All Roads Lead to China: Business News, Analysis, and Insights from China

While catching up on some reading, the following passages from Arrival City (A book about the migration of people to the city) reminded me of a trend that I have been observed in China: Back-and-forth migration was indeed occurring, often for many generations.  But eventually there was something of a tipping point, a moment where […]

On a fairly regular basis, I am asked to meet with executives and give presentations about the impact that issues of sustainability will have. For most groups they are interested in the impact to the economy, either as an opportunity or as a potential risk, and what I am coming to understand is (1) While […]

For many firms looking to outsource, understanding the risks of their decisions can be a difficult process, and there are more than enough firms who have found themselves in the news lately for a failure in their outsourced supply chain. Failures that lead to a product recall Failures that had a negative impact on the […]

Came across this ad for Indiana on youtube the other day (it is a screenshot), and thought I would post it up as an example of where I think things need to fundamentally change in trying to create better incentives for those looking to investment in the U.S. That, while smart and catchy to the […]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PE5V4Uzobc[/youtube] Research anything related to China and US jobs, and you are bound to come across some heated posts about China… and some celebrities punting “MAde in America”.. i.e. buy American brands, but not necessarily American manufacturing (i.e jobs) One of the more entertaining articles I  came across called  47 Signs That China Is Absolutely […]

A few years back, the Director of Sustainable Sourcing for a large electronics firms told me “I just want to get our Chinese suppliers to the point where I can trust them.  That they will do the work without constant supervision”.  It was before the age of lead paint barbie dolls, and to the best […]

Back in 2008 when the price of nearly everything in China was at a record high, discussions surrounding moves away from China were taking place. Vietnam was being tapped as the “next” market, and a few stories began popping up in the US media of firms returning home. And with China posting some serious inflationary […]

Back in 2008, before the global economy blew up, there was a lot of talk about the end of the “China price”. That, as the costs of China rose, firms would move themselves away from China …. to Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, etc… and at that time I found the arguments lacking in depth. In […]