Toward Decline
Shanghai tops world in empty offices as overseas investment pulls away
Why it matters
Rising office vacancies and capital flight from China's premier financial hub signal material economic contraction that erodes China's fiscal capacity to fund military modernisation and strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. A weakening Chinese economy reduces both the tempo and scale of PLA capability expansion, easing pressure on Australian defence budgets and alliance burden-sharing, but also increases strategic unpredictability and desperation in Beijing's geopolitical calculus.
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