Managing The Dragon

Periodically, China announces a new industrial policy directed at one or another of its industries. During the past year, the government announced plans to consolidate both steel and automotive. The reason: too many players and too much fragmentation. The announcement of these policies typically triggers a stream of questions about what this means for competitors […]

Last week was particularly newsworthy in China, with an important milestone being reached and the release of positive economic data. The production of the 10 millionth vehicle by China’s auto industry this year represents a key milestone in the country’s development. Many government and industry officials gathered in Changchun, home to First Auto Works, to […]

When we look back 20 years from now, the year 2009 is likely to be viewed as the year in which the baton of leadership in the global auto industry passed from the United States to China. For the last 100 years, the American car market and American carmakers set the pace in the global […]

Somebody forgot to tell China’s carmakers about the global economic crisis. Nearly all are targeting big sales increases in 2009. In a roundup of strategies for 2009, the April edition of China Automotive Review, available only by subscription, noted the aggressive plans of the local assemblers compared to their more conservative, foreign-invested rivals. Here are […]

James Zhang and Vivek Raman, the two students who organized the “Asia Tomorrow” conference at Yale University several weeks ago, were very clear in what they wanted me to cover in my keynote speech. They wanted me to give my views as to how China and Asia would develop in the coming years, but they […]

When the economic history of China is written, it will show that, to date, there have been three major inflection points in the country’s economic development — events that have triggered major changes in the direction of the country. First, of course, was the opening of China to the outside world under Deng Xiaoping in […]

China’s Ministry of Finance and National Tax Bureau has announced changes to the consumption tax on passenger vehicles. Effective September 1, the consumption tax on cars with engine displacements below 1.0 liter will be cut from 3.0 percent to 1.0 percent, and the tax on cars with 3.0 liter to 4.0 liter engines will be […]