Policy Crowd Lags Behind China Traders nytimes.com
This is maybe off topic, maybe not. Being a paranoid type, China is starting to scare me more that Microsoft. Not for any bleeding heart or xenophobic concerns either, I just don't thing many people understand what's going on there. I don't pretend to either, but my grass roots feeling is that it's something really big. I doubt if many around here hang out in the Wal-marts, K-marts and Targets of the world, but I go to these places often enough, and it's amazing how much stuff comes from China already. And, to repeat myself again, plenty of computer stuff too.
But the real lesson that American business brings back to Washington is this one: Government-to-government agreements are nice, but what works on the back streets of Shanghai and Xian is a conspicuous display of political power.
Procter & Gamble has flourished where other foreign consumer-product companies failed, its competitors say, in part because its chief business partner in Hong Kong happens to be one of the city's most powerful billionaires, a man with excellent connections in Beijing. In China, a diplomat told Rubin about a lawyer who had a string of victories in the Chinese courts, even against local companies.
"I asked him, 'How do you do that?"' the diplomat said.
"He said it's easy: He just invites some very powerful people in Beijing to come sit in the front row."
Like I said, Rule of Law, who needs that. Maybe the greater Bill knows what's going on, or maybe he's deluding himself by having the lesser Bill do his bidding. All I wish was that there was someone looking out for something that could be seen as America's interests on this issue. I'm afraid that instead government by lobbyists will continue as usual. As to investing, beats me, but it sure doesn't look good for the little guy.
Cheers, Dan. |
