The following is a guest post by Jonathan Poston. Though learning Chinese is obviously helpful for doing business in or with China, actually accomplishing this can be so difficult that many give up or just ponder whether it is worth it. I asked Jonathan to write a post on the pros and cons of learning
Much has been written about Chinese students coming to American colleges. An article out today, Chinese applications to U.S. schools skyrocket, [link no longer exists] quotes a Chinese high schooler contemplating attending the University of Washington: I know this [ambition] is pretty high,” said the 17-year old Beijing native. “But I think I can give
I can understand a great deal about a country by going into a few of its grocery stores and by watching five basketball games with its best players. I have a friend who is a dancer and she says she can understand a country by watching its people dance. I know basketball and I know
There are two types of real estate investors in China. The first are pure speculators who treat residential real estate as a source of value, far removed from its original residential use. These investors purchase multiple properties without bothering even to remodel their units for actual use. They are responsible for the empty condo buildings
Just got my third email this week from someone who bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of “iPhones” from someone in China, only to receive fakes. All three emailers were so blinded by the idea of buying iPhones at ridiculously low prices that they did nothing to make sure the sellers were legitimate, which
It happened again last week. Multiple calls from the same person, wanting to speak with me urgently, yet refusing to provide any information to our receptionist on the nature of his issue. I eventually called this person back and here is pretty much what we discussed, which varied little from what I have heard from
Got an email from an attorney/client/friend yesterday with a link to an IndustryWeek Article (Why Is China Cheaper?) and a note saying that I needed to give this “CLB’s dumbest article of the month award.” We do not actually have such an award (should we?) so for that reason alone, it is not in contention.
David Wofl at Silicon Hutong just did a post on ethical issues in China, Business Ethics and Culture Clashes in China and I love it for three reasons. First, it is very well written. Second, it imparts useful advice. Third, it says many of the things we repeatedly preach on this blog. In fact, replace
The big story in the China business/legal community this week is the back and forth between Muddy Waters and Sino-Forest (see here).I will reserve my comments on the specific situation until things develop further, but I will add my two-cents about something called a “Reverse Merger” or “RTO,” the corporate structure at the center of
About a week ago, I did an article, The Five+ Best Books for Understanding China [link no longer exists]. The article was a public response to a request that I reveal “3-5 good books to read to understand China that are contemporary, but also something providing some historical perspective to current doings.” I listed the
