China's Victoria Secret
Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class, Herbella, La miu, Victoria Secret
This is a blog on the emerging middle class in China - their hopes and dreams, their lives and stories, and issues related to it.
Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class, Herbella, La miu, Victoria Secret
There were many aftershocks. To be cautious, I changed my hotel room from 22nd floor to the 10th floor. In the middle of the night, I felt my bed was shaking and people in the hallway were yelling and running. I guess I must have been too tired, I thought I was dreaming and fell back to sleep.
Things started getting back to normal in a couple of days.
Chongqing is also known as a "foggy city." Although there is no blue sky
Geographically,
Pretty soon, Chongqing will be another
Labels: China, China's cities, Chinese middle class, Chongqing, metropolis., urbanization
Thousands of people were gathering along
Exactly at 1:30 pm, the torch runner, holding the "sacred fire" and waving to the people on both sides of the street, was running proudly in front of where I was standing. People were cheering: “China, go on!” “Olympic, go on!” Some people even climbed onto the tree in order to see the torch.
I was glad that people in
Labels: China, Guangzhou, Olympics, torch relay
With its unprecedented urbanization and a growing middle class,
photo credit: eco-tech international
Rob seemed concerned. Human should abide by the law of nature, he said. A large middle class in
Rob’s concerns are certainly valid. But I am a glass-half-full kind of person. I believe that it is precisely these challenges that put
William McDonough, the renowned architect and author of “Cradle to Cradle,” has designed buildings that produce more energy than they consume. He envisions a world of abundance where eco-friendly design can prevent environmental disaster and drive economic growth at the same time.
photo credit: eco-tech international
Labels: China, China's middle class, Chinese consumers, green building, green technolgoy, Rob Watson, William McDonough
A recent McKinsey Global Institute report “Preparing for - By 2025,
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- By 2025,
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- Up to 170 cities could meet planning criteria for mass-transit systems by 2025, more than twice the current number in
Labels: China, China's middle class, Chinese consumers, globalization, urbanization
A young entrepreneur, who owns an interior design firm in
The Olympics, which was supposed to be a great opportunity to show the world what
Labels: China, Olympics, politics, San Francisco olympic torch relay, Tibet
This is a hilarious summary of the confused minds of the Western world..., so confused that even the Chinese people get confused (from China Herald).
What do you want from us?
When we were called "sick man of Asia”, we were called peril.
When we billed to be the next superpower, we're called the threat
When we closed our doors, you smuggled drugs to open markets.
when we embrace free trade, you blame us for taking away your jobs.
when we're falling apart, you marched in your troops and wanted your fair share.
when we're putting the broken pieces together, “Free Tibet” you screamed! “it was invasion.”
So we tried communism, you hated us for being communist.
So we embraced capitalism, you hate us for being capitalist,
Then we have a billion people, you said we're destroying the planet.
Then we limit our numbers, you said it was human rights abuses.
When we were poor, you think we're dogs,
When we loan you cash, you blamed us for your debts.
When we build our industries, you called us polluters.
When we sell you goods, you blamed us for global warming,
When we buy oil, you called that exploitation and genocide.
When we were lost in chaos and rampage, you wanted rule s of laws for us.
When we uphold law and order against violence, you called that violation of human rights.
When we were silent, you said you want us to have free speech.
When we were silent no more, you say we were brainwashed.
Why do you hate us so much? We asked. “No”. You answered, “we don't hate you”.
We don't hate you either Bud, do you understand us?? “of course we do”, you said, “We have CNN, BBC, and CBC”.
But why, we still feel, your western people are not happy with us.
What do you really want from us??
My friend, What do you really want from us??
Labels: China, China and the world, Olympics, politcs, Tibet
Chinese students from Stanford, Berkeley and many other colleges in the Bay Area were gathering in front of AT&T park, where the opening ceremony was supposed to happen.
Some were singing the patriotic Chinese national song: “Arise, for the people who do not want to be slaves, let our blood and flesh be a new Great Wall. The Chinese Nation has arrived to a critical point, we are roaring out our cry as a last resort. Arise, arise, we are united as one heart, we are facing enemy’s fire, forward, forward, forward!”
There were many emotionally-charged and intense debates….. Fortunately, the demonstrations and debates were mostly peaceful and there was no violence.
Here is a photo you will probably never see in the media. The banner says: "Say NO to U.S. CIA campaign against China."
A Tibetan protester put a “Free Tibet” banner on
Some people were having peaceful discussions and learning to see from each other’s point of view.
Mostly, people who had taken a day off from their work and waited the whole day to welcome the Olympic torch and celebrate this joyful event were disappointed as the torch never arrived.
Labels: China, Olympics, San Francisco olympic torch relay
While the According to a BusienssWeek article by Shaun Rein, much of this growth is coming from the young consumers. He wrote:
My firm, the China Market Research Group (CMR), conducted in-depth interviews with 500 Chinese between the ages of 22 and 32 in 10 cities to gauge whether fears of a global slowdown would influence their shopping habits. The answer was a resounding no. A full 90% of interviewees said they expected to "spend considerably more" in 2008 than they did in 2007, and the vast majority was "very optimistic" about salary potential in the next two years, with the majority expecting salary increases of 10% to 25% in next year.
This group of people, born in late 1970s to 1980s, grew up in an increasing prosperous
I was really intrigued when a 24-year-old young woman, who was making a monthly salary of 4,800 yuan ($700), told me that she planned to spend her 2007 Christmas in
Labels: China, China business, the Chinese consumers, the Chinese middle class
In 1979,
The second generation lawyers were those who graduated from law schools before 1988. All the lawyers at that time worked for the government bureaus and state-owned legal institutes, and they were considered the government cadres. The government assigned them jobs and paid their salaries.
In 1988,
In 1990,
After 1993, the private law firms started to increase very fast. You know, it was after Deng Xiao Ping’s south trip. These people were the third generation lawyers. Some people started to speak up.
In 1996, the government decided to separate the state from the law practice, and all the legal institutes became private. It changed the nature of the law profession. The duty of lawyers was now to serve the society, not the government. Many legal practices were changed during this period of time.
Since 1999, the businesses of private law firms really tookoff. These are the fourth generation lawyers in
(Photo credit: The New York Times)
Now, the government has no role in the law practice. If the government violates people’s rights, people can sue the government. If the government wants to convict somebody, say issue a fine or revoke a business license, it needs to go through public hearings.
(To be continued and more information in my upcoming book.)
Labels: China, China business, China's middle class, legal reform, rule of law
Two young women in front of a Starbucks in Hangzhou
The showroom of an interior designer for Chinese homes
Labels: China, China's middle class, Chinese middle class, middle class
Yet there are many debates about the Chinese middle class. Some said
I don’t understand why the “new rich” has anything to do with the “new middle class” here. To make things more complicated, people in
Labels: China, China's middle class, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class
On my way back from a family event in What’s Next:
Can the world survive
Zakaria believes
The real fear is the United States to slow down, not China to speed up. A competitive
Labels: 2008, China, China policy, Chinese middle class, superpower, The Chinese Dream, world power
Things are very different now. I have met many Chinese tourists in
Another interesting thing is that Chinese cars are becoming more and more popular in
We visited the famous Khan al Kahlili in
In addition to all the merchandises made in
Labels: China, Chinese cars, Chinese middle class, Chinese tourists, Egypt, Made in China, Travel
Labels: China, China business, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class
When I was traveling in
The article also discusses the other myths about
This is a photo of the neighborhood of my parents' home. Five years ago, it was packed with bicycles. But now, it's parked with cars.
The article goes on to say that
Labels: China, China business, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class
Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class
The New York Times ran a series of articles “Choking on Growth,” citing many severe environmental damages that accompanied One of the more startling problems is a shortage of water in northern
The issues discussed in the article are true, but the tone is arrogant. Usually, there is another side of stories that is not told:
Five thousand years ago, one of the first emperors, Yu, fought to control the flood from
In 2002,
Another proposed solution is rapid urbanization, which is already under way. As radical as it may sound, scientists say “converting farmland into urban area would save enough water” because “wide spreading farming still uses more water than urban areas.”
As the article also points out, “
Indeed, Chinese look at Americans as their role models. They want to own homes, drive SUVs, and travel around the world. "Typically, industrial countries deal with green problems when they are rich," said Ren Yong, a climate expert in Beijing. “We have to deal with them while we are still poor. There is no model for us to follow.” – With this attitude, there is hope for resolution.
Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class, environment, globalization, pollution
Labels: Beijing, China, Chinese middle class, Olympics, pollution
An article by Knowledge @ Wharton cited David G. Marshall, a real estate guru and CEO of Amerimar Realty, about his experience of visiting China recently:Labels: China, Chinese middle class, emerging market, globalization, Shanghai
An incredible documentary about the legendary tank man and surrounding events of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Labels: China, Chinese middle class, tank man, Tiananmen Square
Anyone who has visited China recently would complain about traffic in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities – it’s unbearable, so is pollution. A growing middle class increasingly owns cars. The number of car owners in China is rising by 10 million a year. Last year, China overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest auto market.Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class, energy consumption, global warming
Home is a very important concept for Chinese people. A growing Chinese middle class can increasingly own their own homes. According to some estimates, Labels: China, Chinese middle class, economic reform
This may be true for the older generation, since frugality is a tradition so deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. But if you look at the younger generation, their attitude may be very different. During the week-long holidays in May, sales of air conditioners, LCD TVs, clothing and jewelry escalated, as much as a 41% increase from last year.
According to official figures, retail sales in China grew at an annual rate of 15.5% in April, "beating forecasts and marking the fastest pace since 2006." The expanding Chinese middle class is the major engine behind the growth in sales. Government initiatives to encourage spending by lowering taxes, especially in rural areas, have also fueled sales.
"The figures reflect a wider move by China to shift the focus of its economic growth - which has been taking place at breakneck speed - away from exports and towards domestic spending instead." says BBC News.
Yet there is a debate on China's illusory middle class market. No wonder China is difficult for foreigners to understand. It is a country full of contradictions and extremes.
Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class
The Nobel laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz, who was a professor at Stanford during my Stanford years, says in his new article "World has much to learn from China's new economic model" that China is employing a "new economic model" to move away from export-led growth, which other East Asian countries have pursued. China recognizes that things worked in other countries may not be suitable to China's unique situation.Labels: China, Chinese middle class, economics, export, growth
Last year, China consumed 15% of the world’s energy, but only produced 5% of global gross domestic product. While a lot of people in the West are worried about China's insatiable hunger for energy and growing economic power, the vast majority of Chinese see their rise as nothing but a return to historical norms.Labels: China, Chinese middle class, Chinese renaissance
An interesting article by Time (Mar. 29th, 2007) says By 2010, 70 million Asians are expected to be watching videos and TV programs on handsets. Advertisers are looking for new ways to reach audiences. According to eMarketer, corporate spending on handset advertising is expected to soar to $13.9 billion by 2011.Labels: China, Chinese consumers, Chinese middle class, mobile marketing
Labels: business, China, cross-culture, leadership, trust
The Bay Area – China Connection, a forum hosted by Commonwealth Club of California, brought together industry leaders to review the Bay Area's historical and cultural ties to China, and discuss what we can do to deepen the connections. It is a conversation that is very timely and much needed.
Earlier this year, a McKinsey report predicted that China will have 290 million middle class households by 2011 with annual income ranging approximately from $3000 to $5000. By all accounts, this prediction seems too conservative. A recent report by Boston Consulting Group and experts at Wharton says that China has already 25 to 30 million middle class households with annual income of $4300 to $8700.Labels: China, Chinese middle class, consumer
Chinese youth is an interesting, vibrant and cyber-savvy sector of Chinese demographics that is shaping the future of China.Labels: China, China Internet, Chinese middle class
Ambitious Ma is also aiming to make Alibaba the No. 1 search engine in China, taking on Baidu and Google. He plans to take Alibaba IPO in the near future. His vision is to make his company one of the world's top three most powerful Internet companies and a Global Fortune 500 company a decade from now.Labels: China, China Internet, e-commerce, online market
According to some estimation, China has about 150 – 200 million Internet users, contradicting with the official number of 111 millions. That means China’s Internet users may have very well surpassed the United States (154 million). While this may be a shocking news to some people, it’s not shocking to me. Overtime, I have heard from many of my friends that official data is under-estimated and actual numbers are much higher.Labels: China, China Internet
In 2005, China-based domestic and foreign venture capital firms raised new funds of $4 billion, setting a new record for VC fundraising in China. In the past couple of years, Silicon Valley’s top-tier VCs are rushing into China like never before.
a Beijing-based venture research and consulting firm. The successful IPOs of Baidu and Focus Media have certainly set the expectation. Although there are still many pitfalls, the good news is that Chinese entrepreneurs are maturing and they are very savvy in terms of business model innovation. In comparison, the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs tend to more focus on technical innovation.Labels: China, China business
Last week, there were many criticisms about Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and other technology companies’ submission to the Chinese government’s request to censor the information on the Internet. It has become a public concern that these companies are doing business there at the peril of human rights.Labels: China, China Internet