54 « Week In China

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WiC 54 (Mar 26, 2010)

Out of carrots, time for sticks

Property, Talking Point Government moves to rein in property speculation by state-owned firms

There is a Chinese idiom that goes: “The sky is high and the emperor is far away.” In the days when emperors ran China, the meaning of the phrase ...

Banking & Finance Major Chinese bank cuts top management’s pay by 45%

Jiang Jianqing, the chairman of ICBC, sits at the high-table of global bankers. But the man behind the world’s largest bank took home just Rmb1.6 ...

Economy The shoe factory looking for 47,500 workers

This year, Hubei-native Gou Ximei had more choices than usual. Her annual trip to her hometown was almost over, and she had already bought a bus ticket ...

Drunken advances?

M&A Diageo wants to add premium Chinese liquor brand to its portfolio

British drinks maker Diageo says its strategy is to be a “total beverage alcohol” company, one that sells all kinds of drinks, from spirits to wine ...

A passion for fashion

China Consumer Young designer finds commercial success online

Fashion has a long history of producing prodigies, from Yves Saint Laurent, who took over at Christian Dior when he was 21, to Zac Posen, who was 22 ...

Energy & Resources Why State Grid is buying Chilean copper mines

In 1984 the largest company in the world was broken up. The US Justice Department accused AT&T, then known colloquially as “Ma Bell”, of unfair ...

A searching question

China Ink Google’s withdrawal from China has been as long and laboured as…

A case of the search for truth over the search for profit? On Monday, Google (finally) shut down its search engine in China and ...

Who’s Hu The solar king who filled his swimming pool with cement

The environmental entrepreneur was born in 1963 at a time when China was plagued by three years of natural disasters. His parents were destitute, and ...

Environment Swiss giant buys Chinese water

In China, those who can afford it are very picky about the water they drink. Tap water is notoriously unreliable, so most turn to the bottled variety. ...

Environment Severe drought highlights China’s water woes

Six months of failing rains have left riverbeds dry and reservoirs empty. The worst drought in a century across China’s southwest could signal a ...

History Lessons Lord Xinling saves Zhao

During the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), the state of Zhao was under attack by Qin. Zhao asked the state of Wei for help. But worried that Qin ...

Paris of the East

Entertainment, Section Sex tape ensnares model

China is having a Paris Hilton moment. An online sex video featuring a famous Chinese model named Shou Shou has riveted the nation for months now, ...

Club vs country

Sport Soccer boss has a quirky idea

England qualified for this year’s World Cup by beating nine other national teams. But what if England had to play Manchester United? Who would win? ...

The road to understanding

Society The best way to figure out China is to drive around…

It may surprise you to hear that Chinese motorists used to drive on the left side of the road. Perhaps more surprising, the world’s most populous ...

Planet China The ‘dream customer’: every car salesperson has probably drifted off to…

The ‘dream customer’: every car salesperson has probably drifted off to sleep musing about just such a person. Well, it turns out he exists. He’s ...

China’s air force

Cartoons China’s air force

The last time the skies were this dangerous, the Battle of Britain was raging. As the Financial Times points out: “Being the head of a ...

The tiger economy

And Finally Death of Siberian tigers in Shenyang zoo provokes outcry

This may be the Year of the Tiger, but it’s already looking very inauspicious for the species. Last week, Chinese state media reported that over ...