Charity, developing fast and maturing - Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf

Former prime minister Zhu Rongji is the first senior politician on the latest annual list of philanthropists, made by the Hurun Rich List. Many new names suggest the industry is developing fast and maturing, says Hurun founder Rupert Hoogerwerf to Radio Australia. Zhu contributed US$4 million in book royalties.

Radio Australia:

Chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun report, Rupert Hoogewerf, said Mr Zhu's contribution marks the first time a book royalty donation has made the list. 

The former premier is among 71 new philanthropists this year - the highest since records began in 2004. 

Mr Hoogewerf said the new names suggested charitable giving by the wealthy was still in its "early stages" in China. 

"It shows that charitable donations are still in the early stages, but the fact we are seeing so many new faces shows me that the industry is developing and maturing," he told the ABC. 

"Also, it is worth bearing in mind that many donations are made on a one-off basis and thereafter, it is the foundation that makes the annual donations." 

China's richest man and founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, Jack Ma, ranked as China's most generous person, after he donated a 1.4 percent stake in his firm - worth about $2.4 billion - to set up an environment, healthcare and education charity.

More in Radio Australia.

Zhu Rongji

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.

Are you interested in more stories from Rupert Hoogewerf? Do check this regularly updated list.  

Related articles

• Alibaba´s Jack Ma now tops rich list - Rupert Hoogewerf
• IT new 'it' sector for rich
• How women billionaires differ from men - Rupert Hoogewerf

Old hands take over finance regulators - Wei Gu

Wei Gu

While the world was watching new party leader Xi Jinping taking the stage, real changes are taking place at the lower tiers. Reuters' Breakingviews columnist Wei Gu describes how the old guard is taking over positions at the financial regulators. Experience wins from reform.

Wei Gu:

The most high-profile change is at the People’s Bank of China where Zhou Xiaochuan, governor for the past decade, is now expected to retire. That’s prompted speculation about his replacement. Xiao Gang, chairman of Bank of China, who was promoted to the 205-member central committee, should advance. A former deputy governor, who is also young enough to serve a full ten-year term, Xiao may have a chance of succeeding Zhou. But the heads of China’s banking and securities regulators, who are more senior, could also get the nod. 

Other candidates for promotion include Lou Jiwei, chairman of China’s sovereign wealth fund, who could become finance minister. A former deputy finance minister, Lou’s international experience should come in handy as China becomes increasingly integrated into the global financial system. 

Picking a new central banker in China is not as momentous as, say, selecting a new chief for the U.S. Federal Reserve. Monetary policy is still  believed to be set behind the scenes by the country’s premier or its State Council. Running the central bank may be more about following the party line, as Zhou showed last month when he cancelled a high-profile speech in Japan following a territorial dispute. Moreover, the likely new heads aren’t much different from the ones they are replacing. Most of them, including Lou and Xiao, earned their promotions in the era of former premier Zhu Rongji. 

Still, personality matters in China’s hierarchy-driven society. Under Zhou, the PBOC has developed a more open culture with lively debates. Although it may not have the final say on interest rates, it can lead key initiatives, such as yuan internationalisation, which helped to loosen the country’s rigid control on the exchange rate. China’s new financial guard won’t automatically lead to faster reforms. But at least they have plenty of experience in pushing for changes from within.

More at Reuters' Breakingviews.

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

The China Weekly Hangout on November 1 focused on what we can expect for the Xi Jinping tenure, discussed by Janet Carmosky, Greg Anderson and Fons Tuinstra.

Related articles

• Stimulus is out as growth no longer slows down - Wei Gu (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Wei Gu joins the China Speakers Bureau (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Going cheap did not help Sinopec - Wei Gu (chinaspeakersbureau.info)

What after eight years of harmonious society? - China Weekly Hangout

Back to Zhu Rongji's legacy? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Thursday November 1 the China Weekly Hangout will look back at eight years of harmonious society. When Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao replaced the Jiang Zemin/Zhu Rongji team, it tried to capture its mandate with this beautiful but very vague concept of a "harmonious society".

Eight years down the road, we will ask ourselves whether we have a better clue of this concept. Relations between the poor and the rich did deteriorate, but the straightforward fight for economic growth from Jiang Zemin has certainly become more nuanced. Or did a harmonious society mean the political elite would not go after state-owned companies, like Zhu Rongji sometimes did, and gave those SOE's a free ride?
What does China need in the upcoming eight years? And what is it likely going to get?

We are still working on the guest list, but you can start raising your hand, sending comments and questions both publicly here at this space, or by email.

The China Weekly Hangout is held almost every Thursday on 10pm Beijing time, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10am EST (US&Canada)

On Thursday 18 October we will at the China Weekly Hangout welcome David Wolf, the author of Making the Connection: The Peaceful Rise of China's Telecommunications Giants and Andrew Hupert, author of The Fragile Bridge: Conflict Management in Chinese Business for a discussion on the future of China's telecom giant Huawei, after last week's devastating report by the intelligence panel of US Congress.

The options for the China Weekly Hangout for 25 October are still under debate and announcements will follow suit. One of the options: how did the position of foreign correspondents in China change over the past decade. Interested? Let us know. 

Related articles

• China Weekly Hangout - What can Huawei do?
• China Weekly Hangout: the innovation debate
• Food scares are not going away - Paul French
• The challenge for chairman Zong and Wahaha - Paul French

Five books on China's economy - Victor Shih

State-driven by Getty Images via @daylife

Leading political economist Victor Shih reviews five books he recommends on China's economy for The Browser. Number one is Huang Yasheng's Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State.
Victor Shih:

The biggest misperception about China is that it’s a dynamic market economy – it isn’t. It’s a fast-growing, state-dominated economy with some dynamic, private-market aspects. If you look at investment, a main driver of growth, much of it is going to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or shareholding companies dominated by state entities. Or it’s going directly to government investments carried out at a central or local level. The misperception has abated recently following Richard McGregor’s book on the Chinese Communist Party. People are realising that the party is still behind much of what happens in China.

And on Huang's book:

Victor Shih by Fantake via Flickr

I think Yasheng goes a little too far with some of his claims. But the broad outline is correct. There was a period of healthy organic growth in the 80s, driven by the de facto private sector. Many township and village enterprises were collectives or owned by the local government. But in reality they were private enterprises. This changed in the mid-90s, especially with the adoption of the ‘grasping the large and letting the small go’ policy that circumvented the special interests in the state sector. When Deng Xiaoping was alive, his executive vice premier, Zhu Rongji, wanted to bankrupt or merge many of the smaller state-owned enterprises into larger ones. It was a political tactic to further reform. And it worked.

More in Tne Browser.

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

Related articles

• Is Groupon conquering China? No way - Paul Denlinger (chinaherald.net)
• How many Armani shops does Shanghai need? (chinaherald.net)
• Victor Shih: Inflation Threatens China's Growth (online.wsj.com)
• China's financial system: Look again (economist.com)