Hu Jintao Press Conference

[Yuanyang]

Good information, Bob.  Thanks.

198800[/snapback]

This is what stood out:

...

For the longer term, what we find is worrying is the large increase in costs. Skilled wage rates are rising by 30-40% a year and unskilled by 10-20%, depending on location. But all other cost inputs are rising and are threatening to do so at higher rates – electricity, fuels, water, land etc.

We hear of companies quietly leaving China for other shores, but some like Flextronics, have publicly aired their concerns. A combination of these cost increases together with a modest revaluation of the RMB over the next five years could accelerate this trend out of China.

...

Note: Text emphases are mine, not the author's.

[mercator]

Yep. First the US, then Japan, then China, and now Indonesia & Malaysia, with other third world nations to follow, especially those willing to forgo any rules to protect the environment. Manufacturing at low cost is the economic Borg, though in its wake the economy is probably better off than it was, but, at least in China's case, at what cost environmentally?

 

Scary shtuff.

[SheLikesME?]

Yeah my wife wants to retire to China. I keep telling her by the time it happens it wont be cheaper like it is now. Sometimes she agrees sometimes not.

 

We more or less figured due to the cost of housing that Beijing could cost about what Dallas does. She wants to retire to the shore, preferrably Dalian where born. Well see.

[mercator]

Well, right now Chinese don't want to live in the suburbs or out in the country. Everyone wants to live in the downtown core, so the prices are astronomic there, but the 'burbs are inexpensive. As the transportation infrastructure improves, maybe that will change, but it seems to me that living in a small town would be pretty cheap in China for a while to come.

 

If we retire to China, I am looking at Beihai or something Sunny and warm. But that is 30+ years away, and yeah, things could be a heck of a lot different by then.

[Yuanyang]

Yeah my wife wants to retire to China.  I keep telling her by the time it happens it wont be cheaper like it is now.  Sometimes she agrees sometimes not. 

 

We more or less figured due to the cost of housing that Beijing could cost about what Dallas does.  She wants to retire to the shore, preferrably Dalian where born.  Well see.

198834[/snapback]

Had dinner with a very nice man last week, he said he bought a condo in Beijing, nice, but nothing fancy: $200,000US. The good news is that the property taxes are 0.3%.

[SheLikesME?]

Yeah my wife wants to retire to China.  I keep telling her by the time it happens it wont be cheaper like it is now.  Sometimes she agrees sometimes not. 

 

We more or less figured due to the cost of housing that Beijing could cost about what Dallas does.  She wants to retire to the shore, preferrably Dalian where born.  Well see.

198834[/snapback]

Had dinner with a very nice man last week, he said he bought a condo in Beijing, nice, but nothing fancy: $200,000US. The good news is that the property taxes are 0.3%.

198848[/snapback]

Yes Bob. Wow that is even higher than what my wife said. She thought it would cost 110,000US to get a larger nicer place in Beijing. So she never wanted me to find work in China. Even if I made the same amount.

 

Hey I just got good news. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16568

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Jim, I believe is it Wen Jiabao not Hu.

 

Can you imagine Mao doing a press conference like this?

198616[/snapback]

Ski ... you are right .... Randy accidently mixed up a quote from Wen with my positive comment about Hu.

198787[/snapback]

 

 

Yeah - how about a link to the press conference? I didn't realize there were two different people here Wen (premier) and Hu (president), but I did find an article about this press conference of Wen's:

 

Wen's press conference

198794[/snapback]

Great link Randy. We shall see, won't we....

 

Number 6, China stands as a strong force for international peace and stability on such major regional and international issues bearing on peace, such as the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and Iranian nuclear issue. As for the non-traditional security threats as well as the current major natural disasters in the world, China has also adopted a co-operative step.

 

Number 7, China stands firmly against terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

[Joanne]

Yep.  First the US, then Japan, then China, and now Indonesia & Malaysia, with other third world nations to follow, especially those willing to forgo any rules to protect the environment.  Manufacturing at low cost is the economic Borg, though in its wake the economy is probably better off than it was, but, at least in China's case, at what cost environmentally?

 

Scary shtuff.

198822[/snapback]

I have personally experienced this shift. When I worked for Siemens in Shanghai, it was in process of pulling out their investment from a Joint-venture and moving their telephone set manufacturing to India, where the cost was lower and where the market was growing. Siemens has some long established tight quality codes, if the standards were to be maintained they would not be able to compete against low priced local brand. One other observation, Siemens overseas manufacturing operations are mostly joint ventures. This enables the company to pull out fast in respond to economical changes

[Yuanyang]

Yeah my wife wants to retire to China.  I keep telling her by the time it happens it wont be cheaper like it is now.  Sometimes she agrees sometimes not. 

 

We more or less figured due to the cost of housing that Beijing could cost about what Dallas does.  She wants to retire to the shore, preferrably Dalian where born.  Well see.

198834[/snapback]

Had dinner with a very nice man last week, he said he bought a condo in Beijing, nice, but nothing fancy: $200,000US. The good news is that the property taxes are 0.3%.

198848[/snapback]

Yes Bob. Wow that is even higher than what my wife said. She thought it would cost 110,000US to get a larger nicer place in Beijing. So she never wanted me to find work in China. Even if I made the same amount.

 

Hey I just got good news. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16568

198875[/snapback]

I'm finding out that it is easy to find work in China, but nothing that even approaches the US salary. If I had a job that paid the same US$ there as here...

[SheLikesME?]

Yeah my wife wants to retire to China.  I keep telling her by the time it happens it wont be cheaper like it is now.  Sometimes she agrees sometimes not. 

 

We more or less figured due to the cost of housing that Beijing could cost about what Dallas does.  She wants to retire to the shore, preferrably Dalian where born.  Well see.

198834[/snapback]

Had dinner with a very nice man last week, he said he bought a condo in Beijing, nice, but nothing fancy: $200,000US. The good news is that the property taxes are 0.3%.

198848[/snapback]

Yes Bob. Wow that is even higher than what my wife said. She thought it would cost 110,000US to get a larger nicer place in Beijing. So she never wanted me to find work in China. Even if I made the same amount.

 

Hey I just got good news. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16568

198875[/snapback]

I'm finding out that it is easy to find work in China, but nothing that even approaches the US salary. If I had a job that paid the same US$ there as here...

198914[/snapback]

Well there was a long shot possibility for me to do this. But wife didn't seem to like it. Maybe if I actually had the offer it would be different. Who knows some day, maybe.

[skibum]

That was a great report from China. Bob, can you tell us the service that gave it to you.

Ever since Deng, China has been trying to get rid of corruption but I don't see it happening until there is a free press to report on offenders. A few big busts have been made but it is so prevasive at local levels where the Cadre depend on graft for income, that it will be a hard task to get rid of it.

China is very proactive in planning policy. The US is very reactive. Which do you think is better!

My in-laws have wanted a home in Shanghai and my wife keeps telling them to wait, that prices will go down. I guess 07 may be the time to buy.

The banking problem is a large one as they lent so much money to inefficent govt companies that they will never get back. They also do not write off bad loans as they do here so the bad loans have just piled up as they did in Japan before their their bust that took much of Asia with it.

You can be sure that as wages increase, capital will go elsewhere. Japan was very cheap after WW2 and that lead to their rapid growth. The same will happen in China and India. Careful thought needs to be given to the economy so people can have a good standard of living while jobs are being lost.

In my view, Japan has things pretty well under control. The population is stable, everyone seems to have money to spend on goods that are made there to sustain the businesses. With the thought that Wen and Hu are putting into China, I see a bright future ahead. And they would be flat stupid to start a war with Taiwan to ruin things.

[SheLikesME?]

China is very proactive in planning policy. The US is very reactive. Which do you think is better!

If you have a good ruler it can be the best situation. However, as time goes by you get a corrupt ruler eventually, then it is the worsed time. Our representative govt may not be the best, but it is perhaps the best compromise to keep checks and balances. Our reps could plan ahead but someone will squauwk. If you have a non-rep govt like China perhaps no one will complain to loudly because of.................... That is another bad part of unelected (by the populace) rulers.

 

Probably all of us know how the people feel about their government, yet they never want China to lose face. ahhh