes, but just as the economy expands (Growth in 2025 was 5.1%. This year the aim is 4.7%. But – be clear – it is still Growth and for the second largest economy in the world to grow at a rate of 4.7% is a record that Macron, Burnham and Trump would love to have.
See both sides. Recognise the problems but embrace the successes as well otherwise, you, the reader, will merely reinforce your negative attitude to China. There is a requirement for honest, open enquiry about China and the information is there in the non-China media eg the South China Morning Post; the Financial Times; Nikkei Asia. Yes, you have to search for it. Not because it does not exist but because the foreign media – the SCMP excepted but even that pro-China publication owned by Alibaba does cover negative aspects of life in China – is basically anti-Communist in its perspective and prefers to latch onto the bad news rather than report the good news.
But what is your perspective? Is it open or closed? Forgive me for even suspecting but the issue has to be faced – are you unwilling to accept that China is on the right path? Do you want to resist the positives about China because of a prejudice to Communist rule that goes back to Hungary 1956, the Berlin Wall of 1961, the Prague Spring of 1969 and Tiananmin Square of 1989?
Your prejudice is well founded. You are right when looking at Communist performance to recall these four big setbacks. But there is a ‘But’. A Big But as well. Communism is coming again. It is once again on the agenda. It is again challenging the norms of the Western Model. You are free to dismiss it. “I’ve seen it all before”. It is your choice. All that this Column- Good Morning from London – aims to do is to provide you with evidence and comment that Western Controllers of Democracy prefer are hidden from you. You decide – but with your eyes wide open. See both sides.
The Good News?
- Exports of electronic integrated circuits doubled in July from a year earlier to $38.7bn, but was primarily driven by higher prices rather than increased volume.
- Imports showed a shift away from oil towards chips which is a positive for China.
- The Country’s trade surplus in goods last year hit a record of $1.2tn. For the January-to-July period this year, China’s trade surplus in goods is now running at $687.4bn, above last year’s level of $680.6bn.
- A tariff war between the US and China, meanwhile, was suspended in October by a one-year truce, but tensions have continued to simmer. Beijing this week tightened export controls of drones to the US, which has in turn taken steps to curb tech imports from the mainland.
- Lynn Song, chief China economist at ING, noted that growth in China’s exports to the US has increased in each of the past four months, including a 17 per cent rise in July, and is now up slightly for this year on a year earlier.
Not much evidence of De-Coupling? Is China is Here to Stay?
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#4 ECONOMIC FALLOUT FADES
BLOOMBERG
“China has emerged from a record bout of deflation with weak upward momentum for prices. Sluggish domestic consumer spending has so far limited the extent to which factories can pass on their growing production expenses from higher global prices for oil, chips and metals.
As a result, a divergence in profits has opened up between upstream and downstream sectors. Industries like clothes-making are suffering a plunge in their earnings, while others such as energy producers are seeing profits soar.
The economic fallout of higher global prices for commodities is already starting to fade in China. While crude fluctuated wildly in June and July, average costs still eased from their peak earlier this year.
GRAHAM PERRY COMMENTS;-
There is a way of looking at China – through a negative prism or through an objective prism. In to which category do you the reader fall? Blinkered and Unthinking? Or Measured and Balanced? You decide – not me.
My father once said “People often refer to me as “The Expert on China”. There are no experts on China, just relative degrees of ignorance and perhaps I am a little less ignorant than the next person”
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- A LITTLE MORE ABOUT DR JI AND JACK PERRY
IN THE NEXT ISSUE – CHINA POST #636 – THE EMPHASIS IS BACK ON THE DR JI/JACK PERRY RELATIONSHIP. BUT SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER NOW.
HOW DOES A CHINESE NATIONAL FROM A MIDDLE CLASS EDUCATED BACKGROUND – A PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AT TWO UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – BUILD A RAPPORT WITH AN UNEDUCATED JEWISH BUSINESSMAN WHO LEFT SCHOOL AGED FOURTEEN YEARS TO SWEEP THE FLOORS OF A SMALL LONDON DRESS FACTORY?
WHAT DID THEY DISCUSS?
#POLITICS?
THEY SHARED AN ENTHUSIASM FOR MARXISM AND POLITICAL CHANGE. WAS JI HOPING TO RISE WITHIN THE CHINESE PARTY? TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MAYBE?
WAS JACK LOOKING TO PURSUE A PUBLIC POLITICAL CAREER AS A COMMUNIST MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT? FOLLOWING PHIL PIRATIN MP?
#FAMILIES?
BOTH JI AND JACK WERE MARRIED TO JEWISH WIVES. DID THEY COMPARE NOTES? DID THEY SHARE AN INTEREST IN JEWISH FAMILY TRADITIONS? DID THE SYNAGOGUE FEATURE IN THEIR EXCHANGES?
#AMBITION?
BOTH JACK AND JI HAD POLITICAL AGENDAS. BUT DID THEY HAVE POLITICAL AMBITIONS? WHAT DID THE FUTURE HOLD FOR DR JI WITHIN THE EMERGING CHINESE POLITICAL STRUCTURE? FOREIGN MINISTER? AMBASSADOR? A LEADING ACADEMIC IN CHINA’S UNIVERSITIES?
DID JACK HAVE ANY GOALS TO ACHIEVE IN POLITICS OR IN BUSINESS? WAS HE LOOKING TO BECOME A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OR A PERSONALITY IN THE MEDIA? DID HE NURSE HOPES FOR A CAREER AS AN ECONOMIST IN THE ACADEMIC WORLD?
JI AND JACK WERE STRONG PERSONALITIES. THEY DID NOT REACH SENIOR POSITIONS BY LUCK OR ACCIDENT BUT BY MERIT. BOTH HAD SELF-CONFIDENCE, CLEAR HEADS AND ABILITY.
NEITHER HAD REACHED THEIR RESPECTIVE POSITIONS OF POLITICAL PROMINENCE BECAUSE “THEY HAPPENED TO BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME”. BOTH WERE AT THE TOP OF THE TREE AS A RESULT OF ABILITY NOT CHANCE. BOTH HAD BEEN TESTED, ASSESSED AND OBSERVED.
SO HOW DID THEY GET ON? WERE THEY CLOSE FRIENDS OR WERE THEY JUST MUTUALLY ADMIRING INDIVIDUALS? DID THEIR RESPECTIVE UPBRINGINGS – DR JI WAS CHINESE, JACK WAS JEWISH AND BRITISH – PROVIDE EXPERIENCES THAT STRENGTHENED OR WEAKENED THEIR MUTUAL DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED?
OF COURSE I ASK MYSELF – AM I SEEKING TO CLAIM TOO MUCH FOR MY FATHER? AM I EXAGGERATING HIS ROLE IN THE GROWING EMERGENCE OF CHINA ONTO THE INTERNATIONAL WORLD? PERSONALLY, I DO NOT BELIEVE SO BUT OTHERS MIGHT TAKE A DIFFERENT VIEW.
WHILST I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY COMMENTS, OBSERVATIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS ABOUT MY FATHER, I AM GRATEFUL TO MY SISTER, VIVIEN, AND MY BROTHER, STEPHEN, FOR THEIR SHARED RECOLLECTIONS DOWN THE YEARS.
FINALLY – NEXT ISSUE – A GEM FROM JACK IN A VIGOROUS DEBATE AT THE JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES IN THE LATE 1940’S. WORTHY OF OSCAR WILDE OR GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. BRACE YOURSELVES.
GRAHAM PERRY
