112 Archives | Week In China

Sorry, you have not enabled Javascript for your internet browser, so some of our website's pages may not render as fully as intended.
Please Click here for easy instructions on how to enable Javascript on your browser or consult your IT support staff for help.

Back Issue

WiC 112 (Jun 24, 2011)

Time for a tablet

Talking Point Week in China’s App is now available for the iPad

Many of you will be reading this issue on an iPad for the first time. That’s because today we’ve launched our new App for Apple’s iconic device. ...

Payments crisis for Ma

Internet & Tech, Talking Point Chinese critics say Jack Ma has lost trust over handling of…

Early this month at the All Things Digital conference, Jack Ma, the founder and chairman of Alibaba Group, insisted: “I don’t want to be liked. I ...

A very direct approach

China Consumer Acxiom teams up with Chinese post office to build marketing empire

It has been described as ‘one of the largest companies you’ve never heard of’. And Acxiom certainly has good reasons for keeping a low ...

The new Silk Road

Rail & Infrastructure Chongqing mayor opens train route to Europe

It carried spices and peerless porcelain, as well as medicinal rhubarb and (most famously of all) silk. The Silk Road between China and the West ...

Worse than expected?

Banking & Finance New research puts figures on bad debts Chinese banks are facing…

Aworrying report out this week from HSBC on the health of the Chinese banking sector is worth a mention – particularly given our recent Talking Point ...

Know your client

China Tourist InterContinental is designing new hotels specifically for Chinese guests

InterContinental Hotels boasts that it’s been around in China since 1984. So why decide only now to “Sinify” its hotel product? The main ...

Environment Recycling old electronics is a good idea, but it’s failing in China

Planned obsolescence was first dreamed up back in the 1930s by American industrialists keen to sell more products. The objective? Goods that don’t ...

Economy Controversial central bank report targets corrupt officials

During the National People’s Congress earlier this year, Premier Wen Jiabao gave a review of the government’s performance. It highlighted, among ...

Who’s Hu Li Xinghao

Air conditioning supremo Li Xinghao has a penchant for keeping things cool – the Foshan native started earning money as a young man in the early ...

Economy Crackdown on leaked stats

For many years the problem with Chinese economic statistics was few believed their accuracy. Now in a new twist, the problem is that the data is being ...

Milk that went sour

Chinese Character End of an entrepreneurial success story as founder of Mengniu Dairy…

The year 2008 may have been a disaster for the global economy, but it will be remembered rather more fondly in China. Not only did Beijing host a very ...

Tang Wei’s in fighting form

Entertainment New martial arts movie to revive career of controversial actress

You may not know what ‘Wu Xia’ means but you are almost certainly familiar with it. Originally a genre of Chinese literature, these tales of ...

Water-cooked fish

Fast Food Shuizhuyu

Shuizhuyu is a Sichuan dish, with a name with literal meaning of “water-cooked fish“. It’s actually cooked mostly in boiling chilli oil. Fish ...

Planet China China’s least tech-savvy government official has just got his comeuppance. According…

China’s least tech-savvy government official has just got his comeuppance. According to the Modern Express, a bureaucrat in Jiangsu did not realise ...

A really subprime investment

Cartoons A really subprime investment

John Paulson made billions of US dollars betting against American subprime mortgages. But Paulson’s ‘Midas touch’ finally looks to have turned to ...

And Finally Finland’s Rovio has plans to be China’s top foreign entertainment brand

The UK Prime Minister David Cameron is a fan; so is writer Salman Rushdie. And now Rovio, a small Finnish software company, hopes that millions of ...