Has China become an imperial force in Africa? Author Howard French of China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa discusses the question how China jumped into a power vacuum in Africa and took the opportunities left by others. The use of the word “empire” has triggered off a debate, and French explains at ChinaFile how he sees Sino-African relations.Read More →
Expiring drug patents, including those of Pfizer´s Viagra, is not going to change the market in China, says retail analyst Ben Cavender at CNBC. Most of those drugs are anyway already available in China, he says. And the second-child hype most more materialize.Read More →
Chinese building projects are popping up all over Africa. But mostly those construction projects are no partnerships with locals, but Chinese ventures tend to be all Chinese, author Howard French of China’s Second Continent tells Al Jazeera.Read More →
China is winning in Africa, author Howard French argues in his latest book China’s Second Continent. Can the US still catch up with China in Africa, he wonders in Bloomberg. Some serious rethinking is needed.Read More →
China´s is setting up five asset management companies or bad banks to buy up bad debts on a local level, comparable to five national firms that bailed out China´s largest banks in the 1990s. But that will not help, if the current fiscal dilemmas for local governments are not solved, writes financial analyst Sara Hsu in the Diplomat.Read More →
The formal arrest and expected trial of Zhou Yongkang means a change in how China is dealing with its ruling elite, tells political scientist Victor Shih in the International Business Times. “No leader is safe from corruption investigation… We see now the rule by law.”Read More →
Walking El Camino, the famous pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela, is an old European tradition, but rapidly becoming popular today too. Author Zhang Lijia started yesterday her El Camino, and will keep us updated on her weblog.Read More →
One of the reforms in China have changed the way it´s central bank is operating, writes financial analyst Sara Hsu in the Diplomat. A new set of tools allows the bankers to be more creative.Read More →
The costs of luxury goods are becoming more expensive, faster than the inflation rate, is one of the conclusions by the newest Hurun Luxury Consumer Price Index. Quality is taking over from quantity, suggests Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf in the Shanghai Daily.Read More →
A large number of retailers and restaurants from 7-Eleven to Starbucks to McDonald´s have cut ties with their meat supplier in Shanghai, as authorities forced to close its operation. Retail analyst Ben Cavender explains in the WSJ what it takes to keep supply chains clean.Read More →
An all-American meat scandal has hit Shanghai, as McDonald´s and Yum´s KFC banned their Chicago-owned supplier after authorities found out it used out-dated meat. Retail analyst Ben Cavender expects a long-term damage to both restaurant chains, he tells in the China Daily.Read More →
Hailed as an alternative way to raise funds, China´s corporate bond market faces a potentially fatal end as its second default is looming, writes financial analyst Sara Hsu in the Diplomat. Defaults were seen as way to discipline the market, but the opposite might happen.Read More →