David Ignatius is one of the more balanced commentators you’ll find, so when he write a piece stressing “warning signs” in China, it’s worth a read.

The government in China is trying to address the staggering amount of corruption, yet this effort seems to be having a destabilizing effect. Also, there are tons of bad loans in China and what appears to be a massive real estate bubble.

All of this spells trouble, and recent real estate sell-offs and bond sale cancellations have observers worried.

Chinese journalists are taking an understated approach to their calls for reform of China’s censorship laws.

As usual, the Chinese government is walking a tightrope here. They have huge problems on their hands with corruption and other problems, and a free press would force them to account for the problems. In the meantime, the press is growing more difficult to control, and you have social media as well adding more pressure. It will be fascinating to see how this progresses.