Twenty years ago Chinese academics sent their first online message and since then the internet has changed China beyond recognition. Despite efforts by the government to keep freedom of speech in check, China´s internet users are freer than even. A few of our speakers are key experts in this field.Read More →

If at any place the switch from brick-and-mortar is going fast, it is China. Permanent online consumers comment, exchange information, and buy 24/7. When you sit down in a restaurant, you first ask the code for the free wifi, before the menu. When you travel abroad, you constantly discuss with friends and family back how, what to buy, or what not to buy.Read More →

Chinese companies have been gaining market share in India on a large scale, but in a different way than other foreign companies. William Bao Bean, managing director of the Chinacellerator, looks at their strategies and how they gained market share, for US News. William Bao Bean has a solid business background in both China and India.Read More →

Competition is a key feature in China’s industries, but coffee retailer Starbucks never faced those challenges. Now Luckin emerges, and Starbucks has no longer a free ride, tells business analyst Ben Cavender to the New York Times.Read More →

The successful IPO of Pinduoduo,  the third e-commerce platform in China after Alibaba and JD.com, took many by surprise. But it does not mean Pinduoduo will be equally successful in the future, warns business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, at the South China Morning Post. Just days later, it was accused of hosting counterfeit goods.Read More →

The developing trade war between China and the US focuses on tariffs for commodities, while China could hurt the US really nasty by deploying its consumer power by boycotting products, tourism and US-related education. Political analyst Victor Shih, author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation, explains in Bloomberg why China has not done so.Read More →

Concerns have been raised about the quality of the deals closed under the wide One Belt, One Road program. Economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know, admits that some deals could be “wacky”, he tells the New York Times.“It certainly is a very capacious arena for opportunists, that’s for sure,” Mr. Kroeber added.Read More →

Venture capitalist firms have set the rules for investments in startups for a long time in China, but now Alibaba and Tencent moved into the industry, those rules have changed dramatically. And not for the better, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, to US News.Read More →

For many outside China the successful IPO on Nasdaq of group purchasing platform Pinduoduo, mildly comparable to the less successful Groupon, came as a surprise. Shanghai-based business analyst Ben Cavender tries to explain the success at Inkstone. It uses the popular Tencent platforms WeChat and QQ.Read More →