[OPE] Brief Notes from China

We are getting ready to leave Shanghai. The timing of the trip was
fascinating because China seems to be ready to move to a new stage of
development.

For example, just today I read that the government is instituting a 5%
energy tax in the remote Xinjiang province. The response to the Honda
strike and the string of suicides at the Foxconn factory were critical
of management. Of course, the ownership of these plants was not
Chinese; even so, the China Daily has pushing the line that it's time to
leave the low-wage economy behind. China is also beginning to take more
control over the strategic minerals, of which it has large share of the
world's production.

The taxes levied on real estate knocked the Shanghai stock market down
quite a bit. The papers have also been taking a critical attitude
towards the wanton demolition of neighborhoods to make way for expensive
commercial projects.

more at:

http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/brief-notes-from-china/

-- 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA
95929
530 898 5321
fax 530 898 5901
http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com
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