How China Did It , by Charlie Munger

[marcus]

From https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/articles/charlie-munger-said-no-nation-140107324.html
Title : Charlie Munger Said 'No Nation That Big Has Ever Advanced That Fast' — China Got Rich By Having 'A Bunch Of Poor People Save Half Their Income' - a resurfaced 2019 interview with Yahoo Finance
By Jeannine Mancini , March 24, 2026

Charlie Munger (died in 2023 at age 99) was the late vice chair of Berkshire Hathaway (a company with a US$267 billion equity portfolio as of late 2025 - according to Google AI)

Andy Serwer put the question directly to him, asking what the secret to China's success was.

"They copied Singapore," Munger said ... The Communist leader (Chinese President Deng Xiaoping) said "I don't care if the cat is black or white. I care whether it catches mice"...

Munger didn't leave it vague. "If you ask me who is the one man who did the most for China, it was Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore's first prime minister)" he said ...

"In the whole history of the world, no nation that big has ever advanced that fast," Munger said in the Yahoo Finance interview. "And they did it by having a bunch of poor people save half their income." ...

"They did not use the wealth of the rich world to get ahead. They used the savings of poor people," Munger said, emphasizing that the engine was internal, not imported ...

"I am a huge admirer of what the Chinese have accomplished," Munger told Serwer...

"They had ups and downs, and they make mistakes as well as good decisions," Munger said, before returning to what mattered most in his view. "If the average amount the Chinese are getting ahead, they're not moving backward."

That same logic carried into how he viewed the relationship between China and the United States. "It is stark raving madness on either side not to make a friend of the other really powerful nation on Earth," Munger said, framing cooperation as common sense rather than strategy ...

 

[serious_fun]

Munger tended to be somewhat of an apologist for the CCP...and the investor class dismantled American industry as they 'offshored' manufacturing.

No respect from me.

 

[pantaiema]

Charlie Munger was a legendary billionaire investor and the longtime Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway alongside Warren Buffett. Macro economics and investing in the stock market are two different thing. So, while I find his value investing methodologies and principles incredibly reliable, I am more sceptical of his views on macroeconomics.

It is also important to note his significant history with Chinese markets; so his opinion might be biased. He was a visionary early investor in BYD, which has since become the world’s leading EV manufacturer

 

[jstar]

He was a visionary early investor in BYD, which has since become the world’s leading EV manufacturer

I’m not so sure I would want to invest in companies that overwhelm the market with cheap products creating a huge volume and taking losses for granted, just to get market share and kick the competition out.

 

[snpark]

But unlike the US the Chinese people can still get their savings and have made money.
In the US all their 401k are worthless. They all lost their Medicaid etc. And now the Govt is robbing their social security to pay for a ballroom

Still waiting for Trump's big fancy tour of Fort Knox to inspect all that lovely gold he thinks is there.

FK is half empty
Half of the gold bullion there belongs to China

Gonna be interesting photo op. Lol
Perhaps that's why he still hasn't been. Or they open the vault door and it's empty apart from the Epstein files and a blue feather