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Talk is fine, but how about some changes?

2013-01-18 09:06

Each year late in January the World Economic Forum brings together leaders from business, government, academia and the media at its headquarters in Davos, Switzerland, to meet and engage in five days' of lectures and discussions about issues of global importance.

China makes voice heard above din

2013-01-18 09:06

As the main engine of global economic growth in the 21st century, China is making its presence felt throughout the world. Africa is no exception. China is Africa's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade surging from $10 billion in 2000 to $200 billion in 2012.

Leviathan still needs to be tamed

2013-01-18 09:06

The British magazine The Economist once published a special report titled "Taming Leviathan" in which the problem of governments becoming bigger and more inefficient was discussed. It cast China's efforts in reforming social organizations in a favorable light and praised the country's achievements.

A new digital species

2013-01-18 09:06

There are three important changes that I have witnessed since I started my advertising career almost 12 years ago. First, we no longer use acetate sheets to make presentations. That task has now been taken over by application software such as PowerPoint and Keynote. Second, the Internet, which was till then mainly used to send mails to our clients, has now become central to engage with customers and prospects. Third, media folks used to sit in the same office as ours and work closely with us as one team. Today they flash business cards different from ours and, in most cases, are competing with us.

How the new world order is taking shape

2013-01-11 09:42

Global Trends 2030, a highly publicized document produced by the US National Intelligence Council, recognizes in its fifth edition that one of its major challenges is a better grasp of the speed of change: "Past Global Trends works correctly foresaw the direction of the vectors: China up, Russia down, but China's power has consistently increased faster than expected."

It may be time to lower the FDI sluice gate

2013-01-11 09:42

Is it too early for China to become a net capital exporter at its current economic development stage? If so, should China rein in the growth of outward FDI?

How China can prove naysayers wrong

2013-01-11 09:42

The belief that China's economy is no longer rapidly expanding is likely to harm the country and make foreign businesses turn away, and the country's trade negotiating position will be severely compromised.

Securities firms face inevitable change in business model

2013-01-11 09:42

The profit margins of securities brokers on the Chinese mainland will be further eroded as competition intensifies and the market opens up. A focus on product innovation and business diversification is therefore a must for those who want to succeed.

Piecing together what new leaders have in mind

2012-12-28 14:24

First meeting on economic policy signals new growth model and change in priorities

Uneasy jingle on currency

2012-12-28 14:24

The quest for the internationalization of the renminbi will require a look at distant horizons as well as the local market

A revolution is here, and clean energy is the spark

2012-12-28 14:24

As the world's fastest-growing economy and as the nation with the largest population, China is experiencing diverse and profound political, economic and diplomatic challenges. Among the most acute of these are to do with energy and the environment.

Not too far to the top of the pile

2012-12-28 14:24

Encouraged by the performance of luxury brands in China over many years, almost all European second-tier brands have begun to stake their claim in the Chinese market.

Tale of the missing balancing act

2012-12-14 09:36

If you think China's economy is way out of whack, think again.

An emperor's lessons in personnel management

2012-12-14 09:36

'And they did all of this over 2,000 years ago." Whenever I visit Xi'an Terracotta Warriors, I hear many a keen tourist making a remark that many of us have made before. It seems as if our admiration toward the beauty and technological sophistication of any human creation grows exponentially with the age of whatever we are observing. The mausoleum of China's first emperor, with its colossal pyramid, its numerous accessory constructions, and the thousands of heavily armed terracotta warriors that have made it so famous, is a prime example of a big handful of World Heritage sites that elicit such impressions.

Affluent hold keys to corporate success

2012-12-14 09:36

China's affluent consumers are different from its middle-class and high-net-worth individuals. Richer than the middle class but not as wealthy as the superrich, China's affluent consumers have spending habits and attitudes that are distinct from both. The affluent are central to the rapid rise of China's consumer market and will be a crucial driver of market growth over the next decade. Companies need new strategies to appeal to this group.

Creative thinking is required on patent laws

2012-12-07 09:05

The State Intellectual Property Office of China reports that China received more than 1.6 million patent applications last year, 33 percent more than the previous year, making China the largest patent-filing country.

Business schools badly need an overhaul

2012-12-07 09:05

China's export-led growth appears to have reached its limit, and there are calls for a switch to domestic consumption and for more competitive businesses.

Anti-dumping win brings cheer

2012-12-07 09:05

But timing of EU court's ruling leaves many out of pocket.

World's floodgates of liquidity are primed for opening

2012-12-07 09:05

Capital flows have captured various headlines over the past several months, for varying reasons. In China, several months of capital outflow sparked discussion about investor confidence in the economy, the valuation of the yuan and the seeming halt in the accumulation of foreign-exchange reserves.

Open the doors, and we will do the job

2012-11-30 09:53

European industry, in general, is doing well in China. Its profits and revenues in most industry sectors continue to grow and are reaching levels comparable to other world regions. The strategic importance of China for European companies is increasing and their investments have brought big benefits to the Chinese economy and Chinese society. These are important points to make, but this success story is all too often lost in regulatory complaints and, increasingly frequently, in trade disputes, because a dormant potential to massively grow the scope of this mutual benefit persists. This is because European industry is regarded as exactly that: European; foreign.

European Edition