What China can learn from the events in Egypt - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

The situation in China has very little in common with Egypt, says Shain Rein in CNBC, but China's leadership can learn a few lessons from the country's turmoil. When trouble will occur, it will come from the students, not the middle class.

While it seems unlikely a revolt could happen anytime soon – most Chinese still firmly support the direction the government is taking the country – the reality is that university graduates could pose a problem in the coming decades if they feel their future options are being limited by corruption or a weak educational system that does not train them properly for the global job market.

What China can take from Egypt’s situation is that it needs to stamp out corruption quicker than it is now. Even when government officials are not corrupt, many assume they are...

Second, while corruption in Egypt is a problem, it is nothing new. It has been an issue since Mubarak rose to power. What is new now is the depths of the financial crisis facing Egypt which is leaving limited employment options for the middle class. That has further stoked Egyptians’ anger at what they see as privilege and corruption among the elites.

To ensure enough good jobs, China needs to reform its education system to prepare its students for a global business world that is fast moving, not just how to take standardized tests.

More in CNBC.

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

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Low carbon economy key for private companies - Rupert Hoogewerf

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China's private business are starting to look overseas, says China's rich list Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf. Key for their global success will be their management style and adaptation of a low carbon economy, he tells Beijing Review.

One of the biggest challenges may come from managing foreign businesses. Chinese managers must find new ways to supervise foreign employees since Chinese management styles may not translate well, or provide a comfortable work environment for international employees. Training methods are already being adapted for managers with foreign staffs, and Hoogewerf expected major breakthroughs to follow in the coming years.

Hoogewerf pointed out the necessity for Chinese private companies to follow the low-carbon economy trend. The low-carbon economy is a social responsibility for everyone, and is being widely embraced by countries worldwide, he said.

Many private enterprises are making more environmentally friendly products to maintain a competitive edge as customers' demands for such products increase. And, generally speaking Hoogewerf said, this trend is progressing much quicker than people think.

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Rupert Hoogewerf or Hurun is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch.

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Private planes: waiting for China's rich - Rupert Hoogewerf

Beijing today via Wikipedia

The famous Hurun rich list, compiled by Rupert Hoogewerf, is offering private plane flights as awards for the wealthy entrepreneurs. China's rich still need some encouragement to rent a private plane. Prices will be handed out during a ceremony coming weekend in Beijing, Hoogewerf told Xinhua.

"We'd like to show respect to those who devoted themselves to society. Moreover, it will definitely be a wonderful experience to have a trip on a private plane," said Rupert Hoogewerf, sponsor of the prize and founder of the Hurun Rich List of China's super-wealthy.

News reports said that China expects to open up its low-altitude airspace in a few flying-restricted zones on a trial basis...

"If the low-altitude airspace is opened, private jets could not only serve the booming new rich for entertainment, but also expand the commercial market," said Rupert Hoogewerf, adding that some big companies will greatly speed up their business trips if they use private aircraft.

More about the private plane market in Xinhua.

Image by Fantake via Flickr

Rupert Hoogewerf or Hurun

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

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NBA puts soccer to shame - Rowan Simons

Rowan Simons by Fantake via Flickr

The NBA has become a tremendous success in China, both in popularity and as a money machines. Unlike soccer, tells Rowan Simons CNN, a leading expert on soccer in China, who points at corruption scandals as the main reason.
In CNN:

Earlier this year the former head of the Chinese Super League, Nan Yong, and his deputy Yung Yimin, were arrested on charges of match fixing and bribery.

The scandal has been a huge boon for basketball, and in particular the NBA, in China. It has overtaken football as the most watched sport in the country -- the NBA estimates 450 million people now tune in -- and more than 300 million play the game.

"The NBA in China is massively successful and puts football to shame," explains Rowan Simons, author of Bamboo Goalposts, a book about his attempts to set up amateur football clubs in China.

"The NBA set up NBA China, selling 11 per cent [worth $253 million] to ESPN and Disney. It has several hundred employees. The head of NBA China is Tim Chen [former CEO of Microsoft China].

"It's a big investment play for hearts and minds of Chinese sports fans. They are working with the Chinese government to get a basketball court into ever village in China," added Simons. 

"Marketing, franchised teams, sponsorship, AEG building the stadiums; it's all coordinated in one NBA push. Then you look at football. Internationally, football has no representation in China. Manchester United has one office in Hong Kong."

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

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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.

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