Anyone who lives or has visited Beijing, knows how intense the capital’s traffic and subsequent air pollution can be. Planners are now considering the next step: congestion charges much like those in London.
When faced with the onslaught of a common enemy, child-like states man up and international policy develops at a roaring pace. Today we are faced with an intangible non-extraterrestrial enemy that does not breathe; an ailing world market.
A senior U.S. Treasury Department official recently warned China that it too shall be affected by world market trends and that policymakers better gear up, saying the country’s “extraordinary economic growth” may “no longer be tenable in the face of a global economic slowdown.”
If it wasn’t apparent before, recent events have brought home the fact that world markets and their interactions require universally adopted regulations. One area highlighted in the past two months by a series of scandals has been the food industry.
Believe it or not, toys have feelings too, especially those made in China. The current financial crisis seems to be making an impression on our little plasticky creatures, especially on their desire to be shipped and sold abroad.
Let’s face it, Citic’s blunder is only the first of many. These are times of extreme uncertainty and volatility in the markets. Predicting trends has gone from acquired skill involving calculations and indicators, to more closely resembling the insane luckfest of Russian roulette.
The Great Blog of China (TGBC) delivers quirky insights into the life of the sleeping red dragon from the far east. TGBC is brought to you by iluminari.
