China led the world technologically in the early 15th century, yet Europe surpassed it overnight. How did this come about? Maverick economist Deirdre McCloskey offers an answer in her work. Although in her youth she fell under the sway of socialist economists, she brings an iconoclasts’ view to her subject believing it is wrong to limit the achievements of humanity to academic theories concerned solely with maximization of utility. Her latest book, Bourgeois Equality, is the concluding volume in a trilogy that seeks to explain “The Bourgeois Era,” which she believes laid the basis for the material and spiritual wealth enjoy by the modern world.
China and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is “a fusion of technologies” that blurs the lines “between the physical, digital, and biological spheres,” according to Klaus Schwab, the founder of the Davos Forum. This fusion of so many fields will ultimately see 4IR change the world far more fundamentally than the first three industrial revolutions. Any analysis of the many technological breakthroughs that now define this new 4IR business world is incomplete at best if it misses the China factor. At the dawn of the 4IR era, China is much better positioned than in the past to seize the opportunities offered by an industrial transformation.
Larry Summers on China: Market Rewards Should Be Equally Distributed
The Chinese economy faces some serious problems, including a slowing GDP growth, environmental degradation and financial disequilibrium. According to Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration, there are some specific solutions, such as making sure that opportunities for children are the same regardless of where in China and to whom they are born, making sure that the success of enterprises depends on the quality of what they sell and taxes are collected in a fair way and, finally, making sure that those who lead enterprises and communities do so for the benefit of their stakeholders.
Globalization and China Doesn’t Stop Here
Global trade used to be hailed with no doubt. But today, the international mood for globalization has to a great extent shifted. The deeply-held views on free trade and open access for all, which are at the heart of the globalization trend of recent decades, have been joined by ever-more insistent drum beats of dissent. From Europe and North America particularly, but from other places as well, there are calls for a rollback, for trade restrictions, for sanctions and barriers. There are those in the West who believe that to protect jobs and industries, it is necessary to replace “globalization” with “de-globalization.”
“Cheetah Mobile Grew Fast Because of Our Globalization Strategy”
Cheetah Mobile CEO Sheng Fu on how the company became a big mobile app developer with global reach in just a few years and is thriving despite its free-to-use model. Chances are that unless you are in the mobile internet business, you may not have heard of Cheetah Mobile. The reason is simple: Cheetah Mobile, which was […]
“Go to China”: Jack Ma to American Small Businesses
During his whistle-stop trip to the US, Alibaba founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma is busy courting small businesses
The Rise and Rise of Xiaomi, China’s $45-billion Start-up
As Chinese tech company Xiaomi completes a phenomenal five years, we take you through the major milestones in its journey so far.
Coke’s Secret Formula: Cultural Equity
University of Minnesota’s Carlos Torelli on how Coca-Cola and Elvis leveraged cultural equity to create brand loyalty.
How Proya Built a Cosmetics Brand By Betting on China’s Lower-Tier Cities
In a little over 10 years, Proya has become a leading domestic cosmetics brand in China by focusing on the underserved population in the hinterland, and now it wants to go global.
Understanding the Globalization of Chinese Companies
Joel Backaler, author of China Goes West, talks of the globalization of Chinese companies and whether or not the West needs to be wary of them. Chinese companies are globalizing at an unprecedented rate. While Lenovo is now the world’s largest PC maker, Haier is the world’s largest consumer appliance manufacturer. Huawei has been giving […]
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