Bodynsoul's List: China Business Insights

• As we noted earlier this week, the ASEAN region generated more foreign direct investment than China did during 2013.
• rising production costs in China and a reduction in China-ASEAN import-exports duties on 90 percent of all products are moving manufacturing capacity away from China and deeper into Asia.
• Currently, manufacturers in China are essentially servicing a Chinese middle class consumer base of 250 million.
• and it is that additional 350 million consumers whose purchasing requirements will increasingly be serviced by manufacturing capacity based elsewhere in Asia.
• will increase to 600 million in the next seven years
• Where Should My Trading Hub Be?
• Using a Hong Kong company to trade internationally makes a lot of sense. It is a free port, taxes are low and it has excellent financial services and logistics infrastructure.
• A trading company based in Singapore can also act as a regional hub when conducting multi-Asian operations, while the ASEAN treaty provides free trade across ASEAN itself. There is little to choose between the two, although if the vast majority of future growth is to be developed in China, then Hong Kong probably makes a more convenient choice. If business is expected to develop more in Asia, then for the same reasons Singapore is probably more appropriate.

6 more annotations...

• what’s missing in China today is not a culture of innovation but something more basic: trust.
• The biggest thing preventing modern China from becoming an innovation society, which is imperative if it hopes to keep raising incomes, is that it remains a very low-trust society.

• “目前真正职业的快递民营企业只有顺丰和宅急送，虽然”四通一达“(申通、圆通、中通、汇通、韵达的合称)规模较大，但它毕竟是加盟体系。顺丰、宅急送和”四通一达“，是在3个不同领域里的代表。顺丰是标准的快递业务，做得最好，”四通一达“主要做淘宝业务。宅急送过去在B2B中做得最好，经过两年探索，宅急送新的战略方向已很坚定，就是以COD(快递代收货款)为核心的B2C业务。”显然，宅急送不是小规模资金所能“诱惑”的。

• Shawn did a study of bankers right after the huge banking crisis hit. Most of them were incredibly stressed. But a few were happy and resilient.

   

  What did those guys have in common? They didn’t see problems as threats; they saw them as challenges to overcome.
• Twice As Much Work Means You Need Friends Twice As Much

• Here’s what we can all learn from Shawn:

   
   
  1. Success doesn’t bring happiness. Happiness brings success.
   
  2. See problems as challenges, not threats.
   
  3. More work means you need more social support. And giving support is better than receiving.
   
  4. Send a 2-minute “thank you” email every morning.
   
  5. Use the 20-second rule to build the habit.

• We all chase success hoping it will make us happy:

   
   
  1. I’ll be happy once I get that promotion.
   
  2. I’ll be happy once I get that raise.
   
  3. I’ll be happy once I lose 15 pounds.
   
   

  But the research shows that isn’t true. You achieve a goal and you’re briefly happier… but then you’re looking toward the next big thing.

   

  What Shawn’s research showed was when you flip the formula and focus on increasing happiness, you end up increasing success.

• You might think happiness only comes from big wins or big achievements. You’re wrong. Research shows little things are more important.

   

  So Shawn believes rather than focusing on big boosts like vacations, it’s smarter to build little, consistent habits akin to brushing your teeth.
• What little habit gives a big happiness boost over time? Send a 2-minute “thank you” email or text as soon as you get into the office.
• If you reduce the amount of activation energy required, tough things become easy. So make new habits 20 seconds easier to start.

5 more annotations...

• China’s economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent last year
• Some of China’s inland regions saw local GDP growth of over 10 percent, such as Chongqing and Guizhou in 2014.
• In Xinjiang and Tibet, China’s westernmost provinces, GDP growth exceeded 10 percent as well.
• The growth rates are comparatively lower in big cities such as Beijing (7.3 percent) and Shanghai (7 percent), where the economy is more developed and has been growing at a stable rate.
• In Shanxi, the economic growth dropped to 4.9 percent, ranking at the bottom among Chinese provinces.
• In 2014, with a growth rate of 8.1 percent, the service industry accounted for more than 48 percent of the country’s economy.
• Last year, retail sales increased 12 percent compared to the previous year.
• Online retail is rapidly growing, up 49.7 percent from the previous year. Along with the booming e-commerce industry, express delivery service was another success story, growing at a staggering 51.9 percent last year.

6 more annotations...