Chinese Economy/Development thread (updated regularly)

[topjumper]

www.tianditu.cn/map/index.jsp

That's the link for the "MapWorld" website, not too bad for a first stab I guess.

 

[Martian2]

Some of you are probably wondering: Why does he spend a significant amount of time and effort to focus on Taiwan?

There are two notable reasons. Firstly, using the benchmark of U.S. patent grants for 2009, Taiwan has the innovative power of 77.1% of Europe's largest economy, Germany (e.g. Taiwan's 7,779 patents compared to Germany's 10,086; see my thread/post on "Greater China outnumbers German patents").

Secondly and the more important reason, Taiwan is 98% Han. China is 92% Han. Taiwan and China are comprised of the same Han people. Taiwan is a leading indicator of China's future development. As China's educational system and development mature, China's per-capita innovations will eventually resemble Taiwan's current performance.

Taiwan Today

"Taiwan students clean up at Intel science fair
Publication Date：05/17/2010
Source： United Daily News

Winners are grinners. Budding high school scientists from Taiwan show off their awards from the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. (CNA)

Taiwan’s reputation as a “clever country” continues to rise following a record seven-award haul by local students at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in California May 14.

Nine students from Taiwan entered the world’s largest high school science competition, collecting one top prize, five third place honors and a fourth in categories ranging from animal and mathematical science to chemistry and electrical and mechanical engineering. This was the highest winning percentage of all national representations.

Jacqueline Hung and Lin Chi-chieh of Taipei Municipal First Girls’ Senior High School won first place in the team projects category for their study “Synthesis and Analysis of the New Superconducting Material—FeSe Nanocrystals.”

A beaming Hung credited her teachers and classmates for the victory. “I would like to share this prize with everyone involved in the process,” she said. “The award is a great motivation for our future endeavors.”

Hung and Lin were awarded US$3,000 for their performance, with Taiwan’s Ministry of Education giving each winning student up to NT$200,000 (US$6,300). In addition, Hung and lin will receive scholarships for overseas study.

A total of 1,611 students from 55 five countries battled it out at the weeklong event for 600 awards and prize money of US$4 million. (PCT-JSM)

(This article originally appeared in The Liberty Times May 16.)"

- CNA ENGLISH NEWS

"Taiwan wins big at British Invention Show
2010/10/17 20:53:58

London, Oct. 16 (CNA) Taiwan emerged as the biggest winner at the British Invention Show 2010 (BIS) that ended Saturday, capturing 12 gold and two silvers, as well as special awards of diamond, platinum and double-gold medals.

Taiwan submitted 19 entries to the UK's largest invention and technology exhibition and garnered its best score in the four years since it first participated in the event. Sixteen countries took part this year.

Katharine Chang, Taiwan's representative to the U.K., and Chen Tsung-chieh, head of the the economic division of Taiwan's representative office in London, both extended congratulations to the winners.

Chen Tsung-tai, president of the Taiwan Invention Association and leader of the Taiwanese team, said that pieces invented by Taiwan's youth amazed the judges with their creativity and innovative ideas, adding that these young people represented the hopes of the future and the keys to improving Taiwan's competitiveness.

Kane Kramer, president of the assembly and founder of the British Inventors Society, said at the award presentation ceremony that he was attracted by the top award entry, a multi-channel headphone system submitted by Taiwan's Cotron Corp, describing it as a well-deserved winner.

Kramer, inventor of the first digital audio player and whose work helped inspire the design of Apple's iPod, said he would work together with a Taiwanese firm regarding his latest invention.

The headphone system has won contracts from Japan and the United States, Lin Pi-fen, a director of the Cotron Corp, said.

Another Cotron invention, a wireless audio player, also won the special platinum medal, making the company the biggest winner at the event.

A student team from Far East University in Tainan won four gold medals for its coffee machine capable of adjusting caffeine content and aroma strength, a device designed to completely destroy information stored on a CD disc, a water-saving planting container, and a solar-powered vacuum tube heat collector.

The five-member team from the Affiliated Experimental High School of Tunghai University earned two golds with its new video monitor and PC Mirror Cam.

The team's youngest winner, 12-year-old Chi Yu-chen, said "I feel good that I could transfer ideas to inventions."

Held Oct. 13-16 in London's Alexandra Palace, the show attracted more than 130 entries from around the world. (By Jennifer Huang and Maia Huang)"

U.S. Wins Gold In Chemistry Olympiad | Latest News | Chemical & Engineering News

"U.S. Wins Gold In Chemistry Olympiad
Taiwan is big winner; U.S. has best showing since 2002
Linda Wang
August 3, 2009
Chemical & Engineering News

TEAM EFFORT Wang (from left), Benjamin, Lu, and Seifried show off their medals.

Taiwan dominated the 41st International Chemistry Olympiad, held on July 18–27 in Cambridge, England. Taiwan's team won four gold medals, more than any other country.

The U.S. also put on a strong performance, with its four-member team earning a gold medal and three silver medals.

The international competition drew 250 high school students from 64 countries. The 164 medals that were awarded included 28 gold, 54 silver, and 82 bronze medals.

Ruibo Wang of China won the top gold medal; Assaf Mauda of Israel won the second highest gold medal; and Hung-I Yang of Taiwan won the third-ranking gold medal. China and Russia each garnered three gold medals and a silver medal. England earned four silver medals.

On the U.S. team were Nathan Benjamin of West Lafayette, Ind.; Colin Lu of Vestal, N.Y.; Brian Seifried of Dunwoody, Ga.; and Yixiao Wang of Westfield, N.J. They were accompanied by head mentor Linda J. Wood, a chemistry teacher at Lowndes High School, in Valdosta, Ga., and mentor John C. Kotz, an emeritus professor of chemistry at the State University of New York, Oneonta.

The U.S. team's performance is significant because the U.S. has not won a gold medal since the 2002 competition in Groningen, the Netherlands, Kotz says. "The fact that we got a gold medal this year shows that we're working hard on training our students, and the students are pushing themselves even further," he says.

Wang, who won the gold, says he owes his achievement to the rigorous preparation he received during the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad study camp, held in June at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs (C&EN, June 29, page 9). "All the skills we learned at camp were applied in the practical exam," Wang says. "That was well done on the part of the mentors."

Peter Wothers, chair of the 41st International Chemistry Olympiad, says the exam questions tested students' ability to think creatively. For example, in one of the laboratory experiments, students were asked to design a procedure for determining the critical micelle concentration of sodium n-dodecyl sulfate (SDS) by measuring the conductivity of different SDS concentrations.

"To be a good scientist, you need to be able to devise your own experiments," Wothers says. "When you start doing a Ph.D., it's all about doing your own research."

During the 10-day program, the students also participated in cultural activities in and around London, including visiting Westminster Abbey and playing medieval games at Belvoir Castle. Students stayed at the University of Cambridge, which is celebrating its 800th anniversary this year.

Every student, whether they won a medal or not, should feel like a winner, Seifried says. "If they don't, then they missed some of the experience."

Lu says that having a network of friends around the world who share his love for chemistry prepares him well for a career in science.

Benjamin agrees, saying that the relationships they created will remain long after the joy of winning a medal subsides.

The 42nd International Chemistry Olympiad will take place on July 19–28, 2010, in Tokyo (icho2010.org). The U.S. will host the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad in 2012 at the University of Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2010 American Chemical Society"

Taiwan wins big at International Earth Science Olympiad-????-??????? CNA-NEWS.COM

"Taiwan wins big at International Earth Science Olympiad
2010/09/27 23:09:10

Taipei, Sept. 27 (CNA) Taiwan students captured three gold medals and one silver at the just-concluded 4th International Earth Science Olympiad in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Among the gold medal winners was Yang Hung-yi from National Tainan Senior High School, who also won a gold medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad last year,

Yang, back home after his victory, said he was thrilled with his gold medal performance. But despite his winning performances in earth science and chemistry, he said he "loves physics most" and is hoping to compete in the International Physics Olympiad next year.

In addition to Yang, Huang Po-han of National Taichung First Senior High School and Chang Chih-chin of National Yilan Senior High School also won gold medals.

Lu Kun-lin of National Taichung Senior High School pocketed a silver medal.

Lin Pay-liam, an associate professor at National Central University and Taiwan's team leader, said this year's Olympiad featured field tests in the areas of geology, astronomy, atmospheric sciences, and oceanology, and Yang had the highest scores in the latter two categories.

The competition consists of two parts: theoretical and practical examinations. The theoretical examination asked participants to solve earth science problems. The practical exam includes experiments that the participants must complete within a set period of time.

Sixty-seven senior high school students from 19 countries took part in this year's competition, and a total of seven golds, 14 silvers and 26 bronzes were awarded.

Taiwan has performed well since first taking part in the competition in 2007. It has ranked at the top for the fourth consecutive year and has won a total of 12 gold medals and four silver medals. (By Lin Szu-yu and Lilian Wu)"

 

[Speeder 2]

Martian 2,

"Secondly and the more important reason, Taiwan is 98% Han. China is 92% Han. Taiwan and China are comprised of the same Han people. Taiwan is a leading indicator of China's future development. "

If I may further add one point that not only Taiwan is 98% Han, but also they represent pretty much every provinces of China, since Generalissimo Chiang's army ( together with their families) retreated to Taiwan were made of Han Chinese from all corners of China.

Taiwan, therefore, is perhaps a much better "leading indicator" than what HK (mainly Cantonese) sugguests of what China mainland would look like in the future.

 

[no_name]

^^^ Lol in Taiwan you can find a wide range of cruisines from different parts of china, whereas in china at any place it is more localized. Simply because as you said KMT soldiers comprised of people from all parts of china, and therefore chefs from all parts of china.

 

[Martian2]

Taipei 101 view of Taipei city, Taiwan

Taiwan`s PPP-based Per-capita GDP to Exceed Japan`s This Year | CENS.com - The Taiwan Economic News

"Taiwan`s PPP-based Per-capita GDP to Exceed Japan`s This Year
2010/10/22

Taipei, Oct. 22, 2010 (CENS)--Taiwan`s per-capita GDP, based on purchasing power parity (PPP), is expected to hit a record high of US$34,743 this year to exceed Japan`s US$33,828, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Taiwan`s Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) says “PPP” is a theory of long-term equilibrium exchange rates based on relative price levels of two countries. A “PPP” exists when the exchange rates of two currencies equalize their purchasing power in their home countries for a given basket of goods. The theoretical exchange rates are often used to compare the standards of living of two or more countries.

CEPD says that the nominal per-capita GDP of both Japan and South Korea is higher than that of Taiwan, yet higher commodity prices in these two countries dampen purchasing willingness and meanwhile suppress purchasing power, resulting in real purchasing power that is actually weaker than in Taiwan.

In 2001 Taiwan`s PPP-based per-capita GDP was US$20,278, lower than Japan`s by US$5,614 and Germany`s by US$7,006. However, in 2010 such figure for Taiwan has outstripped Japan`s by US$915, but still lags Germany`s by US$1,187. In the same period, the gap between Taiwan and South Korea has widened to US$4,952 from US$2,870.

PPP-based Per-capita GDP of Major Asian Economies Unit: US$

• ....................2001........2010
• Taiwan.......20,278.....34,743
• Japan.........25,892.....33,828
• S. Korea.....17,408.....29,791
• Singapore...32,218.....57,238
• Hong Kong..26,891.....45,277

Source: IMF

(by Judy Li)"

 

[no_name]

^^^ And to think we had the lackluster 8 years of Ah-bian from 2000-2008

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Taiwan?
Heck man, the Nanjiao had to survive without a border and still thrived. Plus Taiwan seems just predominantly Fujian and some Hakka.

Don't go over board with scholars, money making street smarts is still very important. In Singapore, they have this sarcasm of about their government scholars,
"Good in theory,
and also
Good, in theory."

 

[below_freezing]

Note this:

Taiwan won 4 gold medals in chem olympiads.
Mainland won 3 gold 1 silver.

Combined, the "Chinese speaking team" won 7 golds and 1 silver;
the "English speaking team" of US+Britain won 7 silvers and 1 gold.

however I should caution against using contest results as an indicator of ANYTHING. Winning a contest is not the same as winning a war, because in war, you can "cheat". The 5 fields that matter most for winning a war are politics, aerospace, finance, materials and electronics. Winning a contest for making a coffee pot doesn't mean you can design a fighter jet, and being able to design a fighter jet doesn't mean you can make a fighter jet. US is still winning in all areas except materials. We'll catch up very quickly though.

 

[Martian2]

I don't believe that Taiwanese scientists are being employed to design and build coffee pots.

Sky Bow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sky Bow III (i.e. Tien Kung III) Missile Launcher Unveiling en route to National Day Military parade

"The Sky Bow III (TK-3) (天弓三, Tien Kung III) is a surface-to-air missile system developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan. The third generation system is a more advanced version of the Sky Bow II (TK-2) SAM with a longer range and improved anti-missile capability. Plus the TK-3 missile also has a brand new mobile radar, so far referred as TK-3 radar, similar to Patriot's AN/MPQ-53 radar in layout and appearance.[1]

It is in the final stages of research and development. It will then enter mass production and become part of Taiwan's Anti-Tactical Ballistic Missile (ATBM) project, Taiwan's planned missile shield. Officially revealed on October 10, 2008 military parade.[2][3][4]"

"Taiwan unveiled two domestically-developed missiles during the parade - one a ship-to-ship model, the other an anti-tactical ballistic missile.

The Hsiung-feng III and Tien-kung III missiles were on display...."

Hsiung Feng III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Hsiung Feng III (HF-3) (雄風三型, "Brave Wind III") is a missile system currently being developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan. Very little is known about the HF-3, except that it is a Mach 2 class supersonic anti-ship missile....It is known that there have been a series of successful test firings of the HF-3 in December 2004.

According to a Liberty Times article on May 10, 2005, the basic R&D phase of the HF-3 was mostly complete by that time, and the system was to under-go various countermeasure tests before entering service. According to the article, the main difficulty in designing the HF-3 involved violent trans-sonic vibrations damaging missile parts; advances in materials science allowed extensive miniaturization of the HF-3 system. It is expected to be deployed aboard the ROC Navy's Lafayette/Kang Ding class and Perry/Cheng Kung class frigates, and may possibly be deployed on the Kwang Hwa VI class missile boats.

In August 2006, Janes subsequently reported that the R&D phase was complete - the first test was conducted in September 2006. The missile was officially revealed on Oct. 10, 2008 military parade.[1][2]

2 version of HF-3 exist so far, a land based and a shipborne version that might be shorter in range in order to fit on board Taiwan's naval ships, as seen of 4 such HF-3 boxes (with 4 other HF-2 AShM) on board ROCN frigate PFG-1101 Cheng Kung as of 2006 and PFG-1105 was seen with 4 HF-3 boxes as of June 2009. It is expected each ship will be backfitted with HF-3 SSMs when they undergo their major overhaul. Also DDG-1802 was spotted by December 2008 carrying 8 HF-3 SSMs in original Harpoon SSM position midship at Suao naval base.

On Sept 7th, 2009, it was revealed ROC Navy is designing a new 900 tons class missile craft that will carry 8 HF-3 SSM. Besides SWATH design, nothing else was revealed.

The United States, apart from being the main supplier of weapons to Taiwan, has expressed its concern to the Republic of China's government compliance to the Missile Technology Control Regime that was designed to curb the proliferation of "special delivery vehicles" (platforms that can be meaningfully used to deliver nuclear warheads, defined as missiles with a range of 300 km or more). ROC, due to its relatively disadvantaged political status within the international community, is expected to abide by the MTCR despite not being a signatory entity."

 

[below_freezing]

No offense, but the missiles look to be copies of 1960's US designs.

the IDF also has a lower top speed, lower payload, lower flight ceiling, lower range and less thrust than the single engined Mig-21 from 1960. this means that its radar must necessarily be smaller and lower powered - indeed, its maximum look-up range is 57 km, it can't even see some BVR missile launches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDC_****-1_Ching-kuo

indeed, if taiwan would reunify with the mainland, we can replace all of their US copies with our weapons. one of taiwan's main weaknesses (indeed, a weakness of almost every region or country in the world except a top club of 7) is aerospace industries.

 

[Martian2]

No offense, but the missiles look to be copies of 1960's US designs.

"The Hsiung Feng III (HF-3) (雄風三型, "Brave Wind III") is a missile system currently being developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan. Very little is known about the HF-3, except that it is a Mach 2 class supersonic anti-ship missile....It is known that there have been a series of successful test firings of the HF-3 in December 2004.

Perhaps I'm missing something here. You seem to be implying that Taiwan has developed missile technology from the 1960s. Please explain to me how mainland China's or American missiles are over four decades ahead of Taiwan's Mach 2 supersonic missiles.

For example, are you claiming that China or the United States has deployed hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles? If not, just exactly what is the basis for your claim that Taiwan's technology is from the 1960s?

 

[Martian2]

An airborne laser is a waste of money. America does not need an airborne laser to establish air superiority and penetrate North Korean or Iranian airspace. An airborne laser with a 50-mile to 100-mile range is useless against ICBM targets inside continental China (e.g. 3,000 miles across). There is no foreseeable technology that will enable the development of a laser that is "20 to 30 times more powerful" (e.g. with a 1,000 to 3,000 mile range).

Boeing's Airborne Laser Defense Fails the Test - FoxNews.com

"Boeing's Airborne Laser Defense Fails the Test
Published October 22, 2010 | Reuters

Boeing's Yal 1A Airborne Laser Aircraft works its way through initial tests at the company's Western Test Range.

A converted Boeing 747 equipped with a powerful laser failed to shoot down a mock enemy ballistic missile, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said on Thursday, the system's second botched flight test in a row.

Preliminary indications are that the so-called Airborne Laser Test Bed tracked the target's exhaust plume but did not hand off to a second, "active tracking" system as a prelude to firing the high-powered chemical laser, said Richard Lehner, an MDA spokesman.

"The transition didn't happen," he said. "Therefore, the high-energy lasing did not occur."

Boeing produces the airframe and is the project's prime contractor, while Northrop Grumman supplies the high-energy laser and Lockheed Martin has been developing the beam- and fire-control systems.

About $4 billion has gone into it since the Boeing-led team won the contract for it in 1996. The system is designed to focus a super-heated, basketball-sized beam on a pressurized part of a boosting missile long enough to cause it to fail.

For fiscal 2011 that began Oct. 1, President Barack Obama asked Congress for $98.6 million for all of the Defense Department's directed energy research, including the Airborne Laser Test Bed.

Previously, the flying raygun had been under development as a potential part of a layered U.S. ballistic missile shield against weapons that could be fired by countries such as Iran and North Korea. Pentagon planners initially envisaged using the aircraft to shoot down ballistic missiles near their launch pads.

"The reality is that you would need a laser something like 20 to 30 times more powerful than the chemical laser in the plane right now to be able to get any (safe) distance from the launch site to fire," Gates told the House of Representatives Appropriations Defense subcommittee last year after scaling it back.

The technology is now being tested for other potential missile-defense applications.

The United States has been spending about $10 billion a year to build a bulwark against missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.

The MDA said in a statement on its website that officials would investigate the cause of the Airborne Laser system's "transition failure" in the test that took place late Wednesday off the Southern California coast.

"The intermittent performance of a valve within the laser system is being examined," the statement said. A spokeswoman for Boeing's directed energy program, Elizabeth Merida, referred calls to the MDA.

The Airborne Laser system successfully shot down a target ballistic missile in February in the first such test of a flying directed-energy weapon.

The initial success demonstrated the potential use of directed energy against enemy ballistic missiles shortly after they are launched, Pentagon and Boeing officials have said.

The system's second shoot-down test, also at the Point Mugu military test range off California, failed on Sept. 1.

That test was designed to double the distance between the 747-400F aircraft and the target to about 100 miles. But it ended early when corrupted beam control software steered the high-energy laser slightly off center, apparently because of a communications software error, the MDA said.

Lehner said the range of the latest test was "the same as the successful February experiment" -- that is about 50 miles, although the exact range remains classified.

The MDA still considers directed energy "in some form," possibly a solid-state laser, to have a lot of potential for missile defense, he said.

The system carried a price tag of $1 billion to $1.5 billion per aircraft before Gates canceled a possible second aircraft in June 2009."

 

[Speeder 2]

China to lead the world in patenting by 2011, new report states


The latest evidence that China is set to become a major player in the world of patents (if that is not already the case) comes from Thomson Reuters. It has produced research that suggests that the Chinese will lead the world in patenting activity by the end of next year. Based on an analysis of the total volume of first-patent filings in China, Europe, Japan, Korea and the US from 2003 – 2009, the report finds that China experienced an annual growth rate of 26.1% in total patent volume from 2003-2009. Its closest rival, the US, with saw a rate of 5.5%.

According to a press release I received announcing the report's publication, other highlights include:

• While innovation by domestic entities is driving China’s patent boom, China is also expanding its IP protection overseas. From 2007-2008, the growth rate of China’s overseas patent fillings in Europe, Japan and the US. were 33.5 percent, 15.9 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively.

• Government innovation incentives, R&D tax deductions, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s commitment to make China an innovation-centred economy, and unique patent types (such as utility models) contribute to China’s acceleration to the top innovator spot.

• As the Chinese economic landscape changes, a major shift is occurring in patent filings: agri-centred innovation related to food production is growing much more slowly than high-technology innovation. There was a 4,861 percent increase in domestic Chinese patent applications in digital computers in the decade from 1998 to 2008, versus a much more modest increase of 552 percent in natural products and polymers for that same period.

• Approximately half of all Chinese patents filed in 2009 were utility models, which are less-rigorous, more-affordable forms of patents that provide 10 years of protection (versus 20 years for invention patents). The use of utility model patents in China has grown at a rate of 18 percent per annum since 2001. Utility models are also a potentially valuable strategy for foreign filings in China.

• Despite the growing use of utility model patents, Chinese patent quality is slowly improving based on the Thomson Reuters analysis. By tracking the ratio of patent applications to granted patents among full invention patents in China, the analysis finds that patent quality is trending up.

China to lead the world in patenting by 2011, new report states - Blog - IAM Magazine

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

Tsang learns another Singapore lesson

Fanny W. Y. Fung
Oct 24, 2010

Look beyond China.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, on the eve of his first official visit to India, says Hong Kong has overlooked the country's potential as a source of trade and investment - and that Singapore is streets ahead.

"We have not worked hard enough in a very important market near us, which is India," Tsang said in an interview on the government's information services website. "We are certainly not as successful as Singapore in this respect. I admire them for their achievements there and particularly with the growth of the Indian market, which will [make] India an economic superpower."

He took the same theme in a separate interview on RTHK, saying: "We have overlooked this market. Bilateral trade has relied on the efforts of local and Indian businessmen."

Hong Kong must step up efforts to woo businesses from the country, the chief executive said.

In admitting the oversight, Tsang appeared to be acknowledging long-standing criticism that Hong Kong has become fixated on relations with the mainland since the 1997 handover to the exclusion of important countries in the region. His problems with the Philippine government during and after the deadly Manila hostage crisis - in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed - have been described as a wake-up call.

"Since 2003, Hong Kong has relied too much on mainland policies, such as the individual visit scheme [for tourists] and the listing of state-owned companies here. It is good for the government to promote listing opportunities to big Indian companies now," said Kwan Cheuk-chiu, an independent economist.

A Hong Kong lawyer based in Vietnam, commenting on dashed hopes of stronger Hong Kong-Vietnam trade ties, said recently: "I get the sense Hong Kong thinks the mainland is enough ... but that complacency has to be dangerous."

The chief executive begins a five-day visit to the Indian capital, New Delhi, and its commercial hub, Mumbai, tomorrow. He will meet senior government officials and business leaders. Among the initiatives Tsang wants to discuss are mutual visa waivers and the promotion of air travel.

Five years ago Singapore signed the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement with India to reduce tariffs, avoid double taxation and collaborate in the fields of science, education and intellectual property. Hong Kong has yet to establish a governmental co-operation framework with the world's most populous democracy.

This is not the first time the chief executive has expressed admiration for Singapore. In 2006, he angered some in Hong Kong by saying it should learn from the efficiency of the Singaporean government and refrain from prolonging arguments on important issues - a comment some commentators saw as a sign he was intolerant of dissent.

India is already a significant trade partner for the city. In the first eight months of the year it was Hong Kong's fifth-largest export market and ninth-largest source of imports. Noting the growing number of Indian visitors to Hong Kong, Tsang said they were big spenders and the city, along with Guangdong, should promote tourism to the Indian market.

He will appeal to Indian businesspeople to use the city's financial and professional services, and to attract Indian corporations to list in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong has the most active financial market and the strongest capital-raising ability in the Asian time zone," Tsang said.

Kwan, the economist, said the government had lagged behind because it had overlooked emerging markets such as Brazil and India. "Singapore has been very aggressive in attracting foreign investment," he said. "For example, it has lowered its profits tax rate, albeit it is still higher than Hong Kong's, and actively promoted its casino business and the Universal Studio in recent years."

Balu Chainrai, vice-chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, said there was big potential demand from India's high-technology industry for the city's financial services.

"The blooming IT industry in India very much wants to expand in China," he said. "The finance and banking services in Hong Kong will be able to provide great help."

I agree that Hong Kong should not only look to China. Of course, China will be main priority, but I can see HK as a starting point for increasing trade between China and India. It's really pathetic how little the world's two biggest countries do business with each other.

Long term, trade between Asia and the West will slow down. It is time for an Asian century

 

[StingRoy]

Tsang learns another Singapore lesson


I agree that Hong Kong should not only look to China. Of course, China will be main priority, but I can see HK as a starting point for increasing trade between China and India. It's really pathetic how little the world's two biggest countries do business with each other.

Long term, trade between Asia and the West will slow down. It is time for an Asian century

Good news quote there.
Agree that HK has a long way to go to match S'pore. The reason why you see a lot of investment from S'pore is that there are a lot of Indians working and owning companies. I am sure there are a lot of Indians working in HK as well, not sure how many are investors.

There is an excellent point you made to increase regional cooperation and markets in order to create economic buffer against the western economic dynamics. If you look at the period of recession both India and China had been growing and imagine if the trade ratios were a lot higher regionally, we could have grown a lot faster during this time. Hope to see more mutual investment opportunities for both.