83 « Week In China

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WiC 83 (Oct 29, 2010)

Everybody needs good neighbours

China and the World, Talking Point How Australia’s economy is fast becoming a proxy for Chinese growth

It’s no longer just Kylie singing about it. The Aussie singer made her chart debut with ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and her native land is revisiting ...

Worth the fuss and expense?

Investor Q&A A China expert assesses the impact of Shanghai’s $45 billion Expo

At 10.17am last Sunday, the Shanghai Expo saw its 70 millionth visitor pass through the turnstiles. That meant the event had reached its self-declared ...

China Consumer Why over 46 million Chinese are obsessed with ‘tuan gou’ shopping

There is nothing the Chinese like more than a bargain. A trip to the local wet market today will still find people haggling over anything from the ...

Poor trade winds

Economy US and China in fresh dispute: this time over the green…

When Samuel Slater smuggled British textile technology to the US in 1789, he knew he’d be tried for treason if caught. The secrets of Britain’s ...

Aviation Air traffic congestion is a growing headache for Chinese aviation

Blame the Martians, not us. At least it’s a novel excuse. And travel-weary passengers on Chinese airlines have been hearing a few of those ...

Language barriers

Cross Strait Why Taiwan’s leader may need to stop giving interviews in English

There’s a Chinese proverb: “Sickness goes in through the mouth and trouble comes out of the mouth.” Something that Taiwanese President Ma ...

Back in the game?

Internet & Tech Zhu Jun stakes his firm’s comeback on a team-based shoot-em up

A few years ago, Zhu Jun, owner of the football team Shanghai Shenhua, said he planned to list his club on the stockmarket. It was a bold statement, as ...

Telecoms Apple to eliminate Chinese copycat iPhone

Mainland firm Meizu has been making MP3 players and handsets for more than seven years, but it recently learned a modern business lesson: beware the ...

Auto Industry Audi sells millionth car in China, setting record

The latest piece of contemporary art to cause a stir in China is a giant rocket sculpture topped off with a German vehicle. Calcutta-born but British ...

Who’s Hu Cao Guowei

Cao Guowei, or Charles Chao as he’s now also known, was born in Shanghai in 1969. He graduated in 1989, with a degree in journalism from Fudan ...

An age-old question

Society Shanghai city government to raise retirement age

Few would accuse the French of being retiring people – they hold strong opinions on everything from wine to Warhols. And it would seem that their ...

The right school

Society Education is big business in China

In 1843, when Hong Xiuquan failed the all-important imperial exam for the third time, he suffered a nervous breakdown. The consequences of Hong’s ...

Mother-in-law problems

Entertainment Spate of TV shows themed around matriarchs and daughter-in-laws

For as long as there have been stand-up comedians, there have been mother-in-law jokes. China is no different. So far this year there have been seven ...

Looking for keys to success

Auto Industry After early stalls, China’s car rental industry may be set to…

When it came to renting cars, Peter Hessler was one of China’s earliest and keenest customers. In his book Country Driving (see WiC54) he ...

Fear of heights

Planet China It isn’t the first time a local government has halted construction…

It isn’t the first time a local government has halted construction of a building, but the reasons given do stand out. Work stopped on the Shuiyeng ...

Investors on drugs

Cartoons Investors on drugs

There’s no questioning the health of the market as far as Sihuan Pharmaceutical is concerned. The Chinese maker of cardio-cerebral vascular drugs ...

And Finally Can ping-pong boost China’s soft power?

Harvard’s Joseph Nye coined the term ‘soft power’ in 1990, to describe the projection of a country’s values by cultural means. Nye found ...