The incredible, shrinking China

I was preparing a breakfast sandwich for my daughter this morning, and she said, “Look, Dad, I can hold it with one hand!”

Sure enough, the sandwich which she generally has needed two hands to eat can now be held easily in one hand.

I looked down at the loaf of bread and realized it is about two thirds the size it was last month. Then it clicked: All kinds of edible goods are shrinking in China these days. The rice crackers I like to nibble on at the office are in the same sized package as always, but the crackers themselves have shrunk dramatically.

Annual inflation officially ran at 8.5 percent in April and 7.7 percent in May, and the government is doing all it can to rein it in. If I remember correctly, Premier Wen Jiabao said in March the government would pull inflation down to 4 or 4.5 percent for the year.

So the pressure is on to keep prices steady. That means most Beijing residents who go out to eat much have noticed things like shrinking portions at restaurants. Soups are more watery. And at the grocery store, there are no ads for “Bigger! Better! Improved!” Rather, goods are getting smaller.

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I got an email yesterday from an American reader, Andrew, who read my blog posting about visa issues for foreigners and had quite a different experience. Here’s part of his email to me:

While visas have undoubtedly become harder to come by, I'm starting to think that the reality is quite different then the picture that is being painted in the media, which in turn has scared a lot of people away from even attempting to get visas.

The reason I say this is that in the past two weeks or so myself and three other acquaintances have all had absolutely no problem getting visas, despite all the articles I've read on how difficult it has become to get a visa.

In fairness all four of us are Americans but considering how easy it was for everybody it seems like this has been blown out of proportion.

Although unable to renew my visa in Shanghai, where I live, I was able to fly down to HK and get a visa without a problem and it seemed that lots of other folks weren't having any problems either.  The three other acquaintances, all got 6 month or 1 year multiple entry tourist visas in the US.

I realize this is a different angle, but might be worth exploring a little as it seems that actually getting a visa is not as big a problem as it is being made out to be.  Of course 4 Americans getting visas in HK, NYC, and LA would barely even qualify as anecdotal evidence but considering the ease with which all of us got our visas, seems like there was something to it more than luck.

Can anybody out there corroborate that getting a visa isn't so hard as it's been portrayed in the media? Also I'd like to hear if anybody who has obtained Olympics tickets is having problems getting a visa.

Comments

[wz]

To put things in perspective, I think even if the hurdles to get Chinese visas are as high as described in the media, it's still lower than that for Chinese nationals to get US visas to enter the US.

[A B]

@wz

How dare you disclose state secrets of the United States?

No American visa for you, ever, again.

Visa Mantis here.

[A B]

Talking about the incredible shrinking China....

The value of US dollars and American debt, including those issued by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, not to mention shares of FRE and FNM that are held by Chineses... have taken a bit of a hit lately.

IF FRE and FNM goes into "conservatorship", which really is a polite form of bankruptcy, the value of the stock goes to zero.

At the rate things are going, maybe the major holders of US debt, like Japan, EU, China, etc. should consider putting the United States in "conservatorship".

Maybe that is why things are shrinking in China.... when their US dollar holdings shrink like this.

[Stephen]

Tim,
Regarding the VISA issue, I definitely need to disagree with Andrew from Shanghai. The topic of getting visas for us here in New York though not difficult has became a major topic and has resulted in many US/Canadian business travelers canceling business travel to China for the near term.

For some it is a major concern however for the anti China crowd is has been interesting enough to spark news and fire up the issue more then needed. For example, when the press learned of a huge drop off in air traffic to China (i.e. New York Times) they reported negative stories about the subject and tied it to the Visa issue because of the increased time involved to get visas.

[tuur]

I am a Belgian going on business trips to Dalian the last week of July and again in September.

We (my company) normally use business visas but our visa agency advised to go on a tourist visa this time and to fill in all the paperwork extra carefully and to supply a Chinese hotel booking confirmation.

I got a double-entry tourist visa from the Brussels embassy without a hitch.

[MT]

AB,

Oh my god! This is another evil Western plot to keep China down. First they force the Chinese buy those securities, and then they devalue them!

[shenqh]

In US, the size of food packages may not be shrinking, but they all cost much higher then used to be. 20 lbs of rice went up to $17 for m $8; 1 lb of hot green peper went to $3.99 from $1.99; a loaf of bread in a bag went up to $2 from 99 cents. Whether in China or in USA, more have to be paid in order to eat the same quantity as used to be.

[Paul]

I would say the visa problem is mostly for oversea Chinese who own US or Canada passport.

[A B]

Unfortunately, Paul, the problems are for everyone, and not necessarily with rhyme or reason either.

Some people have gotten visas with no problems, others have just fallen flat with mysterious denials.

@shengh

You will just have to eat fillet mignon. That hasn't gone up as much.

[Not going to China now]

"1 lb of hot green peper went to $3.99 from $1.99;" ? Well, you didn't think you were gonna get the salmonella for free, did you ?