Corruption is endemic in China. Until they have democracy, transparency and the rule of law, it will remain corrupt.
They just swap one autocratic ruler and their mates for another. Same problem in Russia, they just change leaders and regimes slightly more often.
Therefore we won't know how bad it is in those countries, nor do Xi or Putin know. For example, Putin's military chiefs fail to tell him the bad news, that's what happens with autocracy. It's the biggest weakness in that system. Ultimately fully functioning democracy will prevail. It's just a question of when.
Until then we cannot have the data to make any accurate predictions about whether or not developers or lending institutions will fail, and that failing affects all markets, including the Australian housing market. It's the big unknown.
