The price tag of anti-Chinese rhetoric in the US - Shaun Rein

The US could lose 1 to 2 trillion US dollar in revenue if they successfully scare away Chinese investors, writes Shaun Rein in CNBC, quoting a recent Asia Society report. "Fear mongering about China by American politicians and businessmen like Donald Trump has made Chinese think twice about investing in the U.S."

A few months ago I was interviewing salespeople in luxury boutiques like Louis Vuitton and Gucci along 5th Avenue in New York. “60 percent of our customers are Chinese,” a salesman at one store told me. “20 percent are Brazilians, and the rest are Europeans and Americans. A few years ago, it was mostly Americans, but not anymore.”...
There are some retail outlets in the U.S. that have been wise enough to adapt their strategy to accommodate high-spending Chinese tourists, including hiring more Mandarin-speaking salespeople. But not all American retailers are that foresighted.

Also Chinese investors have shifted their preference from the US to Europe, Rein says:

In recent interviews, most executives told us they plan to focus on Europe rather than the U.S. because they fear increasing anti-Chinese sentiment here. Cases like telecom giant Huawei’s rejected attempt to acquire 3Leaf Systems have made them nervous, while in Europe the welcome mat is being rolled out for investors.

More in CNBC.

Shaun Rein

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

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Looking for China's soft power - Shaun Rein

US senator Charles Schumer via Wikipedia

Is China closing its doors, as companies like GE, BASF and Siemens say, or is it more open than ever, as the country's officials say? It's a matter of perception, writes Shaun Rein in CNBC, especially now America's economy is in trouble and politicians need easy scapegoats.

The reality is, the country is not becoming more protectionist — just that some sectors that have never been open to foreigners, have remained that way. Energy and financial services industries, for example, which have been viewed by Beijing as critical to national security, will continue to be challenging for foreign firms to operate.

On the other hand, markets like the auto sector remain mostly open, as the government is in favor of joint ventures with key foreign players like Toyota and Ford, to ensure technology transfer and help the China catch up with other nations.

But then there is the perception:

As Americans question their way of life and worry about the lives of their children, it is easy for U.S. politicians like Senator Charles Schumer, who are looking for scapegoats for America’s economic mess rather than addressing the country’s very real internal structural and cultural problems, to point a finger at China.

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

And as unfavorable as it is for China, the country needs to do a better job at soft power if it wants to stave off rising anti-China sentiment, and keep support from foreign business. While the country is not in danger in losing continued investment, things could change as its labor and costs of business soar. Already, there is talk of Indonesia and Brazil becoming the next hot manufacturing destinations.

More arguments at CNBC.

Shaun Rein 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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American fear and anger towards China - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

Shaun Rein is shocked by the American fear and anger towards China, including the misplaced rethoric against China's currency, he reports in CNBC. "Many attribute China’s boom as a result of stealing American jobs and intellectual property, rather than efficient economic policies and hard work ethic."
Shaun Rein:

America needs to get more competitive at manufacturing to reduce our overall surplus, not blame China’s currency policies. Trade patterns are far more inelastic than many economists believe.
In fact, more than 70 percent of big American multinationals operating in China told my firm they did not want the renminbi to appreciate too much because it will cut into their profits. The majority also said they would increase costs to the American consumer or move to cheaper production areas if it rose.

More in CNBC, including Shaun Rein debate with American Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.

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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Time to understand N-Korea - Shaun Rein

"Not insane" via Wikipedia

North-Korea is moving very calculated and it is weird both the US and South-Korea do not treat it accordingly, says Shaun Rein in an analysis in Forbes.
Shaun Rein:

They are coolly calculated measures to gain power. If North Korea didn't attack and appear crazy, no one would care about it, and it would become forgotten, similar to smaller countries like Laos. Instead Kim Jong Il plays the part of the loose cannon and thereby gains attention and clout for his country, pressures China to give more aid, and even gets visits from former American presidents like Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, all of which makes him appear more powerful to North Korean citizens.

The West wrongly assumes North-Korea is insane, while they act pretty calculated, says Shaun Rein. But there are more myths on North-Korea:

The second myth is that the U.S. has the means to pressure China into forcing North Korea to stop its nuclear initiatives. If anything, the more frustrated America gets about North Korea, the better it is for the Chinese, because all that tension helps to create a buffer against American hegemony...

Finally, the third myth: Increased economic sanctions, as many are calling for now, will not cause the Kim regime to be more cooperative or be replaced. If anything, economic sanctions, though they further impoverish ordinary North Koreans, bolster the power of Kim and his close coterie of family and friends. Sanctions are a tenet of American diplomacy that should be shelved--permanently.

Much more in Forbes.

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Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr

Shaun Rein 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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Trade deficit does not mean China steals your jobs - Arthur Kroeber

US trade deficit via Wikipedia

Economists and China analysts all too easy link the trade deficit between China and the US with the loss of jobs in the USA. Wrong, says economic analyst Arthur Kroeber in the Wall Street Journal.

“By the logic of their argument, any country that runs a trade deficit should experience perpetual loss of jobs and wages, and any country that runs a surplus should experience perpetual gains in jobs and wages,” Arthur Kroeber, head of China research for the economic-research company GaveKal Dragonomics, wrote in an email. “Yet many developing countries run consistent current account deficits (for example South Korea during much of the 1970s and ’80s) and still experience high job and wage growth, while other countries run persistent surpluses yet have stagnant employment and wage growth (e.g. Germany and Japan).”

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

Arthur Kroeber by Fantake via Flickr

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US sends radar upgrades to Taiwan - Wendell Minnick

Wendel Minnick by Fantake via Flickr

In a move that is likely going to upset China, the US has send radar upgrades to Taiwan for its Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), writes Wendell Minnick in Defense News.

The announcement came during a two-day tri-service military exercise in southern Taiwan from Aug. 24-25.

During the exercise, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) source said the radar deal was part of phase two of the IDF's F-CK-1C/D Hsiang Sheng upgrade program. Specifics of the deal were not released.

China has not yet reacted.
moves comes amid rising tensions between China on one side and its neighbors and US on the other side, regularly documented by Wendell Minnick.

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

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Vietnam and US getting closer, thanks to China - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnickvia Flickr

China's maritime actions are enticing Vietnam to edge closer to the US, writes Wendell Minnick in Defense News. 

The United States is taking advantage of Vietnamese angst over Chinese arrests of Vietnamese fishermen, threats against multinational oil companies operating in Vietnamese waters, increased naval exercises and the establishment of a submarine base on Hainan Island.Beijing appears to have abandoned its “smile campaign” toward Southeast Asia; Vietnam is responding accordingly, said Richard Bitzinger, a regional defense analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.



Tension between the countries is likely to rise, later in the year, writes Minnick:

The United States and Vietnam are to hold their first military-to-military talks in the final quarter of this year. Vietnam could agree to send officers to advanced education courses in the United States, said Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.



More background here.
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Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you want to share his thoughts on China as a military power, please get in touch.

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