Program schedule - China Weekly Hangout

Over the past few weeks a program for the upcoming programs of the +China Weekly Hangout have been developing. The subjects are not yet set in stone, mainly depending on the availability of expert panelists, and developments of the issues. In each session we try to invite one or two experts in the field, and otherwise others are welcome to share experiences, or ask smart questions.
The plan as it looks today:

• Thursday 20 June: what do Chinese tourists want, with +Roy Graff 
• Thursday 27 June: what can Edward Snowden expect from China (with an interesting contrary viewpoint here.)
• Thursday 4 July: The Hong-Kong/Beijing relationship, with +Paul Fox 
• Thursday 11 July: Outbound Chinese investments, with +Nathan KAISER 
• Thursday 18 July: Having foreign firms a hard time?, with +Nathan KAISER , +Andrew Hupert 

The China Weekly Hangouts take typically place on Thursday's, 10pm Beijing Time, 4pm CEST and 10am EST. In the weeks before the hangout, will we create a specific event page, where you can leave your comments or questions. During the event you can file comments and questions via Twitter, Google+ and our YouTube channel (add hashtag #CWHCWH). When you register for the +China Weekly Hangout, you will receive regular updates.

A full overview of past hangouts, you can get here. The China Weekly Hangouts are moderated by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

Last week the +China Weekly Hangout focused on Chinese labor in Africa, with +Eric Olander of the China Africa project discusses the arrest of Chinese gold miners in Ghana, and the position of Chinese labor in Africa. Questions were asked by Swiss lawyer +Nathan KAISER and +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau. 

On Thursday 20 June we ask what Chinese tourists want. Chinese tourist spend more than those from other countries, but getting them to your country, and letting them spend is an art in itself. We are joined by Roy Graff of +ChinaContact, and you can join us too. Here is our announcement, or you can register directly at our event page. 

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Negotiating trade agreements - China Weekly Hangout

Premier Li Keqiang (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Negotiating deals on any level with China is a challenge, as the EU discovered last week. China premier Li Keqiang circumvented effectively efforts by European president Barroso to take a tough line on trade with China. Planned tariffs on solar and telecom equipment met resistance from EU members and Switzerland got its first free trade agreement, giving it an advantage on EU countries. And the EU Commission was left empty-handed in the eyes of the Chinese.
Comning week president Xi Jinping will meet his US counterpart Barack Obama, and can prove he can do a better job than the Europeans.
The +China Weekly Hangout will discuss on June 6 negotiation tactics between countries with +Andrew Hupert of +China Solved, an expert on Chinese negotiations and conflict resolutions.
What can you do to prepare for negotiations with China? What is going right, and what is going wrong.

Join us at Thursday June 6, 10pm Beijing Time, 4CEST PM and 10 AM EST. You can ask your questions or leave remarks here until the event starts, or at our event page, where you can also register for participation.

You can watch earlier sessions here. 

In April, the China Weekly Hangout discussed political change in the past decade. A meeting with +Steve Barru,  and +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau discuss what they expect from the political change in the upcoming ten years under Xi Jinping; agenda: Hu Jintao, austerity, poor-rich divide, and more.

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A changing labor force - China Weekly Hangout

Dee Lee

What is happening to China's labor force? That will be a recurring theme in the +China Weekly Hangout and on Thursday 23 May we will start discussing the state of China factory floor. Together with +Dee Lee (Inno) of Inno in Guangzhou we will explore the current state of the blue collar workers.
This is how the +Asia Society described Dee Lee in 2012 when he was one of their fellows:

Dee Lee is Director of the Inno Community Development Organization which focuses on public health, poverty alleviation and emerging issues. The organization currently manages nine ongoing projects that include the workers’ hotline, fair-trade online, HBV advocacy campaign. Together with sixteen colleagues spread across three offices in China, Dee is working with thirteen international foundations and brands to provide assistance to more than two million beneficiaries, most of whom are migrant workers in China. Dee started his Labour NGO career in 2007 with the first systematic workers’ hotline in China. He has a Master’s Degree in marketing communication and five years of work experience at a marketing research and PR firm.

Of course you are welcome to join us, you can register here at our event page and join the discussion. A few subjects that might come up in our exchange: has the position of workers changed now there is a relative shortage of factory workers? What is the influence on social media (Inno works mainly through QQ)? How different are today's factory workers from their parents?  How are the wages developing, and what are the trade union doing? To mention a few possible subjects.

The China Weekly Hangout on labor will take place on Thursday 23 May, 10pm Beijing Time, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10am EST (US/Canada). You can register here for participation, leave you comments here or at the event page. During the event you can watch also our YouTube video here and at our event page. You can also go directly to our live YouTube channel. During the event you can leave comments and questions at Twitter and Google+ (add the hash tag #CWHCWH).

Later this year we will discuss the position of white collar workers, whether we can call them the 'middle class', who is going to save China's economy with their consumption - or not.


(Our Thursday show got unfortunately stuck in severe technical problems. We plan a revamp later, and this will be announced in more recent posts.)

 For next week we are still looking for a subject, but we might selection one from our Australia/New Zealand planning session on Monday. You can register here if you are interested.


Last month the +China Weekly Hangout discussed how political reform could take place under Xi Jinping's tenure with +Steve Barru and +Fons Tuinstra.

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The booming luxury car market - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

China's millionaires have discovered luxury cars as a favorite hobby, and own on average three cars per family. Hurun Rich List founder Rupert Hoogewerf got the figures together in his latest Hurun Report, he tells AFP. 

AFP:

"The luxury car market has just not stopped. Two years ago, it completely took everyone by surprise," said Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of a China-based publisher of luxury magazines which compiles an annual rich list. 

His Hurun Report estimates that China's 2.8 millionaires in dollar terms own an average of three cars per family, typically a business and personal car for the chief earner and another for the spouse. 

The 64,000 super-rich in China, individuals with wealth of $16 million, own four vehicles on average, with at least one chauffeur-driven for a display of stature and convenience given China's urban traffic jams, the report said.

More at AFP.

Rupert Hoogewerf 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.

Why are the Chinese leaving China, asked the China Weekly Hangout on 20 September 2012  lawyer +Meixian Li, blogger +Isaac Mao and business professor +Richard Brubaker . Moderation by president of the China Speakers Bureau, +Fons Tuinstra 

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Art, jewelry, fine wine and watches alternative investments for wealthy - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

Real estate and stocks might still top the investments of China's rich, alternative investments like art, jewelry, fine wine and watches are gaining ground, according to Rupert Hoogewerf, in a new report of the Hurun Rich list, released this week, writes the Global Times. 

 The Global Times:

Art, jewelry, fine wine and watches are the most popular alternative investments for millionaires in China, defined as individuals with assets of over 6 million yuan ($1 million) in the report. 

"The continuing housing control policies and the stock market slump last year have pushed millionaires in China to look for new investment opportunities," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher. 

The report was based on interviews with 1,219 millionaires in China last year. 

China's stock market also remained lukewarm, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising by just 3.2 percent in 2012 compared to 2011. 

Alternative investments could bring satisfaction to investors that property and stocks could not, Hoogewerf noted. 

"Buying more houses will not bring investors much emotional gratification. But investing in art, such as a painting by Wu Guanzhong (the late renowned Chinese painter), will bring more satisfaction to individuals and increase their social standing," he said. 

But as alternative investments are still new in China and do not necessarily offer a good return, he advised investors to seek help from professional consultants. 

China has become the world's leading art market. Total transactions in China's art market surged from 20.4 billion yuan in 2008 to 61.6 billion yuan in 2012, according to data from Chinese art website Artron. 

He Ping, a retired millionaire in Shanghai, said he currently invests in bonds and stock futures. "I prefer investments that are less risky and have a more stable return," he told the Global Times Monday.

More in The Global Times. Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf 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.

Will China change under the new tenure of president Xi Jinping? The China Weekly Hangout discussed this in earlier this month with China hands +Steve Barru and +Fons Tuinstra.

What has China learned since SARS ten years ago, now a new bout of bird flu is hitting the country? On Thursday 18 April the China Weekly Hangout will discuss the current status of the bird flu and was is happening on the ground with +Harm Kiezebrink, a Beijing resident who assisted the WHO and the Chinese government during SARS. Also sustainability expert +Richard Brubaker of CEIBS (the China Europe International Business School) published  this week a paper on the "Lessons from SARS" and promised to attend. Moderation is done by +Fons Tuinstra, president of the China Speakers Bureau. You can see an overview of all hangouts here.

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Solar energy: fail or future? - China Weekly Hangout

Solar panels to heat hot water at the Tea-Horse Trade Guest House along the Tiger Leaping Gorge trail in Yunnan, China. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The unceremonial collapse of Suntech, the Chinese solar energy firm who was previously the darling of the investors, shows that rosy investments can fail. But what went wrong in this case, and how can China profit from the upcoming innovations in solar energy?
China's solar energy has been mostly focusing on the export, not on domestic use. And as investments in solar energy in Europe and the US dropped dramatically, so did the basis of companies like Suntech. But the ambitions are still in place. Can solar energy safely replace more environmental dangers sources like oil, coal, nuclear power and even fracking?

On Thursday 11 April, 4pm CEST, 10pm Beijing Time, 10am EST, the +China Weekly Hangout will discuss the future of solar energy in China. What is its perspective after the failure of Suntech, and what does it need to get solar energy going? You can register for the discussion here , leave your questions and comments at the event page. During the hangout (which can be watched in this space), you can also join the discussing using twitter and Google+ if you add the hash tag #CWHCWH to your messages.
+Chris Brown has already promised to chip in, but we will certainly have more knowledgeable panelists.

The energy security has been on the agenda of the +China Weekly Hangout before. In September 2012 we discussed energy security with +Merritt Cooke and +Richard Brubaker , moderated by +Fons Tuinstra .


In November 2012 +Richard Brubaker and +Fons Tuinstra discussed the recent developments of nuclear power, as China resumed the building of new plants after a moratorium after the Fukushima disaster.

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What do you expect from Xi Jinping? - China Weekly Hangout

Xi Jinping 习近平 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

China's new government is firmly in place and during last month's National People's Congress much speculation emerged on what might, or might not, happen in the coming decade with Xi Jinping in charge. The +China Weekly Hangout will discuss a few of the many subjects that were subject of scrutiny over the past few months.
But we need your help first. We have made an initial list of 14 subjects worth to discuss on Thursday. That is of course way too much for a 45 minute exchange, so we ask you in our survey to make a ranking. The top-3 will be discussed, the rest we save till later.
Also, we ask your opinion for each of those subjects: do you expect real change or not. You can join our survey, but note that we can only manage a maximum of 100 answers, so do not delay till tomorrow.
Our subjects are corruption, pollution, food security, labor camps, austerity, a slimmer government, China's international soft power, innovation, internet connectivity, media freedom. the One-child policy, political reform, energy security, poor-rich divide. (If you find the interface below a nuisance, you can also click through to the survey here.)

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

The +China Weekly Hangout will take place on Thursday 10pm Beijing Time, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10am EST (US/Canada). Note the change in summer time and day light saving, leading to slightly adjusted broadcasting times.
You can register at our event page for participation and leave your questions and comments till the start of the event. During the event you can participate via Twitter and Google+ if you add hash tage #CWHCWH. You can watch the hangout at our event page or here

Earlier sessions of the +China Weekly Hangout took on already some of the subjects. For example energy security we discussed on 27 September 2012 with +Merritt Cooke , +Richard Brubaker and +Fons Tuinstra . You can find previous installments here.

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Food security and dead pigs (II) - China Weekly Hangout

Since our first announcement of this week's +China Weekly Hangout on food security in China, triggered off by thousands of dead pigs floating in the Huangpu River in Shanghai,  not only more pigs turned up. The number is now already over 12,500, and in their slipstream the first factlets about their origin turned up in the media.
Those facts are still far from clear, but I believe most attention went to the wrong subject: potential water pollution. The real story is food security, I firmly believe.

An interesting detail from a recent AP story:

Villagers have told state media that pig dumping is on the rise following police campaigns against the illicit trade of pork products harvested from diseased pigs that were illegally sold, instead of properly disposed of.

So there is actually a huge positive angle on this pig story: those pigs ended up in the Huangpu River and not on your plate. That is very good news, although everybody is still waiting for more details. Who is familiar with the Huangpu River (and Suzhou Creek for that matter), knows that those rivers have seen much worst pollution in the past than a few thousand dead animals.
On Thursday 21 March our sustainability expert +Richard Brubaker is joining us, and we hope to discuss the food security side of this issue more thoroughly. Who is actually in charge of food security? How is this melange of government agencies fighting each other? Can we expect action from the new government? What can ordinary consumers do to protect themselves. Richard recently visited Shanghai's slaughterhouses, and has during earlier hangouts been food security as an issue more than once.
Just a few questions to discuss on the China Weekly Hangout, Thursday 21 March, 10pm Beijing Time, 3pm CET (Europe) and 9am EST (US/Canada). You can watch the video here at this space, or at our event page, where you can register for participation. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra , president of the +China Speakers Bureau .
During the event you can field questions and remarks at Twitter and Google+ (Do add our hash tag #CWHCWH).

How does the pollution affect you, was another question +Richard Brubaker and +Fons Tuinstra discussed earlier in January. A full overview of all +China Weekly Hangout 's you can find at our YouTube channel.

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