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China Trend Watching

Advertising in China: launches amount to 36 billion U.S. dollars in first half/2008

In the first half of 2008, China’s total advertising launch reached 244.9 billion yuan (over 36 billion U.S. dollars) , an increase of 17% compared with the same period last year, according to well-known global media and information group Nielsen latest report of ad information services, Xinhua News reported. Among the three types of major media Nielsen monitored, television continued to lead with 83% of the advertising market share, a total of 204 billion yuan; and print media advertising made progress with an increase of 14 percent. Among them, newspapers and magazine ads amounted to 36 billion and 5 billion yuan […]

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China Design Economics Trend Watching

Living in China: Shanghai jobs jump by 20 percent

A total of 281,000 jobs were created in Shanghai in the second quarter of 2008, while the number of job hunters reached 299,000, a report released recently shows. The jobs were provided by 22,000 companies, according to the analysis of the city’s human resources by the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau. Compared with the same period last year, job supply has increased 20.7 percent, the report said…

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China Consumer Behavior

China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: spending still strong and accelerating

The increase in China’s retail sales volume exceeded 20 percent year on year in the last eight months and is still accelerating, enough to sustain economic growth above 9.5 percent for the rest of the year, a HSBC report said. According to the report ‘China Economic Spotlight‘ released on recently, consumer spending has performed strongly despite the slowing economy, the disastrous earthquake and the cancellation of the May Day golden week…

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China Economics Trend Watching

e-Commerce in China: dot-com economy grew over 60 percent year on year in the second quarter/2008

China’s dot-com economy grew nearly 63 percent year on year in the second quarter, despite increasing inflation and the effects of the Sichuan earthquake, a Shanghai-based research firm reported recently. Revenue generated by China’s online search, game and travel providers reached 13.32 billion yuan (US$1.94 billion) in the April-to-June period, iResearch said…

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China Economics

China Restricting Visas to Foreigners, hurts Tourism

China has begun to restrict visas for foreign visitors. The Washington Post presents several perspectives on why this is happening, including Olympic security concerns and a growing sense of nationalism among Chinese. On paper, the visa rules for China have always been strict. In addition to frustrated potential visitors to China, the economy is also experiencing difficulties due to the new visa restrictions. The Wall Street Journal reports on the vacant hotels in Beijing, built for Olympic visitors and other tourists who are now hampered from entering China….

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China Trend Watching

Internet in China: Students look to the Web for sex education

More than half of high school students consider the Internet the best way to learn about sex, a survey conducted by a Shanghai family planning body and the city’s accidental pregnancy hotline has found, Xinmin Evening News reported recently. The survey, covering 1,684 middle school students, revealed that 68 percent of high school boys and 46 percent of high school girls learn about sex from Websites, the newspaper said […]

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China Innovation

China, Technology, Innovation and the Environment: Energy consuming industries developing too fast

Industries with high energy consumption and emissions are developing too fast in China, along with the quick economic growth, the Chinese State Council, or Cabinet, warned on recently. The traditional industry structure remained unchanged, while the service sector and high-tech manufacturing weighting fell in the national economy, State Councilors heard at a meeting focusing on energy saving and emission reduction, chaired by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao […]

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China Consumer Behavior Trend Watching

Living in China: Obesity in China is a growing epidemic

Twenty-five years after China opened up to the west the Chinese are paying a price. Rapid social and economic change is transforming China, with enormous implications for its population and economy. Today the country has the fastest-growing obesity rate in the world and more than a fifth of China’s adult population is overweight, related to changing dietary and physical activity patterns. Overweight and poor diets are becoming a greater burden for the poor than for the rich, with subsequent large increases in hypertension, stroke, and adult-onset diabetes. The related economic costs represent 4–8 percent of the economy.

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Design Information Technology Innovation Software

Autodesk Announces Salzburg, Austria, as First Pilot City of its Digital Cities Initiative

Autodesk announced recently that it will be working with the city of Salzburg, Austria, as the first pilot city in Autodesk’s new Digital Cities initiative. The Digital City initiative is Autodesk’s technology designed to provide a collaborative environment for visualizing, analyzing, and simulating the future impact of urban design and development at a citywide scale…

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China Trend Watching

Living in China: Study finds obesity may be a growing problem among kids in Shanghai

Researchers are concerned that obesity may become a bigger problem among children in Shanghai after completing a study that found kids here have almost the same average height and weight as those in the United States, Shanghai News Times reported. The research team, under the leadership of Jiang Yifang, dean of children nutrition at the Children Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, found that boys aged 10 to 15 were slightly taller and heavier on average than those in the US…