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While most people concerned with China’s pollution problem are focused on the smog-ridden skies, recent studies have found that focus should be drawn on a more important pollution problem in China – that found in the country’s waterways. According to 2,103 samples taken by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, over 80% of China’s underground water is… Continue reading China’s Real Pollution Problem: The Water →

With the largest population in the world, China has attracted more than one kind of investment in the past several years. In June of 2016, Disney opened a resort in Shanghai which cost about $5.5 billion. The project represents Disney’s biggest foreign investment in history, beating out the cost of Disneylands in Tokyo, Paris, and… Continue reading Theme Park Investment →

Boeing made news headlines last week with the announcement that they will be breaking ground on a new plane finishing facility by the end of March. The facility, which will focus on the final assembly of the 737, will be in Zhoushan. Included in the final assembly work will the be installation of seats, entertainment systems… Continue reading Boeing’s big move into China →

In the 1960’s, the Chinese landscape underwent massive deforestation as a consequence of the government’s industrial buildup. Loose soil resulting from deforestation allowed the Gobi Desert to expand and created the Taklimaka Desert. The Chinese government realized their mistake in 1978 and quickly embarked on an extensive reforestation campaign known as “The Great Green Wall”. This… Continue reading China’s Desertification Issue →

While China’s banking system has changed drastically over the past 20 years, one fact has remained: Chinese banks remain under the control of the government. Some of China’s largest state-controlled commercial banks are the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China. But one recent issue facing the… Continue reading The Perils of Chinese Shadow Banking →

Nearly 27% of China’s land area is comprised of deserts. Thanks to a combination of exploitive agricultural practices, political mishaps, and changing patterns of migration, these deserts are expanding by nearly 10,000 km2 a year.  Desertification in China is particularly concerning because the entirety of China’s agricultural product comes from only 7% of its land… Continue reading Desertification in China: Economic and Social Consequences →

It may seem shocking, but China is the world’s leading consumer in electric powered vehicles. In fact, the Chinese drive more electric cars than “the rest of the world combined.” The fast-growing industry, like many in China, is held up by government funding and subsidies. The Chinese want to lower their fossil fuel usage and… Continue reading China’s Electric Car Revolution →

Due to China’s One Child Policy (独生子女) and attempts to bolster the economy, the Chinese government and parents alike have recently favored men to women (独生子女). Men now outnumber women by a figure of thirty-four million. One in every three Chinese women in their late twenties are single. Many of these “leftover women” (剩女) are urban… Continue reading China’s Leftover Women →

The Chinese government has long supported growth in heavy industry with subsidies and other incentives. But now, as the economy looks to balance towards a more diverse mix of industry and services, the government is doing more to aid the transition. Recently, a fund to spur growth in service-oriented businesses was established, and although a… Continue reading Bankruptcy and a Shifting Focus →

Alibaba’s rise to become one of the biggest internet firms in the world has been nothing less than meteoric, a growth trend that is correlated to a degree with the rise of Amazon, a company that Alibaba is frequently compared to.  Founded in 1999, Alibaba is a wide ranging conglomerate that provides consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer, and… Continue reading Alibaba, a Brief Overview and Singles Day Performance (11/11) →

Through the semester we have come to realize that China can no longer sustain on low skilled jobs. The economy needs to begin to move into a more complex industry in order to continue growing maintain a competitive edge. While we may not see headlines in the United States yet, private companies in China may… Continue reading Is China the new hub for Technology? →

In December 2015 the Chinese promised a $60 billion aid package to boost infrastructure and economic development in a wide range of African nations. While Chinese investment in the region is not new, the price tag certainly is. In 2008, the Chinese sent only $7 billion, ramping it up to $30 billion in 2013. This… Continue reading Does China’s Investment in Africa Have Ulterior Motives? →

Possessing a viable healthcare system is essential for the social and financial wellbeing of a country. The Chinese healthcare system has changed dramatically since 1949 and the rise of the Communist Party of China. Since 1949, healthcare coverage has gone from universal to almost none in 1982, to now, reportedly, 95% (Wordbook 2012). The Health… Continue reading Overview of China’s Healthcare System →

On January 5th 2017, The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) announced a plan to spend more than 360 Billion dollars on solar and wind energy infrastructure through 2020. China’s involvement in renewables has been an ongoing endeavor over the past ten years; In fact, China’s production of photovoltaic cells has increased 100-fold since 2005. Because… Continue reading China’s Renewable Energy Renaissance →

According to data on the website of the Swiss Federal Customs Information, gold exports to China from major producer Switzerland skyrocketed in December of 2016, with more exports than any other month since January 2014. Given that China is consistently one of the world’s top gold consumers, this may not seem entirely unusual. However, it… Continue reading The Impact of the Chinese New Year On Domestic Consumer Activity →