Tale of Two Rates

Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping was reported to have been welcomed to the U.K. and taken in a carriage ride, with great pomp, by Queen Elizabeth.

When a British leader visits China, he or she is taken on a ride at 350 km/hr or so. When Xi visits England, he gets a ride at about 4 km/hr, the Queen’s current transportation.

This may be linked to the difference between China’s GDP growth rate, now 6.9%, and Britain’s, most recently reported at 0.3% at the end of the Third Quarter. Or the difference in industrial production growth rates, currently 6.2% annual compared to 0.4%.

Perhaps, when it comes to planning transportation routes, Xi’s idea of using BRICS is just more up-to-date than that of Elizabeth and Philip.