More in China
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Hezbollah, Iran, N. Korea, China, Mumbai Blasts and our Future!
Ok guys.. here is the deal from CNN: 
- Hezbollah leader ready for “open war” with Israel
- Israeli jets destroy Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut
- Hezbollah fires missiles into six Israeli towns
- An Israeli naval ship damaged by what appeared to be a rocket
- Claims that missiles fired on Israel ‘made in Iran’
- Israeli woman, grandson reported killed by a rocketAnd we know that there was a tremendous terrorist attack in India – possibly targetting the white-collar professionals in Mumbai. Are all these scenarios related?
Also, North Korea is up in arms against the US with missile attacks, and Iran is not easy to make agree on anything by Europe and the US. So why is it that all of these things are coming together? Are the actions of North Korea and Iran mere coincidence? Or is there a correlation? More important, are they “synced” and orchestrated? Is China really honest in N. Korea’s case? Is Russia honest in Iran’s case?
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China’s Macros vs India’s Micros
The question of India vs. China – who will win the race has become a commonplace one now. Everyone has an argument. Until a few years back it was a no-brainer. Who could even say that China could be overtaken. But over the last few years Indian elephant seems to be catching some steam. The Macros and the Infrastructure is still very shaky compared to China. But the Micro-level indicators reflect a completely different story!! And that is India’s strength. Here, Huang – MIT Sloan School Prof – argues along the same lines. To me nothing brought out this comparison as starkly as the Forbes List of Billionaires. The list had 28 Indian citizens and China had 8!
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Africa: The Next Frontier for China and India
Africa is the final frontier. I somehow feel that India has a huge headstart given that Indians are already well-enconsed within that continent and a huge trade goes on. But Chinese are very diligent when it comes to forging ties in Business.
I was reading Tom Friedman’s article the other day as to how should the Latin American countries look at economic growth. He cited a “Chinese Model” and an “Indian Model”. Since China’s main concentration is on manufacturing, its hunger is for the cheap and abundant raw materials from Africa. India, on the other hand, according to him has invested and concentrated – not so much on infrastructure and manufacturing – on Human Development as developing its citizens so more people are better educated. I am not sure how much of that claim is correct (I believe China has a better literacy ratio than India).. but given the off-shoring of intellectually oriented work to India – so it is not surprising that perceptions are on those lines.
Observers will watch Dr Singh’s visit to Africa keenly as the region is considered the hottest emerging economy after Asia.
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Train from Beijing to Tibet: So high that Pens and Foodpackets Burst Open!
An Engineering Miracle from the Chinese Govt. Although it is an attempt at usurping the Tibetan land by the Chinese Govt., but it is upto the Tibetans as to how they would like to use this. Sometimes it is better to just use the opportunities one has gotten to move ahead in life. Utilizing the methods to prosper that can be available within China could benefit Tibetans too… in turn it can also destroy their culture and heritage because China is not known to be particularly kind to a spirituality based culture in any case!
China’s new train from Beijing to Tibet arrived in the ancient capital of Lhasa Monday, ending its maiden journey after climbing to elevations so high that ballpoint pens and packaged foods burst.
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US wants India as a Regional Power
India and US have been moving ahead in their relationship fast and furious! Is it good for India or not is a good question. US is not very reputed when it comes to maintaining long term friends. Its friendships are more short term and strategic… unlike that with Soviets/Russians. The truth however is that at the end of it all – India will be better off by being the regional power in the Indian Ocean and Asia.
The United States is grooming India into a junior partner in a bid to make New Delhi break out of its shell and exert enough influence in the Indian Ocean region to at least annoy China and a recalcitrant Pakistan, a US think tank has suggested.
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50% of World’s New R&D to be moved to India!
Despite the limitations on the infrastructure, the movement towards India is growing anyways!! These numbers (50%) of the R&D sites in next 3 years will be in India – are staggering by any standards!!Around two quarters of new research and development sites to be set up over the next three years will be in India, according to a new study by Booz Allen Hamilton and business school Insead.
The survey of 186 companies worldwide found a general trend of innovation moving east and predicts that China and India are on the verge of overtaking Western Europe as the most important locations for foreign R&D for U.S. businesses.
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Success Principles of Immigrants to US
Today in one party I found myself sitting next to a Taiwanese guy – in his 20′s. He was a nice guy who was interested in sharing notes on how I, an Indian immigrant (sorta like in the shoes of his parents) was doing in the US. His questions were intriguing … but very pertinent and those that could have come from an immigrant descendent only. We agreed that the Chinese and India – along with several other immigrants – follow some basic principles that make these groups a great success! Here is a list of “Success Principles of Immigrants to US”:
1. Family First: Family is the MOST important reason to work and goal to earn for. Individual and personal successes are not the most important goals. Most immigrant parents can sacrifice their own interests for the larger family interests.
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India vs China: Which Economy will succeed?
This is a good article on the differences between India and China as economies. I am personally for the Indian economy vs the Chinese. Not because of my nationality but because of the way they are shaping up. At least the Indian economy has an element of a self governance business element. Factories or offices come up based on an entrepreneurs estimate of ROI! Very little of that happens in China. The entrepreneurial base and the divergence in it can be amply judged from the Forbes Billionaires list this year. The Chinese Billionaires this year were 9 and the Indian number was 28!! This is not consistent with how the economies at present are stacked up! Chineses economy with its current strength should have had 10 times more millionaires vs India.. but that is not how it is… It points to the Chinese Govt.’s intervention in business and how IT decides what is good and what isn’t and ultimately subsidizes or invests in those areas! In the short run – a great way to do things.. but in the long run… a sub-optimal way to run an economy!
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Free Trade: Great when I win, a Bitch when I lose!
Here are two news stories from Fortune: The first one on the US having issues with China and its "protectionists" policies and that US wants it to "open" up the economy more…
But if China, which manages the yuan against an unknown basket of currencies, thinks it can fob off its critics this way, it has mightily underestimated Congress in an election year. To judge by the host of bills and amendments aimed at curbing trade with China that are floating around Capitol Hill, there is a hearty appetite for China-bashing in Congress. And lawmakers may soon get the green light they need to pass a protectionist bill: In its semiannual report on foreign exchange, due out in mid-April, the U.S. Treasury may be forced to brand China a currency manipulator unless there has been a meaningful move in the yuan.
…. and second one..that argues that Free Trade Agreements are BAD for business!! If the US and the Europe go on selectively using economic policies… touting when they want and trashing when the other guy beats the heck out of their competition.. then very soon China may look more Capitalist than these jokers! Seriously, US and Europe is heading the Socialist/Communist path.. if they would carefully look at it!
The WTO on March 22 issued a report criticizing the U.S. pursuit of free trade agreements. The report claims that U.S. free trade agreements create political interests in other countries, which complicate the multilateral process. A large number of free trade agreements (FTAs) have been negotiated over the past few years. One argument in favor of FTAs is that echoed by U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman in his reply to WTO criticism: They provide continued momentum to the trade liberalization process in the absence of progress at the multilateral level. However, many FTAs include broader foreign policy aims, with little substantive trade liberalization content. Indeed, they can have a damaging effect on global economic efficiency in that they fragment markets as much as national commercial policies did in the past. The result is trade diversion rather than trade creation. Despite this, many countries have only a few critical trading partners, and expect agreements with these partners to provide a framework for further trade growth. Political and strategic considerations further narrow the selection of negotiating partners. This approach essentially seeks to entrench existing trade patterns and thus helps service existing relationships.
Tags: capitalism, free trade policy, US, China
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India, China and the US
Here is an article on the economic future of India, China and the US. In my view, these few lines describe what is wrong with the China-US combine in the BEST possible way!
The role of the United States in the world economy is to buy, he said.
China had a problem in over investing, Prestowitz continued. For every dollar of GDP, China invests half, resulting in tremendous capital in manufacturing.
“If you set up a plant in China, the government gives you half the capital,” he pointed out. But the main buyer for the manufactured products, US, could not go on buying, he said.
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Chinese Newlyweds Bare it all!
Lifestyle and Values are changing in China too as economic prosperity comes along. Weddings and the pictures taken during the weddings are seeing a change! Here is an article in the Indian newspaper on it
Forget the Mao suits of a generation ago. Actually, forget about any clothes at all. Naked wedding photos are the hot new trend among young couples in once deeply conservative China.
Even in Anhui, a largely rural province in the east, many newly-weds are having their pictures taken in the nude, to the fury of their parents’ generation, the Xin’an Evening News said.
“Some photo studios are just going too far. They allow young women to have their photos taken in bikinis or with nothing on at all,” said an irate woman from the Anhui capital of Hefei. “I hope the authorities will do something.”
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Chinese girl sings Indian Songs in China
This young singer is truly versatile as she can sing not just in one Indian language but several! If I was the PM of India – in order to further the friendship between the two countries, I would promote this girl!
Hou Xin Jie, a popular crooner of Indian songs in China, has set out on a visit to the country she adores, seeking an audience with legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and to bring newer Indian melodies to her listeners back home. “I am very keen to meet Lataji.
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It is my dream,” 24-year-old Hou said, hoping that she could meet her idol and inspiration during her visit to India. “This would be my first visit to the country though I became acquainted with its culture at the age of five,” she said. During the recent China visit of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, Hou entertained him and guests with Urdu songs. -
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Taiwan ends Unification Body – China not happy!!
This is another peg in the NIGHTMARE of the century that seems to be unfolding in front of us everyday! What if Taiwan declares independence? And China decides to attack as per its law.. so when US attempts to send its ships to help Taiwan… China simply retorts – "we will sell the dollars"!! And meanwhile of course, the Shia-Sunni fight picks up.. in Iraq.. Iran sides with Shias and countries from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan overtly or covertly help the Sunnis… guys, I dont know what you think.. but we are looking at a World War in a matter of just 2-4 YEARS!!
China’s state media on Tuesday called Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian’s scrapping of a body on reunification "provocative" and said the move marked a step toward independence that could endanger peace in the region.
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China’s skyscrapers as polluted as air outside
It seems environment is the first casualty in business growth.. here is an item on the state of pollution in China’s Office Buildings
Nearly all of China’s fast-rising number of skyscrapers are filled with excessive air pollutants that could cause serious harm to office workers, state press said.
In the capital of Beijing, 81 percent of the buildings tested by the National Interior Decoration Association last year had excessive levels of ammonia, the China Daily reported.
Half of the buildings also contained unsafe levels of ozone and 42 percent were polluted with formaldehyde, all of which can cause severe health conditions such as asthma and Legionnaires’ disease, according to the paper.
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Journalists, Iraq and the troubled Mid-East
”World News Tonight” anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt – the two ABC journalists in Iraq are returning home to US today. They were lucky to escape – albeit hurt. Jill Carroll, the independent journalist from Christian Science Monitor, may not be so lucky. She is still in the hands of the terrorists and in fact appeared in a telecast pleading for her life. It was obvious that she was horrified and in trouble.
I was watching the Larry King Live yesterday, and LK said that already 61 journalists have lost their lives! He was also interviewing other journos on their motivations to go into Iraq. The answer was simple “If we dont who will?” I was amazed to see their commitment to their work!
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Google and China
There has been a lot of controversy about the way Google is offering to censor the content in China. Here is an interesting observation from Paul Boutin:
google.cn image search for Tiananmen: Gate of Heavenly Peace.
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Globalization: Boon or Curse?
World has become indeed small! A kid in a village in Andhra Pradesh, India and that born in New York are tomorrow’s potential competitors for a job or partners in a company that may bring out the next big thing in technology after Google! The point is that the new economics and the world shifts in business and education has created constituencies that can cooperate and compete in ways that were unthinkable just a decade ago!
Is Globalization New?
Globalization or the movement and interlinkages between populations in different countries to profit and benefit from arbitrage between the prices/cost of resources is not new. It is well known that extensive trade existed between Sumerians, Chinese, Persians and Indians. The very foundation of this resource movement lay in one set of people identifying sources of improved techniques and systems or better products.
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Democracy and Growth
DesiPundit gives a link to a blogger who talks of things in China based on his recent visit there. Here is his post:
As I come back from china after a brief trip, just thought shall briefly post a follow up post to domain blocking in china. In this visit as well, I could not get past through the the great firewall of china.
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- Kazakh head to Delhi: tap our Caspian Sea oilfield
Had discussed the Oil scenario and the rivalry of India and China! It seems this is a win for India.. remember sometime back China’s oil company CNOOC had won a big on PetroKazakh? Well.. Lakshmi Mittal and ONGC had joined hands.. and LN Mittal has substantial interests in Kazakhakstan.. even the Indian Govt. has good relations there.. this seems to have been a joint effort if its what it promises to be!
India is all set to tap Central Asia’s rich energy sector with Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev willing to reconsider equity for New Delhi in the billion tonne Kurmangazy oilfield in the Caspian Sea area.
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- China and India join hands in Oil Bidding!
China and India combining their resources to jointly bid on Oil fields.. so that they dont outbid each other and raise the price of oil for themselves! Thats a great strategy.. the only issue is that it has been rather difficult to trust the Chinese friendship.. In so much as this deal from the Indian side factors in the inethical and aggressive nature of the Chinese Govt. this is a great start!
This kind of joint bidding also spells danger to the Western countries… specially US.. who may want to get aggressive too.. Oil and Gas may well assume serious ramifications with Russia having already started using it as a state weapon!
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- Technological Innovation in China and India vs US.
Here is a post on the technological innovation lead that India and China may take over the US on FastCompany
Bill Gates is in India this week, talking to a variety of government officials, business leaders, and technological allies. He announced that Microsoft was going to invest $1.7 billion in India over the next four years, increasing its workforce in India by 3000 to a total of 7000.
A survey in our latest issue (still behind the subscriber wall) has our online readers saying that the Unites States lost its edge in innovation. Who do they believe is surpassing us? China and India both, with China less than 2% ahead of India. It seems Gates agrees with those of you who were polled.
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- India vs China vs US: Economic Numbers
Interesting stats from Reuben Abraham
• China has about $1 trillion in personal savings and a savings rate of close to 50%. The U.S. has about $158 billion in personal savings and an average savings rate of only about 2%.
• Shanghai boasts 4,000 skyscrapers — double the number in New York City. Still, 17% of the entire Chinese population lives on $1 a day. Only about 300 million people in China, or 23% of the population, are considered middle-class.
• Wal-Mart Stores bought $18 billion of goods from China last year. With China’s annual exports amounting to $583 billion, that means Wal-Mart ranks as its eighth-largest trading partner, ahead of Australia, Canada and Russia.
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- Sizing the emerging global labor market
ANother article on Offshoring and the size of the labor market!
The topic of offshoring generates extreme differences of opinion among policy makers, business executives, and thought leaders. Some have argued that nearly all service jobs will eventually move from developed economies to low-wage ones.1 Others say that rising wages in cities such as Bangalore and Prague indicate that the supply of offshore talent is already running thin.2
To a large extent, these disagreements reflect the confusion surrounding the newly integrating and still inefficient global labor market. Much as technology change is making it possible to integrate global capital markets into a single market for savings and investment, so digital communications are giving rise to what is, in effect, a single global market for those jobs that can now, thanks to IT, be performed remotely from customers and colleagues.
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- China’s looming talent shortage
Here is an interesting article on the supply front! Everyone talks about the cost and the prices.. but no one cares about the supply of human resources..
With a huge supply of low-cost workers, mainland China has fast become the world’s manufacturing workshop, supplying everything from textiles to toys to computer chips. Given the country’s millions of university graduates, is it set to become a giant in offshore IT and business process services as well?
New research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) suggests that this outcome is unlikely. (The full report, The Emerging Global Labor Market, is available free of charge online.) The reason: few of China’s vast number of university graduates are capable of working successfully in the services export sector, and the fast-growing domestic economy absorbs most of those who could. Indeed, far from presaging a thriving offshore services sector, our research points to a looming shortage of homegrown talent, with serious implications for the multinationals now in China and for the growing number of Chinese companies with global ambitions.
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- Ranbaxy eyes scaled-up Tamiflu output
well.. I was a bit late! hmmm.. .here Ranbaxy is at it already!
Indian generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. (RANB.BO) has already worked out how to make a copycat version of Roche Holding AG’s (ROG.VX) drug Tamiflu, in short supply as governments build bird flu stockpiles, and could scale up production by mid-2006.
Ranbaxy’s Chief Executive Brian Tempest told the Reuters Health Summit on Monday that the company was currently talking to Switzerland’s Roche about producing the drug, which the Indian drugmaker has so far only produced at a laboratory scale.
“We did the chemistry some time ago,” Tempest said. “By the time we are through with this it would be the mid-part of next year.”
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- China has new bird flu outbreak
This bird flu stuff is serious! It can affect the entire world in a way that we all will regret. Maybe its time for the world to become vegetarian now?
Here is a news item from BBC on the 3rd outbreak in China!!China has reported its third major outbreak of bird flu in two weeks.
Officials said 545 chickens and ducks died of the virus in a village in the central Hunan province, and almost 2,500 had been killed as a precaution.
Earlier outbreaks hit Inner Mongolia and Anhui provinces, but so far China has seen no human bird flu deaths.