Shanghai Free Trade Zone - China Weekly Hangout

Last Sunday China inaugurated the eagerly awaited free trade zone in Shanghai, possibly a new turning point in China's economic development. The zone merges four existing zones, and allows foreign investors to enter previously restricted services, including shipping, banking, insurance and many other services, including the official sale of game consoles.
At the +China Weekly Hangout we hope to explore some of the directions of China's new policies, despite a huge amount of ambiguity in the current rules.
The name "free trade zones" is nothing new, although previous zones were mostly custom zones at best. How far is China willing to go this time? Is there a chance of experiments spilling over into the rest of China? Should Hong Kong be worried losing its status as financial hub for China? And how fast might this all happen. At best we look at the start of a massive push-and-pull between bureaucratic forces in China's governments. Some qualify the zones as a testing ground for free-market policies.
Premier Li Keqiang, the architect of some of the free-market policies, decided not to attend the opening ceremony, stressing the controversy inside the government.
An overexcited South China Morning Post already announce the new zones would even have unrestricted access to internet. That plan was quickly qualified as a hoax, but at least indicates different sections of China's bureaucracy see the zone as a place where long-wanted changes could take off.

Good overviews of the current regulations can be found at Reuters, the China Briefing, and state-owned Xinhua.

On Thursday 3 October we hope to gather a few guests (despite the ongoing October holidays), at 10pm Beijing Times, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10am EST (US/Canada).

You can register for the participation at our event page here. Specific subjects will be picked later, also depending on who is going to join us on Thursday. During the event you can ask questions through a Q&A app, you can see from our event page (not on this website). From half an hour before the start, you can click on a yellow bar and start asking questions.
China Weekly Hangout

Yet another big change in China's external relations was the launch of a new visa system at September one. On September 12, the +China Weekly Hangout discussed this major change. Ambiguity is the word Beijing-based lawyer +Gary Chodorow uses most when talking about the new visas in China, officially in place since September 1. What to do with spouses, interns, people with F-visas and other visitors who are not allowed to work. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

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• New free trade zone in Shanghai

Internet ban hurts Chinese companies - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

Story of the day is the Shanghai's new Free Trade Zone might allow Twitter, Facebook and other western social media on the internet. About time, says business analyst Shaun Rein in CNBC as the current limitations hurt the competitiveness of Chinese companies. 

CNBC:

+Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group said lifting a ban on internet access to websites such as Twitter and Facebook is crucial for Chinese companies that are looking to establish a presence globally. 

"It's clear that the lack of internet access is hurting Chinese companies from a competitive standpoint. They don't have a presence on Facebook, Twitter; they don't know how to launch marketing campaigns around the world," Rein said. Facebook and Twitter have been banned on the mainland since 2009. 

Increasing competition in the telecom space will also be positive for the entire country, Rein said. "It will push Chinese telcos to become more market savvy. They haven't had competition to push them to innovation and new services. Internet access is very slow here on mobile phones and in the home." 

"I expect a lot of telecoms companies to invest, it's a good [opportunity to penetrate] the China market," he added.

More in CNBC.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout

China's internet companies are one industry in China trying to go global. Should Facebook, Twitter and Google+ worry now Tencent, Baidu, Sina, Alibaba and Xiaomi have plans to expand globally the +China Weekly Hangout asked on September 5. Not yet, said investor +William Yung, media-expert +Paul Fox and +Tech in Asia editor +Steven Millward. Well, maybe Whatsapp should. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau. What is behind due diligence firms in China, we asked ourselves as one of the leading voices in the industry, Peter Humphrey was arrested last summer for illegal business practices. The +China Weekly Hangout will discuss due diligence of the due diligence firms on September 25. You can read our announcement here, or register for participation at our event page. Joining us from Taiwan is Miguel De Vinci (aka 李洛傑).

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Due diligence on due diligence firms - China Weekly Hangout

Due diligence has become a major service industry in China, where information is often hard to get. Doing background checks on potential new partners or employees has become a standard procedure.
The arrest of Shanghai-based Peter Humphrey and his wife Yu Yingzeng this summer showed the Chinese government had started to do some due diligence on these firms herself. Peter's company ChinaWhys was accused of conducting illegal business, and so there are a few questions to be asked.
What is the current state of due diligence investigations in China? Can you do research into companies, their managers and staff legally, and under what conditions? Is the Chinese government protecting her own affairs and businesses, or do they have a fair point when they go after non-licensed investigators? Is this part of a broader action against shell companies from Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands and other places?
“[The] Investigation found that the couple illegally trafficked a huge amount of personal information on Chinese citizens to seek profits via registering so-called research companies in Hong Kong and Shanghai since 2003,” the Xinhua news agency reported.
From Taiwan is joining us Miguel De Vinci (aka 李洛傑) who is working in the industry, and claimed at a LinkedIn group you can do this work perfect in a legal way with Chinese partners.

The +China Weekly Hangout will be held on Thursday 26 September at 10pm Beijing Time, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10am EST (US/Canada). You can register for participation at our event page here. 
You can leave questions and remarks here or at our event page. We will also test a new Question app developed by Google, allowing you to ask questions during the hangout, and vote on questions by others. You do need to watch the proceedings from our event page, and the video will be active about 30 minutes before the start.

China Weekly Hangout

The +China Weekly Hangout discusses each week a China-related subject that is in the news. On September 12 we discussed China's new visa system. Ambiguity is the word Beijing-based lawyer +Gary Chodorow uses most when talking about the new visas in China, officially in place since September 1. What to do with spouses, interns, people with F-visas and other visitors who are not allowed to work. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

Related articles

• Humphrey arrest in China spotlights due diligence dilemma
• The new visa system - China Weekly Hangout
• Integrity counts for Chinese firms - Janet Carmosky
• In China, the dangers of due diligence - NDTV
• What Is Due Diligence?
• U.S.-British couple shown in handcuffs on Chinese TV

Due diligence on the due diligence firms - China Weekly Hangout

A pre-announcement: feel free to chip in

The new visa system - talking notes for the China Weekly Hangout

Why selling a cheap iPhone is a bad idea - Tom Doctoroff

Tom Doctoroff

Rumors say that Apple has been able to struck a deal with China's largest telecom provider China Mobile to sell iPhone, cheaper than elsewhere in the world. Marketing guru Tom Doctoroff explains in NPR why selling the iPhone cheap in China is a bad idea.

NPR:

The one thing Apple has going for it in China is cachet. And that’s why Tom Doctoroff, Asia Pacific CEO of ad agency JWT thinks offering an inexpensive iPhone to the Chinese is a very bad idea. 

"One of the golden rules of marketing in China is that anything displayed in public can command a huge price premium," says Doctoroff. "And the reason for that is status is a primary driver here, much, much more so than in the West. So when you offer an inexpensive iPhone, it immediately signals that this isn’t so elite anymore." 

Buzz for the iPhone has been wearing off here. A report from global analyst Canalys shows that in the last quarter, the iPhone fell from fifth to seventh most popular smartphone in China. It was overtaken by the Chinese firm Xiaomi, which just released a new affordable phone that’s generating a lot of hype. 

More in NPR

Tom Doctoroff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form. 

China Weekly Hangout

China's new visa system is on the agenda of the +China Weekly Hangout coming Thursday 12 September. The system kicked in on September 1, and many questions have already been raised. In the hangout we try to answer questions, as far as possible in such an early phase. Read here our initial announcement or register here at our event page. 

What do Chinese tourists want? - The +China Weekly Hangout asked on June 20. +Roy Graff of +ChinaContact joined us to discuss the increasingly diversifying market of Chinese tourists. And yes, there is no longer one answer for basic questions. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.  

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Chinese roots in Africa - Howard French

Howard French

Former New York Times Africa and China correspondent Howard French revisited Africa for his upcoming book on China's involvement in Africa, and intends to dismantle some of the current myths. Some of the stories he summarized for AllAfrica.com.

+Howard French:

And for every one of these kinds of stories, there were Chinese migrants with generous-hearts and integrity, who had forged deep African friendships and thoroughly embraced their adopted countries. They had built solid, honest businesses, with meaningful African partners, and instead of going for the quick, sleazy killing, they sunk real roots. The more I spent time with this rich mix of characters, and with their African partners, and people in the surrounding societies whose lives were affected by their presence or who merely observed them, the more I came to sense the hollowness of the traditional discourse of the bashers and boosters. 

If it is true that China is affecting the present course of Africa, and perhaps even its destiny, understanding what is going on under the radar, well beneath the level of official policies, plans and initiatives, is every bit as important as analysing China's geopolitical strategy and the official responses of 54 African countries to it. By plunging into this sometimes messy, often unplanned but terribly important human story, I hope that my book will make a modest contribution to this understanding.

More in AllAfrica.com

Howard French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers request form.

China Weekly Hangout

China's new visa system is on the agenda of the +China Weekly Hangout coming Thursday 12 September. The system kicked in on September 1, and many questions have already been raised. In the hangout we try to answer questions, as far as possible in such an early phase. Read here our initial announcement or register here at our event page. \

The +China Weekly Hangout discussed on June 13 China's involvement in Africa with +Eric Olander of the China Africa project, more specifically  the arrest of Chinese gold miners in Ghana, and the position of Chinese labor in Africa.Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

Related articles

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The new visa system - China Weekly Hangout

Old China PRC visa, with entry stamp from Guangzhou. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

China's has kicked off a new visa system on September 1, and while it is too early to work out how it exactly works, many questions have already been popping up at our digital radar screen. Reason to organize a +China Weekly Hangout already at this stage, to allow you to ask (and answer) questions on the new visa system.
We will try to get a few experts in (but cannot promise anything at this stage). A good write-up has been provided by the Hong Kong lawyer +Gary Chodorow here. 
Questions you can ask here in the comments, or at our event page.

The China Weekly Hangout on China's visas will be held on Thursday 12 September, 10pm Beijiing time, 4pm CEST and 10am EST.

If you want to follow our session, you can watch here or at our event page. At our event page you can also register for participation.

China Weekly Hangout

Last week the +China Weekly Hangout discussed the recent spike in plans by China's internet companies to go global. Should Facebook, Twitter and Google+ worry now Tencent, Baidu, Sina, Alibaba and Xiaomi have plans to expand globally. Not yet, said investor +William Yung, media-expert +Paul Fox and +Tech in Asia +Steven Millward. Well, maybe Whatsapp should. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

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Internet companies going global - China Weekly Hangout

Lionel Messi

When the soccer player Lionel Messi appeared in commercials by Tencent's WeChat this summer, we knew something big was happening. Even a month earlier, we cancelled an update of the China Weekly Hangout of November last year on the global aspirations of China's internet companies, because there was not that much to update. But things can change fast in China.

WeChat has signed up over 150 million users outside China, since Messi was retained for the commercials. Sina Weibo has been setting up offices in Singapore and Indonesia. And there is the looming IPO by Alibaba, which will provide the company with a huge warchest to go global. And we might forget about Baidu, that still has a lot of money to spend. And then there was Xiaomi retaining +Hugo Barra from Google for its global aspirations. Did we forget anything big?
China's companies are going global, partly because high growth domestically is not that high anymore. But what do they have to offer to the outside world? Many pundits argue Chinese companies are unable to innovate, let alone offer the world outside China something worthwhile.

The +China Weekly Hangout on Thursday 5 September will dive into this issue together with +Steven Millward of +Tech in Asia, and perhaps you can participate too, of you register at our event page.
The China Weekly Hangout will be broadcast on Thursday 5 September live at this page, at our event page, and at our YouTube page on 10pm Beijing, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10am EST (US/Canada). You can also leave your questions or remarks here in the comments.
China Weekly Hangout

Can China really innovated, the +China Weekly Hangout discussed in October last year, with political scientist +G. E. Anderson and China consultant at-large Janet Carmosky. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

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