79 « Week In China

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Back Issue

WiC 79 (Sep 24, 2010)

Hasta la vista, Yahoo?

Internet & Tech, Talking Point Why Jack Ma wants to end Alibaba’s relationship with the US tech…

If Alibaba cannot become a Microsoft or Walmart, I will regret it for the rest of my life,” mused Jack Ma, the founder and chief executive of Alibaba ...

The Italian job

China and the World Tuscan city worries about Chinese invasion

"They’re not like other immigrants, who can be pretty thick,” Ricardo Marini told the New York Times. “The Chinese are very clever.” In ...

Banking & Finance China to introduce CDS by December

A few years ago, credit-default swaps (CDS) were obscure financial instruments designed to protect creditors from the risk of borrower defaults. ...

Weighty purchase

China Consumer $2.6 billion spent on festive mooncakes

Like the Christmas fruitcake, China’s mooncake won’t do much good for your waistline. Mooncakes, which are served up during Mid-Autumn Festival ...

Energy & Resources Why mining firm Zhongchuan’s hitting headlines

A month or two ago, before BHP’s bid for the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, how many of us even knew what potash was? Now headline writers are ...

Here we go again…

Rise of the RMB The renminbi is back in the spotlight, with the Chinese media…

Time to complain again… State news agency Xinhua says the timing of the latest complaint is not hard to fathom: “With US ...

Wu Youhong’s bad bet

Sport Why a state-of-the-art racecourse is being used as a giant car…

You might not expect the ‘sport of kings’ to hold much appeal for the leaders of Communist China. You’d be right, too. Horseracing still ...

Society UNESCO may be doing more harm than good in China

A new menace is stalking some of the oldest and most beautiful spots in China. It’s not what you think. The developer’s bulldozer or the logger’s ...

A boom in Wen’s hometown

Economy Tianjin’s GDP is growing at twice the national average

Last week Tianjin was revelling in its status as the ‘Davos of China’. Some will find it an odd comparison: a Swiss town of not many more than ...

Society A new term sparks debate

When Kevin Tu wakes up at 8am to get ready for work, he is already tired. The 31 year-old then spends the next nine hours at his desk at a property ...

China and the World Sino-Japanese dispute worsens

The dispute between China and Japan – as reported in last week’s Talking Point – continues to worsen. The detention of a Chinese trawler captain ...

Who’s Hu Zhang Dazhong

Zhang Dazhong got his original seed capital thanks to a tragic episode in his family history. His mother made the mistake of suggesting that Mao Zedong ...

Property appreciation

Banking & Finance Internet IPO rockets on debut

For those old enough to remember the dotcom boom, last week’s IPO of real estate website operator, SouFun, should bring back happy ...

Show me the love

Planet China If you’re looking for an example of a touchy-feely corporate culture,…

If you’re looking for an example of a touchy-feely corporate culture, look no further than Red Moon. The online gaming firm has come up with a ...

Teachers get dressing down

And Finally Nanjing orders its teachers to dress more smartly

Bi Darong would probably watch Peter O’Toole’s 1969 outing as Charles Edward Chipping with a warm sense of appreciation. What she’d welcome most ...