The past two years have underscored China’s resilience and dynamism. Its economy has been booming against a backdrop of global stagnation. China’s business environment, in particular, has been changing fast, with new regulatory policies and a rising cost of doing business affecting the playing field for multinationals see sidebar “Cautious sentiments”.But the real story, in [...]
Globalization’s critical imbalances
Future financial crises could accelerate the rebalancing of global economic activity from developed to emerging markets. To some extent, the rebalancing of global economic activity from developed to emerging markets simply reflects economic laws of gravity. In a world where ideas can flow freely and countries are at different stages in adopting modern modes of [...]
Foreign Companies Chafe at China’s Restrictions
HONG KONG — Foreign companies doing business in China are increasingly feeling as if the deck is stacked against them. Workers pour liquid into sealed drums at a yellow phosphorus factory in Yunnan Province, China. China has filed more than a dozen trade cases to limit imports, imposed a series of “buy Chinese” measures and [...]
Why our war game on China’s Smart Grid is as much about geo-politics as it is about technology
This coming month we are running a public war game on The Battle for China’s Smart Grid. We have very quickly seen that this is more than a strategic fight of Western companies for a share of a China mega-infrastructure project. It will likely demonstrate how Western companies can succeed in a very fluid China market – where [...]
Innovation Shifts to Asia and Europe, Away From The US
When I began the Most Innovative Companies annual survey with BCG’s James Andrew, nearly all the top 50 companies were American. This year, more than half of the most innovative companies in the world came from Asia and Europe. Despite all hoopla and blah-blah about innovation among CEOs in the US, the actual building of [...]
A Conversation With Jan Chipchase and Frog Design’s Chief Creative
How do you design for China, a country that hasn't had much exposure to design but whose citizens suddenly find themselves awash in new money? On Monday, Frog Design, one of the country's biggest and most respected design firms, announced it had hired Jan Chipchase, one of the world's leading usability researchers and, for many [...]
China Vies to Be Leader in Electric Vehicles – NYTimes.com
TIANJIN, China — Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.Enlarge This Image Doug Kanter for The New York TimesChinese leaders have adopted a plan [...]
Lijiang Studio
Lijiang Studio is a place for farmers, scientists, artists, students, workers, professionals and amateurs to start processes of learning from real needs. Visitors to the studio are free to set up their own study groups, which other members with similar interests may join. In addition to these study initiatives the studio can offer a curriculum [...]
China’s stimulus package powers Cummins
Last month, while Cummins' second-quarter sales of portable power generators fell 35 percent to $610 million, sales in China fell by almost half that rate as plans to lavish money on construction projects help to cushion the profits of one of Cummins' fastest growing businesses. “We are definitely seeing some benefits” from the stimulus, said [...]
Asia and the elements of innovation
Asia has strengths that promise to make it a leading center of technological innovation in the 21st century. These strengths are substantial, fundamental, and durable. At their base lie aspects of culture, on both a civilizational and generational time scale. Human capital and the capacity for mobilization build on these cultural advantages. The term “Asia” [...]