Global Lens on China

外媒看中国

What Does The Strong Q1 Growth Mean For China?

中国一季度经济强势增长意味着什么？

CHINA announced a growth surprise last week. After this solid first quarter performance, the central government may be in the unique position to achieve its growth target - even while tightening. In the first quarter, China’s economy grew 6.9 percent; slightly faster than expected and led by strong expansion at factories.

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TalkMarkets | April 23, 2017, Sunday

In China, this is science fiction’s golden age

在中国，科幻小说正处于黄金时代

AS China reaches for the stars, with plans for a permanent space station and a Mars mission, its sci-fi is also taking on the world, says author Lavie Tidhar

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New Scientist | February 27, 2017, Monday

Why Toyota Only Sold One Prius in China Last December

为什么丰田去年12月只在中国卖出了一辆普锐斯？

IF you’re reading this in China and you bought a Prius in December, congratulations -- you were the only one.

While Toyota Motor Corp.’s iconic gas-electric hybrid car continues to sell in other markets almost two decades after the first one was sold in Japan in late 1997, Chinese consumers have never warmed to the Prius, a mainstay of the U.S. green-car movement. This past year, sales almost completely flatlined, even as China’s cities continue to battle smog issues.

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Bloomberg | February 16, 2017, Thursday

Xiaomi Goes All-In On Retail to Revive China Smartphone Sales

销量大滑坡！小米开始布局线下零售

AFTER pioneering online flash sales in China to reach the top of the smartphone market,Xiaomi Corp. is turning to old-fashioned retail to arrest its slide.

The phonemaker will roll out a chain of about 1,000 brick-and-mortar stores under the Mi Home banner over the next three years, as co-founder Lei Jun mimics a strategy that’s helped the Oppo and Vivo brands leapfrog Xiaomi to the top of China’s smartphone market. The new target accelerates plans outlined just last month to open 200 stores in 2017.

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Bloomberg | February 10, 2017, Friday

A Chinese photo app worth $4.5 billion is trending in the US — here's what it does

美图秀秀风靡美国

A popular Chinese photo-editing app has burst into popularity in the West, covering social feeds in airbrushed photos with huge, sparkling eyes.

Although Meitu has been around since 2008, it has become an overnight success and was trending in Apple's App Store on Thursday.

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Business Insider | January 19, 2017, Thursday

In 2017, China Is Doubling Down on AI

2017年，中国将在人工智能领域掀起更大的波浪

THIS year, China looks set to make larger waves than ever in artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

The nation’s search giant, Baidu, is leading the charge. Already making serious headway in AI research, it has now announced that former Microsoft executive Qi Lu will take over as its chief operating officer. Lu ran the applications and services division at Microsoft, but, according to the Verge, a large part of his remit was developing strategies for artificial intelligence and chatbots. In a statement, Baidu cites hiring Lu as part of its plan to become a “global leader in AI.”

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MIT Technology Review | January 17, 2017, Tuesday

The humble ballpoint pen has become a new symbol of China’s innovation economy

一支不起眼的圆珠笔成为了中国创新经济的新标志

CHINA has grown by leaps and bounds during its quest for greater domestic innovation, becoming a world leader in sectors like robotics-based manufacturing and consumer software. But one of its most recent accomplishments is in an area that’s considerably more basic: ballpoint pens.

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QUARTZ | January 12, 2017, Thursday

China's famous elevated bus is now a giant roadblock

中国著名的巴铁项目何去何从？

AFTER seizing the world's attention over the summer, China's futuristic elevated bus appears to have reached the end of the line.

Video of the road-straddling bus cruising over the top of cars during a test run spread like wildfire on social media back in August. But the quirky vehicle now sits idle at the test site in northern China, where it has become a hulking eyesore.

Billed as a potential answer to China's crippling traffic problems, the elevated bus is now the source of bottlenecks in the port city of Qinhuangdao. Cars traveling in both directions have to crowd together on the other side of the road to avoid the test tracks and the 26-foot-wide bus.

"The road is narrower, of course it affects traffic," said Wang Yimin, a local mechanic who was one of several residents who grumbled about the inconvenience.

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CNN Money | December 19, 2016, Monday

Lippi begins tenure as China coach, target still World Cup

里皮正式执掌中国国家队，目标世界杯

MARCELLO Lippi starts mission almost-impossible on Tuesday as he bids to take China to the 2018 World Cup.

Lippi, who guided Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, was appointed in October to try and resuscitate China's floundering qualification campaign. He kicks off against Qatar in the south-western city Kunming.

China, which has qualified only once for a World Cup, has just one point from the first four games in Group A of third-round Asian qualifying, making victory against Qatar vital.

"We will focus on first dealing with the Qataris and then Korea Republic," Lippi was quoted as saying on the Asian Football Confederation's website. "Our chief aim is World Cup qualification. I hope we can achieve a miracle."

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USA Today | November 14, 2016, Monday

Will American Football Be The Next Big Video Game Trend In China?

橄榄球会是中国下一个热门电游主题吗？

IN 2014, the Chinese government set an ambitious goal to raise sports revenue from 0.6% of GDP, at the time, to at least 1.3% of GDP by 2025 or $750 billion. In comparison, sports comprise roughly 3% of the GDP of the United States. One of the largest sports moneymakers in the U.S. is American football. In 2015 the National Football League (NFL) generated a record-breaking $13 billion, which was an increase of $1 billion over 2014. The NFL also has an ambitious goal: to generate $25 billion by 2027, and one of the mechanisms will be via international expansion.

It seems that in this case the aim of the Chinese government and the NFL are in alignment, and they can work together to achieve both goals. In the words of Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive VP of International, “We don’t need a selling point. I don’t think anybody doesn’t understand the opportunity in China. It’s the world’s largest market, the world’s most developing sports market. There’s no real local sport that currently dominates. There’s huge interest in sports and athletes, which is growing, and a huge land of opportunity.”

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Forbes | October 31, 2016, Monday