» China http://www.catboant.com Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:08:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Global Power Will Shift from West To East http://www.catboant.com/2010/01/02/will-the-next-decade-become-the-chinese-decade/ http://www.catboant.com/2010/01/02/will-the-next-decade-become-the-chinese-decade/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:03:54 +0000 ulrike http://www.catboant.com/?p=537 In today’s Welt online edition (it is in German) Niall Ferguson shares his thoughts on why the “Western World” will loose its world dominance – which it had held for 500 years – and the East, mainly China will surpass.

The major reasons for this shift are (from China’s point of view):

- China’s enormous financial resources (especially in comparison to the US),
- its ceaseless economic growth
- its human capital, its manpower

Or from the US-point of view as Ferguson points it: “A manpower deficit (not enough boots on the ground in Iraq), an attention deficit (not enough public enthusiasm for long-term occupations of conquered countries) and above all a financial deficit (not enough savings relative to investment and not enough taxation relative to public expenditure).”

Together with Moritz Schularick Ferguson coined the term “Chimerica” (China and America) in 2006 describing one of the key issues that caused the financial crises in the Western world: the fact that the US current account deficit was mostly financed by Chinese banks!

Niall Ferguson is also aware of the problems China is facing, e.g. democracy and political issues, but he concludes without any doubts that China will dominate the next decade.

Reading and thinking about the article amplifies many phrases I’ve heard in my last conversations regarding China.

P.S. Just found an english version of the article! Thanks to twitter:-)

]]> http://www.catboant.com/2010/01/02/will-the-next-decade-become-the-chinese-decade/feed/ 0 China/”The West”: Embrace Cultural Differences … http://www.catboant.com/2009/12/27/chinathe-west-embrace-cultural-differences/ http://www.catboant.com/2009/12/27/chinathe-west-embrace-cultural-differences/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:11:34 +0000 ulrike http://www.catboant.com/?p=491 … respect them and learn to live with them – says Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber. She describes herself as a freelance translator. freelance project manager, organizer, someone who likes to build bridges. Ingrid first went to China 1980, shortly after China opened its doors to the West. Since then she is travelling back and forth. Speaking the language fluently and diving deep into Chinese philosophy and culture – Ingrid has gained great respect on both sides. She is truely a bridge builder.

In our conversation she gives us a very emotional and personal view on China. Our topics are:

- media/censorship in China
- Internet access
- current discourses in politics and society
- what makes the Chinese culture so unique
- why we should learn more about China
- why we should embrace and accept cultural differences

Apologies for the less-than-ideal audio and video – we did the conversation via SKYPE! Ingrid is right now in Beijing, China.

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