Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 1349

Made in India? Why manufacturing is the best route to development

China’s story, like most economic success stories before it, is a testament to a simple yet highly relevant policy recommendation for today’s developing countries: if you want to prosper, you need to make stuff. Read more

Experts predict more than 1bn tablet users in 2015 – with a third in China

Of the billion-plus tablet users in 2015, the research firm eMarketer estimates that 328.3m will be in China, 156m in the US, 40.4m in India and 32.2m in the UK. Read more

Can China's dying villages be saved?

"In China, the ideology of urbanization is too dominant. Everyone believes a successful life can only happen in the city. As soon as the villagers have a little money, they buy an apartment in town. They think living in old houses is a sign of failure." Read more

Hong Kong Leaders Insist Election Will Follow Beijing’s Rules

The Hong Kong government vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with an election proposal that ignited months of street protests last year, using a report originally offered as a concession to student demonstrators to warn that the authorities would not shift course from plans laid down by Beijing. Read more

- Bildet av Kina bør nyanseres

I Norge er det en tendens til å vurdere forholdet til Kina ved nesten utelukkende å legge vekt på situasjonen for demokrati og menneskerettigheter, mener Innovasjon Norges regiondirektør i Kina, Knut R. Sørlie. Read more

China: 2014 Year in Review

A look back on the key trends and events for the past 12 months. Read more

Dangerous Smog in Beijing Down Slightly in 2014

Air pollution in Beijing dropped slightly last year, municipal authorities said, although levels of the most dangerous small particulate matter remained more than three times the internationally recommended limit. Read more

China’s silk road plans could challenge Northern Sea Route

In September 2013, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced his country’s plans to re-develop the Silk Road in a thoroughly modern manner. Forming the “Silk Road Economic Belt,” high-speed rail, freeways, and pipelines will criss-cross lands once traversed by caravans in the first millennium. Read more

Shanghai crush: Xi Jinping orders new year investigation

Xi Jinping told Shanghai officials to provide an explanation for Wednesday's fatalities as soon as possible, and to "go all out" in efforts to treat the injured, state media reported. Read more

Myanmar Returns to What Sells: Heroin

Poppy cultivation in Myanmar has nearly tripled since 2006, reaching close to 150,000 acres, according to surveys carried out by the United Nations. Yet even that steep rise fails to capture the full extent of Myanmar’s resurgence as a major player in the global heroin business. Over the last few years, an increasing number of farmers here have produced two opium crops a year, experts say; the