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You don't need the National Bureau of Statistics to tell Grandma Lu that inflation is running wild. She can see that easily enough in her daily shopping basket
Read full article...At a time of year when economic forecasters have been turning out their predictions by the sleighload, it’s good to do a check at the sharp end
North Korea is the neighbour from hell. Stuck in a 1950s Cold War time warp, it was the difficult teenager of communism during the latter part of the 20th century.
Football is probably our most successful export to China, and Cameron is less newsworthy than Rooney
In Shanghai: After years of breakneck growth, China’s leading financial centre has lost momentum and confidence
The Chinese market has dived by 17% so far this month. Johnny Reed in Shanghai analyses why it has been falling so dramatically while others worldwide are on the rise
CHINA’S car sales last month were up 48% year-on-year. Even allowing for oil-price jitters a year ago, which might have put off a few buyers, that’s a healthy increase
It ain’t what you say, it’s the way that you say it, as Ella Fitzgerald might have sung. Reading Chinese newspapers is a bit like that. Understanding the language is not enough, you need to be able to interpret the meaning
When Deng Yujiao stabbed to death a government official who was trying to force his attentions on her, things didn't look good for the defence
Despite recent strengths, there are gloomy predictions for the Shanghai stock market during the rest of the year. A wave of new issues and poor corporate results are just two of the negatives being trotted out. More gloom, less spend. Not what the government ordered.
Like all elephants, the Shanghai jumbo is having a long pregnancy. Formally conceived a year ago, it's only just beginning to grow
Ten million high-school students went through three days of hell last week. It was university entrance exam time. Every year the same three days in early June are etched into the school calendar and student consciousness throughout China
Taking your Hummer for a drink in Shanghai became even more expensive last week. The latest hike in petrol pump prices was widely predicted but turned out to be less than expected. Unlike a year ago, there were no long queues or fights at petrol stations to fill up before it kicked in
There can't be many things as boring as economic statistics. Mention GDP or PPI to your neighbour at dinner and you find yourself talking to a pair of shoulder blades. It's all small numbers about large subjects. They go up and down a bit. But if you can't remember what they were in the first place, interest wanes pretty quickly.
To buy or not to buy? That's the question. The Shanghai stock market has put in some impressive growth in recent months but is it just a bear market rally or the beginnings of another bull run? Whichever way you look at it, nobody really has a clue.
With May Day celebrations down to a long weekend, nobody was expecting much of a result on the consumer front over the holiday. The spectre of swine flu and memories of Sars had been keeping many behind masks and closed doors
Displaying wealth in China has historically been a risky business. Too big a house and the Emperor took it, probably with your head as well. Come the revolution, it was still unwise to let the party official or Red Guard see what you had in case they took a fancy to it.
It's transport fortnight in Shanghai at the moment. Last week was the Boat Show, the weekend saw the F1 circus, and now it's the Motor Show. All very upmarket and crunch-testing.
Whatever is happening in the outside world, nothing stops the great Shanghai Expo 2010 machine rolling forward. We've just passed the 400th-day countdown and the pace is quickening. Money is being spent by the lorryload but not just on the actual exhibition. Everything must be perfect.
Among talk of reserve currencies and other G20 posturing last week, it was good to see Shanghai get a plug from China's state council. In the obscure world of Chinese politics, not much needs to be said to be significant. The council gave clear support for Shanghai's plans, particularly on the expansion of finance and shipping.
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