Comments on: Another reason why China’s industrial might isn’t as scary as you think

By: ron Patterson

ron Patterson — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:57:15 +0000

Big problems in big Red. Incompetent government, the best and brightest are only interested in business not public service. Corruption that is so entrenched that it will probably never be rooted out. Also no one really knows what the Chinese economy is doing. Numbers from the government are fairy tales. I do not for one minute believe the stories of double digit growth in the Chinese economy. In fact the economy seems to be staggering. The banking system is not a system but just a means to steal from the middle class. Routinely, banks are emptied of funds and the bank leadership then escapes to another country with the loot. At the same time there are vast improvments in infrastructure, roads airports and harbors are being improved. New and better housing is being built. But really more problems than accomplishments

By: Simon World

Simon World — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 03:47:54 +0000

Daily linklets 23rd September

How many Maos does it take to change a nation? Mickey Mao – is China being Disney-fied or is Disney being China-fied? The logic and research behind Hong Kong Disneyland. China is targeting Latin America. Kate Moss loses another sponsor. Taiwan’s Li A…

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 01:18:54 +0000

The primary problems with China economically at this point are a dysfunctional banking system and an excess of government intervention in the economy, though this has been more-than-compensated for by an astronomical savings rate (about 30-40% of GDP, according to The National Interest). Infighting in the bureaucracy has, according to The Economist, repelled a noticeable amount of foreign investment. Compared to these, the fact that the Chinese are incompetent salespeople is irrelevant, especially in light of Joe’s point.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 23:34:54 +0000

So why doesn’t China get foreigners to sell their stuff?

I mean, how many Japanese companies rely on Japanese salespeople overseas? If I go out and buy a Toyota or a Playstation, what are the odds that I will ever have to interact with a Japanese person, even if I’m buying by the lot? And if Toyota and Sony relied on Japanese salespeople to push their products overseas, is there any doubt that they would be only a small fraction of the size they are today?

Conversely, would you want to hire Americans or Europeans to sell stuff in Asia? Probably not. So Chinese firms just need to start diversifying their workforce and they’ll be fine.

By: lane

lane — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 23:12:23 +0000

I would think the reason they can't sell goods might be because they don't have much of a market for most types of goods they manufacture (although the market is growing). Their economy seems to be growing by leaps and bounds and one wonders if consumerism will soon follow.