EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY (CHINA EDITION): China’s economic downturn is more shocking than outsiders realize, says former Chinese property mogul.

According to Desmond Shum — once at the head of a multibillion-dollar development firm that he left in 2015 upon tighter control by Beijing — sales across industries, even those thought to be insulated from any slowdown, are falling, and the economic outlook among Chinese consumers is so dire that executives are reporting blatant acts of theft by employees.

“Several things have shocked me in conversations I’ve had with businesspeople in China,” he said. “A big dairy company is producing more milk powder because people are cutting back on buying milk. Normally this is one of the last things you would cut out.”

Shum’s description of conditions on the ground in China provide an inside look at stagnating growth, as the country’s post-pandemic recovery has fizzled dramatically since the first quarter.

Plus: “People talk about ‘deglobalization,’ but the proper term is ‘reglobalization minus China.'”

I suppose it’s some small comfort to know that China’s elites are doing as bang-up a job as our own.