China Comprehensive

  Last night, CBS’s 60 Minutes did a great two-part report on the real estate industry in China and the growing sense that there is a huge bubble that is about to burst here. Part 2 is an especially good eye-opener to anyone who hasn’t heard of the “Ghost Cities” being built all around the country: (Part 1 was a fabulous profile of one of China’s most famous real estate moguls, Zhang Xin. You can see it here.) Given the time difference, the report aired at what amounts to the…

  China may not be projected to be the world’s number 1 economy for another 15-20 years, but this month, as Flurry points out, China has officially surpassed the US as the world’s biggest tablet and smartphone market: Just days into the Chinese New Year (Year of the “Snake” for anyone keeping track), China has passed the U.S. to become the world’s top country for active Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. This historic milestone takes place a year after Flurry first reported that China had become the world’s fastest…

  With the usual cocktail of eardrum-shattering firecrackers, mass migrations, food-centric family gatherings and endless song-and-dance TV programs, Chinese New Year celebrations – which started on the evening of February 8 – are only just starting to wind down. The holiday serves as a demarcation point for both companies and individuals in China; debts must be paid before the New Year, but any work that requires long-term focus or consideration is often postponed for after the holiday. “We’ll take care of it after Chinese New Year,” is a common response…

One could be forgiven for thinking the zombie apocalypse had made an early arrival in Beijing. Every morning, millions of commuters squeeze into the Chinese capital’s subways, buses and taxis. Moving as one, they shamble along, and much of the time more heads are bent over smartphones than not. If you peer over the shoulders of your fellow commuters here, it’s easy enough to see what they’re doing. Some watch movies or play games, but a surprising number of travelers are reading: novels, the morning news, and quite often, microblog…

  One thing journalists really hate is to be told by their editors that they have “buried the lead.” It means the point of the story is not obvious from the first few paragraphs, and that the “lead” or premise of the story is buried too far down in the story. As always there is a lot of news right now about China. These are all important stories. But look closely here, because none of these stories directly affects you or me: ·         A strike by journalists at a newspaper…