The End of Cheap China – review Atimes

When it comes to marketing in China, whether you agree or disagree with his analyses and prescriptions, Rein is an undisputed expert, writes Atimes in a critical review of Shaun Rein’s book The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that Will Disrupt the World.

Atimes:

Rein is a top-notch China marketing guru. But that expertise comes with baggage: He has to be a true believer in the Chinese consumer. That means buying into the unproven notion that, despite the uncertainties surrounding its economic and political future, China will evolve into a consumer-driven economy. Even if you believe that so-called rebalancing is inevitable, China’s consumers won’t match the mass purchasing power of the West for decades.

When it comes to marketing in China, whether you agree or disagree with his analyses and prescriptions, Rein is an undisputed expert. The End of Cheap China may be unmatched as a provocative guide to opportunities and traps for foreign companies in the 21st century’s liveliest consumer battleground. But Rein isn’t content to write a book about marketing. He wants to write about politics, where his views are far less compelling, sometimes bordering on laughable.

A staunch supporter of the Chinese government, Rein believes Beijing is gravely misunderstood by its Western critics. He goes to extraordinary lengths to excuse China’s shortcomings, deploying a variety of arguments that don’t stand up.

Join the debate in Atimes.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

More on Shaun Rein and The End of Cheap China in Storify.