Author: waiteh16

As discussed with Leland Miller on Monday, Alibaba is an interesting business, with a multi-faceted, global platform. The company proved on November 11th (known as Single’s Day in China) the global reach and popularity of the company, generating $14 billion dollars in revenue in a mere 24 hours. Alibaba integrated over 20,000 non-Chinese retailers for… Continue reading Alibaba →

On Tuesday October 27th the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Chinese artificially constructed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which provoked outrage from the admiral of China’s navy who “urged Washington to “immediately correct its mistake” (theguardian.com). The Mischief and Subi reefs of the Spratly Islands have provoked significant controversy between China,… Continue reading Spratly Islands Dispute →

Last week Chinese economists released their quarterly growth statistics for Q-3. The 6.9% overall growth was the nation’s slowest expansion since the financial crisis of 2009. While Chinese premier Li Keqiang did not comment on the economy missing the forecasted 7%, the weakening of steel consumption and energy use during the quarter indicate the a weakening… Continue reading China Beige Book →

China released economic growth numbers for the July-to-September (Q-3) period, yielding its slowest quarterly growth since the 2009 financial crisis. The country’s economy grew 6.9%, due to significant stock market volatility and “a deepening industrial rout” (nytimes.com). The recent uncertainty surrounding China’s slowing growth has battered the global equities markets and has led to investors questioning the accuracy of… Continue reading China’s Economy Facing Deepening Downward Pressure →

Peter Hessler’s Country Driving illustrates the everyday life and culture of Chinese citizens through descriptive accounts of his immersive travels around the People’s Republic. While living in the rural village of Sancha, Hessler describes the idiosyncrasies of Chinese society; however, the social implications of cigarettes in China stand out as a differentiating feature of the country’s cultural landscape.… Continue reading China’s Cigarette Culture →