Guangxi

The Mekong river courses through the very heart of Southeast Asia. It starts in Tibet and snakes its way through many of the fastest developing economies on the planet – Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Through fishing, aquaculture and irrigation, it sustains 65 million people. In Thai, Mekong literally means “our mother” – as it provides an abundance of fish and, allegedly, was the way some of their ancestors came from Southwest China a millennium ago. It is also one of the best-kept secrets of Thailand: long-term resident foreigners prefer its coolness and tranquillity to the hot beaches and hectic island parties. I regard the countryside as the real, less exploited part of Southeast Asia. A place I love to come to rest – the final frontier for tourism in this part of the world.But all that could soon change. The city I’m writing to you from, Bangkok, could soon play a pivotal role in transforming this former economic backwater. And … [Read more...] about Your gateway to the Mekong boom

Pablo Isla, chairman and chief executive of Zara parent company Inditex, recently declared that all of the conglomerate’s Chinese stores will be eco-efficient by 2018. Speaking last week at an institutional meeting in Beijing with Chen Ji, the Chinese minister for environmental protection, Isla highlighted the company’s commitment to the Asian market and presented the sustainability plan that Inditex is implementing worldwide. Specifically, he explained how the company’s eco-efficient store model can reduce energy emissions by 30 percent and cut water consumption in half. He also announced that China will be the first country in the world to fully execute the program in both new and existing stores—a full two years before other markets. Inditex—which also owns Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka—first entered China in February 2006 and today has more than 500 stores throughout 63 cities. According to a statement released by the fashion … [Read more...] about Inditex CEO Talks Sustainability With Chinese Environmental Minister

[BEIJING] China has shut down or revoked the licenses of 13,000 websites since 2015 for violating the country's Internet rules, state media reported Sunday.The news comes as the Communist country continues to strengthen its already tight regulation of the Internet, a move which critics say has picked up pace since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.Platforms have also closed nearly 10 million Internet accounts for "violating service protocol", the official news agency said Sunday, likely referring to social media accounts."These moves have a powerful deterrent effect," Xinhua quoted Wang Shengjun, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), as saying.Despite being home to the world's largest number of Internet users, a 2015 report by US think tank Freedom House found that the country had the most restrictive online use policies of 65 nations it studied, ranking below Iran and Syria.This year alone, it has enacted new rules requiring foreign … [Read more...] about China has shut down 13,000 websites since 2015: Xinhua

[LIUZHOU, China] Inside General Motors Co's vehicle assembly plant in this southern China city, many workers wear the red-and-yellow uniforms of DHL, the logistics company.The DHL employees work side-by-side with GM workers handling the flow of parts within the plant, which builds about 400,000 Baojun brand vehicles a year and is owned jointly by GM, Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp and Guangxi Automobile Group.DHL assembles thousands of kits of parts daily in a strategy to avoid assembly errors, and reduce costs. At some GM-run final assembly plants in China, seats are unloaded from delivery trucks, put on a conveyer system that runs underneath an assembly line, and are delivered to the assembly line operator untouched by human hands.Some parts are delivered by small self-guided robots that would be at home on the set of a "Star Wars" movie.GM is now deploying third-party logistics contractors inside all 17 of its joint-venture general assembly plants in China to transport materials, … [Read more...] about GM, DHL use a Chinese plant to lead manufacturing change

[BEIJING] Nissan Motor plans to invest 60 billion yuan (S$12.5 billion) in China over the next five years with its joint-venture partner as it seeks to become a top three carmaker in the world's biggest market.Long stuck as a second-tier player in China, Nissan and Dongfeng Group said on Monday they plan to boost their volume to 2.6 million vehicles a year by 2022, up from 1.5 million vehicles last year.Nissan plans to achieve the objective, dubbed its "Triple One" strategy, by focusing on electric cars and Venucia, a no-frills local brand Nissan operates in China - two market segments expected to see a surge in demand. It also aims to boost sales of light commercial vans and trucks.China's car market has been dominated by General Motors and Volkswagen for nearly two decades, with each of them selling 4 million vehicles last year. Nissan, along with Toyota Motor, Ford Motor, and Honda Motor, lag far behind, each selling one million-plus vehicles a year."We aim to break away from this … [Read more...] about Nissan to pump 60b yuan into China business, eyes top 3 spot