China-bashing occurs in the odd years, notes China analyst Arthur Kroeber in ChinaFile, because in the even years – election years – US politicians have to focus on problems American really care about. This week, in 2013, the US Senate scrutinized the Smithfield-Shuanghui pork deal, one of the more sillier problems in US-China relations, writes Kroeber.Read More →
GlaxoSmithKline found itself in the hot seat, after China’s authorities started an investigation into its bribery practices and one of its executives was broadcasted on central tv, confessing his crimes. But in some industries, including pharma, bribery is endemic, tells marketing analyst Ben Cavender at CNN.Read More →
Earlier this month China’s government took the extraordinary step of forcing children to visits their parents regularly by law. Author Zhang Lijia looks in The Guardian back on how filial relations in China have been changing dramatically over the past two decades. Action is needed, she writes.Read More →
A slowing economy and efforts for introduce structural reforms will most probably work out fine in the long run, tells economist Arthur Kroeber in CSMonitor. But for companies, on a micro level, we will see a lot of stress in the coming 18 months, as easy credit is not longer on the agenda.Read More →
China’s government tries to shift its economy from investment-driven to consumer-driven, but the latest figures suggest that push is not yet having the expected results, says business analyst Shaun Rein in the Voice of America.Read More →
Scrutinizing foreign firms is nothing new in China, but the recent investigation into drug prices is a clear message to the industry, tells market researcher Ben Cavender to CNN.Read More →
The French luxury goods conglomerate Kering scored a major PR-success by returning two bronze statues, looted by foreign troops from the Beijing Summer Palace in 1860, to China, business analyst Shaun Rein tells in the Washington Post. The bronze heads of a rat and rabbit were given to China’s National Museum in Beijing.Read More →
Despite the nasty twist the blind activist Chen Guangcheng’s stay at NYU got, his flight from China to the US was still a turning point, writes author and his long-term friend Zhang Lijia from Beijing in medium.com.Read More →
Fast urbanization often leads to stressful lives, of people living on the edge. But it can be different, author Paul French discovered at he visited Yichang, Hubei province. A relaxed urbanization in a city of 6.5 million, described in the China Economic Review. Read More →
China’s top officials have asked their fellow citizens to behave when they travel and refrain from spitting and loud talking. Author Zhang Lijia puts spitting in a historical perspective, and believes bad habit decreased, and can disappear, she told BBC News.Read More →
China has a real first lady, now Peng Liyuan joined president Xi Jinping on his first travels abroad. Author Paul French looks in the Foreign Policy Magazine at the new feature in how China’s leadership is presenting herself to the world. Read More →
China’s most famous liquor Moutai is the Ferrari among alcoholic drinks. But when austerity is high on the political agenda, that might actually create a lot of trouble, explains business analyst Shaun Rein to Reuters. Although they might be able to circumvent those measures.Read More →