Posted above is a link to a fairly pessimistic article which I am still trying to fully digest. It seems to me that the author may have somewhat of an ax to grind because he has written books predicting a serious economic crisis in the PRC, so it likely requires a grain of salt in consuming it. That being said, the article raises some concerning information about the PRC's viability. What stood out to my untrained eye was in particular the "hidden debt" factor in assessing their big picture. 

Apparently, most estimates of actual debt in the PRC are somewhere around or even way above 320% of GDP. I know that much of that debt (most) is INTERNALLY held, but I thought anything over 100% of GDP was bad mojo, so an amount three times that (or more) is concerning. 

I wonder what anyone else (esp Russ) thinks about this. Should we all be thinking about converting/burying our assets in suitcases full of gold coins and covering them over with concrete slabs, like Mafiosos?