China outlook 2008
January 7th, 2008 by AdministratorChina holds much hope in 2008, and the findings from the 2007 China Business Report from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai support that statement. In today’s podcast, Kent Kedl talks about the highlights of the survey in the areas of motivation and regulation. Kedl and others presented the report’s findings to at a recent AmCham Shanghai event.
One of the most encouraging outcomes of the survey is that 42 percent of the businesses operating in China are in the country to access its market, as opposed to 23 percent who view China for its manufacturing and sourcing. Kent also discusses the major changes China has made in an effort to level the playing field in trade with the U.S. The new value-added tax laws are viewed as being favorable toward U.S. products and a step in the right direction.
For U.S. businesses, the idea of expanding to second-tier cities in this huge country is exciting. There are 170 cities in China with populations of more than 1 million. There is plenty of opportunity for those companies just starting to take a look at China. According to Kent, given the economic outlook in the U.S. and Europe for 2008, China might be one of the few places that business executives they can smile about.
And, as mentioned in the podcast, here are some links to some other good Web sites for information on China and China business:
- China Law Blog
- Time Magazine’s China blog
- The China Business Network
- Danwei.org - Chinese media and culture
