China Speakers Bureau: July 2010

Saving no longer tops China's agenda - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

Saving tops no longer the agenda of China's consumers as new generations kick in and see their disposable income grow, tells Shaun Rein Chinese media

"We interviewed 5,000 people under the age of 32 across China. They have an effective savings rate of zero," he said.

Not only are the young abandoning the thrifty habits of their parents and grandparents, they are also starting to follow the example of American consumers by buying on credit. Rein said the number of credit cards in China has jumped from 13.5 million to 200 million in just five years.

"Younger Chinese are unbelievably optimistic. That's why what you see is a secretary earning six or seven hundred dollars a month – they're the ones buying thousand dollar Gucci bags.".

Consumers have become the thriving force behind China's economic growth:

Rein also points to major demographic shifts. Women are increasingly taking the big spending decisions in Chinese households and in many cases are the major breadwinners. Women's concerns about product quality and food safety in particular are favoring high end, especially foreign brands. In the wake of the melamine scandal, wealthier young mothers even began to fly overseas to stock up on baby food.

The fastest growth in consumer spending, says Rein, is taking place in China's lower tier cities and rural areas. When the government gave subsidies to rural families to buy consumer durables as part of its stimulus package, fridges and cookers sold well, but televisions did not. The reason, Rein said, is that flat screen televisions were not subsidized, and people no longer wanted older box-style sets.

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you want to share his insights at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, consumers, Public Speaking, Shaun Rein

Where China is hiding its debts - Victor Shih

Victor Shih Fantake via Flickr

Professor Victor Shih from the Northwestern University is the main investigator, looking for China's sky high debts after its financial rescue operation. In Business Week Shih explains where China is hiding its debts, and why there might be more than even he can find, especially at the 8,000 local investment companies, who might have borrowed more than they can pay back.

Figuring out what projects the LICs have financed and how healthy they are is hard. Shih says LICs in the western city of Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia autonomous region, have helped bankroll a building spree. New luxury villas and high-rise residential complexes, as well as a huge new soccer stadium, adorn the city. A science and technology center, a museum, and a library each occupy several football fields' worth of turf, while an almost-finished skyscraper resembles New York's Empire State Building. It's pretty ambitious for a region that depends on cash transfers from Beijing for 70 percent of its total revenues. Shih estimates Ningxia's debt at $15 billion—75 percent of the region's economy. "A soccer stadium in the middle of nowhere is not going to generate much cash flow," he says. "Without massive central government subsidies, I think many of these projects will not generate enough cash even to pay interest on their loans."

More in Business Week.

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Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you want to share his insights at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: banks, China, China Speakers Bureau, Victor Shih

Tudou turns to internet TV - Marc van der Chijs

Marc van der Chijs Flickr

Tudou, one of China's largest video hosting companies, is making a surprise move by making the first -made-for-internet soap, explains Marc van der Chijs, co-founder of Tudou, to CNNgo. Not surprisingly, the production wants to reach the 250 younger Chinese at the internet with the theme of "love",
In CNNgo:

Van der Chijs explains that, “Although producing shows ourselves is more expensive than licensing shows we feel it is worth it. Not only does this offer us the opportunity to differentiate ourselves once again from the competition, but also we have more ways to recoup our costs. Instead of having pre-loaders and other advertising as main revenue drivers for our content, we are now able to also use product placement and script placement in the series."

He continues that “Being able to integrate brands into the story line is of course very attractive to brands focusing on a young, urban audience with a high disposable income (Tudou’s core audience).”

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Marc van der Chijs is a successful Dutch entrepreneur in China. He works also with the China Speakers Bureau. Are you interested in having him a a speaker? Do get in touch.

Labels: advertising, China, China Mobile, China Speakers Bureau, internet, Marc van der Chijs, Tudou

July edition of our newsletter is due

Lijia Zhang photograph by Philip McMaster_0233

Zhang Lijia via Flickr

Should we bother you with China and our speakers' bureau in the sweltering heat of the summer, we were thinking at the global offices of the China Speakers Bureau. Well, here in Europe temperature dropped this week actually dramatically, so we decided to have a go with our newsletter for July 2010. The July edition will include announcements about the upcoming military build-up of China and the US and the possible confrontation between both powers that our military expert Wendell Minnick expects for the second half of this year.
Otherwise, many of the growing pains that go along with China's economic development: Paul French's new book Fat China on obesity, increasing complaints by foreign companies who are working in China and our star speaker Zhang Lijia, who is preparing for a book tour to celebrate the publication of her book in Portuguese. Do register here for the newsletter at the right-top corner here when you want to get our updates on a monthly basis.

Update: Our July newsletter is now available here. When you subscribe to our newsletter (right-top) do not forget to check your spam filter for the confirmation email.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, military, Obesity, Paul French, Wendell Minnick, Zhang Lijia

China drives Vietnam into Pentagon's arms - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnick Fantake via Flickr

China's higher military profile is pushing Vietnam into the influence sphere of the United States, even though they have been fighting a war against each other in the past, says Wendell Minnick, Asia bureau chief of Defense News in AOL News.

"There are still bumps in the road in U.S.-Vietnam relations," Minnick wrote in an e-mail. "There are still legacy issues with the older leaders of Vietnam who fought in the Vietnam War and still harbor anger at the U.S."

"But the opportunities for Vietnam greatly outnumber the negatives, and it's clear that many in the Pentagon see China's aggressive moves in the South China Sea as a plus for better ties with Vietnam," Minnick said. "The old saying still holds true: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

Both Vietnam and the U.S. had run-ins with China in the South China Sea last year.

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Wendell Minnick is also a speaker on military affairs in Asia and is part of the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, Pentagon, Vietnam, Wendell Minnick

CSR program adds to competitiveness - Rupert Hoogewerf

Hurun by Fantake via Flickr

Programs for corporate social responsibility (CSR) adds to the competitive advantage of companies in China, says Hurun or Rupert Hoogewerf in his latest report. Most of the top-50 companies in his CSR list are domestic, says he says in the Shanghai Daily.Over 30 companies were domestic, the others foreign multinational companies.

The list is based on a survey of 50 leading CSR experts in China.

Bayer stood out as the company with the most respected CSR program among multinational firms, followed by HSBC and Intel.

Domestically, Vanke, Lenovo and China Mobile held the top places.

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Rupert Hoogewerf, better known as Hurun, is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting of conference, do get in touch.

Labels: Bayer, China, China Mobile, China Speakers Bureau, HSBC, Hurun, Intel, Rupert Hoogewerf, Vanke

China's dilemma's in dealing with foreign firms - Shaun Rein

Image via Wikipedia

China's central government is walking on a thin line when it defends itself against recent foreign accusations of protectionism against those foreign firms, tells Shaun Rein in Asia One. Senior executives of foreign firm, including Siemens, Google, General Electric and BASF have taken the lead in criticizing China's government, something that would be unthinkable, only a few years ago as those firm would fear - rightfully - a backlash.
In Asia One:

'I think they are emboldened because they feel now many people are coming out to complain,' said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai. ...

Rein however said he does not believe the investment environment in China is any worse than it was a decade ago ' the market is just far more crucial to the foreign firms present in the world's most populous country.

'It's always been difficult to operate here,' Rein said.

'You have always had to transfer technology and have joint ventures, but it is a market that matters now.'

At last weekend's meeting with German businesses, Wen [Jiabao, China premier] rejected suggestions that the Asian giant did not provide a level playing field to foreign investors and insisted overseas businesses were not at a disadvantage.

Rein said he expected the Chinese government to ease restrictions on foreign firms in the next six to 12 months, as they try to walk a fine line between securing foreign investment and avoiding criticism at home.

'I think the government is very sensitive to be seen letting foreign companies making money off poor Chinese,' Rein said.

'They need to be protectionist for political reasons.'

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Take care when investing in China - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

While mostly optimistic about China's economic future, Shaun Rein warns in Forbes against too lighthearted investments in China's companies, even when they are listed in the US.

Why? First, Chinese company stock prices remain very volatile, because of hedge funds. There are only several dozen good Chinese companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, so hedge funds control an inordinate amount of Chinese equity. If they grow bearish or need liquidity, they might sell stakes quickly. Second, despite some improvement, the transparency of Chinese firms remains questionable... Many Chinese companies keep three sets of books, one for the tax bureau, one for investors and one for senior executives.

More warnings in Forbes.

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Do you need more advice on where to invest in China? Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau and happy to speak at your meeting or conference. Interested? Do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, economy, investments, Shaun Rein

Green tech: China's only way - Paul Denlinger

Paul Denlinger via Flickr

Business analyst Paul Denlinger explains in Forbes why China has to go green, for offering its citizens a Western lifestyle, while preserving the environment at the same time. Becoming a dominant player in green technology is the country's only choice, argues Denlinger. It might not make China popular in the rest of the world, for example by its recent efforts to retain rare earth resources for itself, rather than export.

At the same time, Beijing wants to cut back rare earth exports to the rest of the world, instead encouraging domestic production into wind and solar products for export around the world. With patents on the new technology used in manufacturing, China would control the intellectual property and licensing on the products that would be used all over the world. If Beijing is able to do this, it would control the next generation of energy products used by the world for the next century.

More arguments in Forbes.

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Paul Denlinger is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, environment, Paul Denlinger

Internet censorship as an economic indicator - Paul Denlinger

Paul Denlinger via Flickr

Business analyst Paul Denlinger makes at his weblog China Vortex a smart connection between the recent upsurge in internet crackdowns and the expected economic uncertainty caused by an expected economic downturn and China's leadership swap in 2012. China's leaders turn to more control in times of economic uncertainty:

When you put this into the Chinese context of domestic politics, and see that the Chinese leadership will be handed over to a new president and premier in 2012, what is happening on the Internet makes perfect sense. The current leadership of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are due for retirement then, and will hand over leadership to a new leadership team. With two years left in their term, it is safe to say that world markets look unstable, with another wall of debt about to hit the US and Europe in the next year, further dampening consumer spending in the west. How can they manage a smooth handover without things getting unstable?

More at the China Vortex.

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Paul Denlinger is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you want to share his insights at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, economy, Paul Denlinger, Public Speaking

Not bullish on AgBank - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

Shaun Rein, managing director of the market research group CMR, might be in general optimistic about China's economic development, at CNBC he cautions against too many bears on the road for China's Agricultural Bank, also called AgBank or ABC. The bank performed poorly at its listing on Thursday at the Shanghai stock exchange. The bank is too much a political tool and might not help investors, says Rein.
Most of its customer'base are poor Chinese farmers, who might switch to more consumer-savvy banks like the China Merchant Bank, when they actually start to make money in the decades to come. Also, of its customers currently already 90 percent is not satisfied about the banks performance.

Labels: AgBank, banks, China, China Speakers Bureau, Shanghai, Shaun Rein

Russia tries to stop China's fighter jets - Wendell Minnick

by ASKYZ via Flickr

China's military industry is pushing its fighter jet JF-17/FC-1 on a global market, and apparently so successful its Russian competitor is trying to block it, writes Wendell Minnick this week in Defense News.The director general Pogosyanof the Russian Aircraft Corp. (RAC) MiG has been trying to stop delivering flight engines to his Chinese competitor.

"I am not against the export of separate technologies, but it should be agreed with those who make final products that such export would not harm them," Pogosyan told the Russian business daily newspaper Kommersant on July 6.

Pogosyan fears the single-engine JF-17, which costs up to $20 million per copy, could undercut sales of the $30 million, twin-engine MiG-29 Fulcrum...

China plans to show two JF-17s at the Farnborough International Airshow later this month - the planes' debut at international defense exhibitions - in hopes of drumming up export sales.

More details at Defense News.

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Are you interested in more background about China's emergence as a military power? Wendell

Wendell Minnick Fantake via Flickr

Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do get in touch if you want him at your meeting or conference.

Labels: China, JFS, military, Public Speaking, Russia, Wendell Minnick

Fat China - Paul French

Paul French via Flickr

Today saw the long anticipated book Fat China: How Expanding Waistlines are Changing a Nation (China in the 21st Century) by Paul French, on obesity in China. "An in-depth analysis of the growing problem of obesity in China and its relationship to the nation's changing diet, lifestyle trends and healthcare system."
From the announcement:
China's economy has boomed, but a potentially disastrous side effect - along with pollution and a growing income gap between urban and rural regions - is the effects obesity will have on the country's fragile healthcare system. China's urban centres have seen alarmingly rising rates of obesity. Throughout the country, an estimated 200 million people out of a total population of around 1.3 billion were overweight - over 15%.

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Paul French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, Obesity, Paul French

Most-sought speakers for July 2010

Warren Liu via Flickr

Major changes this month in our line-up for the top-10 most-sought speakers in July 2010, actually half of them is new. Highest newcomer of this month is Warren Liu, author of the best-selling book "KFC in China: Secret Recipe for Success (Paperback)", We only expected him to rise in our rankings by August or September, since we are almost done in releasing his new book, as a part of our publishing service. But you do not hear us complain, when the interest in our of our celebrity speakers goes up.
Warren Liu's next book, "China Key Success Factors. Past and Future rules for succeeding in China" (ISBN 978-0-615-37306-5) analyses eight key industries and their strategy of entering China. Its World Expo Edition will be available in August, and of course we will announce the book here too.
Two other relative newcomers deserve attention here. With the World Cup 2010 in South Africa behind our belts, it is no wonder Rowan Simons, our own soccer specialist, rose in the ranks. Many mainstream media found him to explain, why China has not been making it to the world cup.
Back from a long-term absence is also Paul Denlinger, who has not been really away, but until a few months ago been working outside the publicity he was used to. Now Paul Denlinger is back, and how.
Kaiser Kuo is back on the top-position, and not surprisingly, since he landed earlier this month into an interesting job at Google's major competitor in China, Baidu.com, where he is now director international communication. Fortunately, he is also available for speeches.
Now, without further delay, the top-10 most-sought speakers list for July 2010 (June 2010 in brackets).

Should Europe follow China? - Annette Nijs

What can liberal capitalism learn from China, is the challenging question Annette Nijs, Executive Director Global Initiative of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) poses in Neurope.eu. After the start of the global crisis, it is time for a critical self-assessment says Nijs. Just like China started to change 30 years ago, now Europe has to change.

The Chinese leadership realized it had to change. It choose to balance liberal capitalism with state capitalism: the market economy with Chinese characteristics. From the mid-nineties the State started to take back some control on the accumulation of capital. The invisible hand of the market was joined with the visible hand of the government...

And the result? China is doing more than just outperforming the economic growth of other nations. China is successfully making the shift from the factory of the world to the laboratory of the world. There are now more than 30 Chinese companies in the Global Fortune 500. The automotive industry in China is outsourcing to the US. China has an incredible fast growing pool of foreign reserves. China is a dominant geo-political power and a crucial player in the reshaping of the global financial and monetary system. China sparked a debate on the dominance of the US dollar. At global trade and climate talks China’s word is given considerable weight. The world’s best engineers and researchers are trained and working in China. The Chinese are top in the world in new green technology from battery powered cars and wind energy to eco-cities.

In the mean time, the US and Europe are adjusting to a New Normal of lower economic growth.

More arguments at Neurope.eu.

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Annette Nijs is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need her at your conference, do get in touch.

All is not fine for Google in China - Paul Denlinger

Paul Denlinger via Flickr

Google might have gotten its one-year extension of its internet license in China, but that does not mean all its troubles are over, writes business analyst Paul Denlinger in the Business Insider. A smart move by China's government to avoid a head-on clash, but the real struggle is certainly not over.
Google is to blame, says Denlinger:

The whole Google China confrontation has made one thing clear: Google did not have a channel for dialogue with the Chinese authorities since the company issued its statement in January, saying that it would refuse to censor content on its Google.cn search engine. By taking an uncompromising stance on censorship with the Chinese government, Google made it very hard, if not impossible, to sit down and negotiate with any Chinese government counterparty, since this would have amounted to the Chinese side implicitly acknowledging that censorship could be negotiated with Google. No matter how you looked at it, this was a poor negotiating strategy, making a climbdown for both sides almost impossible, and an uneasy confrontation unavoidable...

Now, even though Google has its ICP license, it can only provide music and products search, not Web page search. Among China's urban intelligentsia, Google was popular because of its web page search; now that service is not available.

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Paul Denlinger is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do let us know.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, Google, Paul Denlinger

September book tour in Brazil - Zhang Lijia

Image by Fantake via Flickr

Our celebrity speaker Zhang Lijia is preparing for her next book tour, this time for her Portuguese translation of "Socialism Is Great!": A Worker's Memoir of the New China". She will be in Brazil from August 29 till September 16, starting off in Rio de Janeiro and the last few days in Sao Paolo.
For a Brazilian audience that would be an unique chance to share Zhang Lijia's profound insights in the Chinese society, and not many of our speakers make it to South America. When you are interested in having her as a speaker, do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, literature, Zhang Lijia

More losers than winners on China's luxury market - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein Fantake via Flickr

Many foreign companies get it wrong when they try to enter the booming luxury market in China, explains Shaun Rein to CNBC, just focusing on the wrong age groups, regions and getting the branding wrong. Most luxury car buyers, like those from Mercedes, have an average age of 39 years old, where in the US that age is 53.
Shaun Rein estimates the annual market for luxury products will grow to US$ 9 bn per year in China, but most wealthy people will spend that money in Hong Kong or Europe, because luxury has more cachet when bought in Milan. Exception are the second tier cities, outside Shanghai and Beijing, where its inhabitants cannot travel that easy abroad, so setting up stores in for example Harbin makes a lot of sense.
More smart observations in this clip.

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China, China Speakers Bureau, Harbin, luxury, Shaun Rein

US firms learn from China in making money online - Paul Denlinger

Paul Denlinger via Flickr

As traditional online revenue sources like banners and search adds dwindle, just like in China, US online marketeers turn to social games and networks, writes business analyst Paul Denlinger in Forbes.
Both Chinese companies like Shanda and Groupon have been showing new ways for generate revenue online, as other sources dry up:
Paul Denlinger:

A large reason for the success of online games in China was because consoles such as Nintendo's Wii, Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's xBox were never popular in China. A combination of high console prices, fear of game piracy on the part of publishers and government policy opened up an opportunity for online gaming.

In the U.S., Zynga has grown just as fast as Shanda, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Like Shanda, it is becoming a network too, leveraging the popularity of Farmville among many social game players. One could argue that Zynga is like Shanda, except it is starting from the U.S. market...

Groupon has leveraged the popularity of group buying, an activity which has long been popular in China since at least 2004. In China, group buying is called tuangou, and was an early popular use of the Internet for organizing. In China, the authorities have been wary of uses of the Internet which allow people to organize, but organizing for commercial purposes, such as group buying, are considered harmless, and thus are not obstructed. So effective was the tuangou movement that some retailers first sought to reject volume tuangou purchases of white goods and autos, but all eventually caved in, with some eventually setting up group purchasing departments to specially serve tuangou buyers. Now, they are a natural part of the Chinese retail landscape.

More analysis by Paul Denlinger in Forbes.

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Paul Denlinger is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China Speakers Bureau

Abundant capital to fuel further growth - Victor Shih

Victor Shih via Flickr

China's commercial banks are stocking up to US$ 60 bn to fuel a next round of investments, tells financial expert professor Victor Shih in BusinessWeek. Earlier professor Shih of the NorthWestern University raised concern on how the country might funds its earlier spending extravaganza, but the recent recapitalization of banks might even allow new rounds of spending.
Banks involved include the ICBC, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Merchant Bank and the China CITIC bank.
Business Week:

Shih remains concerned about the risks posed by the credit boom, describing a National Audit Office report last month on local-government debt, as “pretty shocking.” In some cases borrowing was between 100 percent and 365 percent of governments’ available fiscal revenues, the office said.

New loans in June were 560 billion yuan, the 21st Century Business Herald reported today, citing an unidentified bank official. That would be 67 percent lower than a year earlier and the second-lowest figure this year. The central bank is due to announce the figure next week...

The government is relying on banks to support its industrial and economic policies. The National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planning agency, said July 5 the nation is targeting 682 billion yuan of investment in 23 projects in western China this year including nuclear power stations, power grids, airports and railways.

“Credit expansion is the main monetary policy tool in China,” Shih said. “When the growth model is so dependent on investment, the government has to keep spending.”

More in Business Week.

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Professor Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Immelt, China has its own interests - Paul Denlinger

Business analyst Paul Denlinger only falls short of making fun of GE's CEO Jeff Immelt at his weblog ChinaVortex that China is pursuing its own interests, when dealing with the rest of the world:

In light of this situation, the west really has very little room for leverage in pushing China for anything. Why would Jeff Immelt, or anyone else, expect China to do anything else except pursue its own interests in light of this situation? And why should he expect those interests to be the same as the west’s? It’s not as if the west has been a shining example of responsibility, success and accountability for the whole world...

Where Jeff Immelt veered off into politics was his use of the sensitive word “colonization”. For most westerners who do not follow the Glenn Beck school of racial harmony, equality and justice, colonization is associated with a largely shameful period in western history, which left a scar on its relations with Africa and India. Saying that Chinese intentions are the same as the west in the 19th century is an over-simplification, and it is too early to say how China and Chinese corporations will behave. For the most part, Chinese government policy and Chinese companies have had a laser-focus on mineral extraction and business, to the exclusion of everything else. They have shown no interest in getting Africans to adopt Chinese language, textbooks and beliefs, as did most of the European colonial powers in the 19th century. For this reason, Jeff Immelt’s choice of the word “colonization” was unfortunate. In most cases, projecting past injustices onto the future don’t help us to gain further insights; instead, they appeal to the worst sides of our character and create further misunderstanding.

More at the ChinaVortex (and related links).

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Paul Denlinger is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your conference? Do get in touch.

Inflation around the corner - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

Increasing labor costs and price rises for food, oil and other minerals might push up the inflation and this needs the government urgent attention, says Shaun Rein on Bloomberg TV today. While Rein sees some bears on the road to economic recovery in the short run, he stays bullish for the long run, as a higher percentage of China's GDP now depends on domestic consumption.
Most observers still say that only one third of China's GDP depends on domestic consumption, while in the USA that is 71 percent. According to researach of the CMR-firm Rein leads, domestic consumption in China is now already good for 40 percent of its GDP and rising.

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Shaun Rein is a speaker of the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: China Speakers Bureau, Public Speaking, Shaun Rein

Why China is not at the World Cup - Rowan Simons

Image via Wikipedia

China's soccer expert Rowan Simons explains in the New York Times why China is not present at the current World Cup in South Africa:

Let’s talk politics. The Chinese Football Association is an illegal organization under Article 17 of FIFA’s constitution which demands independence from government. Yet government control of the C.F.A. is clearly laid out in China’s 1994 Sports Law. These mutually exclusive regulations pose significant concerns.

Soccer needs a bottom-up approach from the grassroots in the urban neighborhoods, an approach that does not fit the country's bureaucratic culture:

Chinese sport still follows a Soviet model, placing children in elite schools (at their own expense!). Football is a mass participation sport in which the best players may not emerge until their later teens. The simple truth is that China needs a system of community-based clubs that are run by the people for the people.

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Rowan Simons is the chairman of China ClubFootball FC, the first amateur football network in China with foreign investors, and the author of “Bamboo Goalposts. He is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Labels: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Bamboo Goalposts: One Man's Quest to Teach the People's Republic of China to Love Football, Chinese Football Association, FIFA, FIFA World Cup, World Cup

Google slams door on China - Paul Denlinger

Paul Denlinger by Fantake via Flickr

Google is very busy slamming the door in the face of China's authorities, says business analyst Paul Denlinger in The Guardian.

Paul Denlinger, an internet consultant specialising in the Chinese market, said: "I think what they want to do is keep the door open for being able to come back into China at some later date.

"Going out in a blaze of glory might make some people happy in the US and other parts of the world, but it would slam the door on China."

But Denlinger said that, in the shorter term, it "looks very bad" for Google's future in China.

Earlier he also made clear Google needs a license for a mapping service, if its mobile applications ever want to take off in the largest mobile market in the world.

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Paul Denlinger is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him for your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saving no longer tops China's agenda - Shaun Rein

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Friday, July 30, 2010

Where China is hiding its debts - Victor Shih

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Tudou turns to internet TV - Marc van der Chijs

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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

July edition of our newsletter is due

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Saturday, July 24, 2010

China drives Vietnam into Pentagon's arms - Wendell Minnick

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CSR program adds to competitiveness - Rupert Hoogewerf

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

China's dilemma's in dealing with foreign firms - Shaun Rein

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Take care when investing in China - Shaun Rein

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Green tech: China's only way - Paul Denlinger

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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Internet censorship as an economic indicator - Paul Denlinger

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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Not bullish on AgBank - Shaun Rein

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Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do let us know.

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Russia tries to stop China's fighter jets - Wendell Minnick

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Fat China - Paul French

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Most-sought speakers for July 2010

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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Should Europe follow China? - Annette Nijs

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Monday, July 12, 2010

All is not fine for Google in China - Paul Denlinger

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

September book tour in Brazil - Zhang Lijia

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Thursday, July 8, 2010

More losers than winners on China's luxury market - Shaun Rein

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

US firms learn from China in making money online - Paul Denlinger

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Abundant capital to fuel further growth - Victor Shih

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Monday, July 5, 2010

Immelt, China has its own interests - Paul Denlinger

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Thursday, July 1, 2010

Inflation around the corner - Shaun Rein

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Why China is not at the World Cup - Rowan Simons

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Google slams door on China - Paul Denlinger

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