Author Archives: Adam Mayer

Thomas Friedman to America: China is Kicking Our Butt

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Tianjin. Photo by Sarmu

New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman was in Tianjin earlier this month for the 2010 Summer Davos World Economic Forum. His trip yielded a pair of opinion pieces blasting America for its lagging economic progress in comparison to rising China.

The title of Friedman’s first piece, Too Many Hamburgers?, references a skit produced for the Davos Forum where four children wearing four different flags – Chinese, American, Indian and Brazilian- are about to run a race. The child with the American flag bolts ahead only to lose ground shortly after due to a bout of cramps. The others wonder what is wrong with him until one of them says, “he ate too many hamburgers.” Continue reading →

Chengdu’s First Subway Line Set to Open

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Entry shell to the new Chengdu underground metro

October 1st, 2010 will be a momentous day in the Sichuan capital of Chengdu. On this day, the city will inaugurate its first subway line: Line 1. This is significant not only because road traffic is getting increasingly worse in the city and more alternatives for getting around town are much-needed, but also because it represents to the citizens of Chengdu a rite of passage into modern China.

Line 1 of the Chengdu Metro traverses a north-south axis through the middle of the city, reaching from the older neighborhoods in the north to the newly developed high-technology zones in the south. In the center is the Tianfu Square station, where Line 1 and Line 2 are set to converge in the future making it a critical transfer hub. Continue reading →

Architect Ole Scheeren Opens New Office in China

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CCTV Building in Beijing. Photo by Fred @ SG

German architect Ole Scheeren, a former partner of the Dutch firm OMA and lead designer of the CCTV Building in Beijing, recently announced the establishment of his own architectural practice, Büro Ole Scheeren. This news is significant not only because of the exciting work bound to come out of the new office, but because Scheeren has selected two Chinese cities (Hong Kong and Beijing) as the base for his operations. According to the press release:

“In choosing China as the firm’s headquarters, Büro Ole Scheeren demonstrates its commitment to Asia and the region’s acute significance in the worlds of architecture and design.” Continue reading →

China, America, Paul Krugman

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Every few months, Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes an opinion piece lambasting China for ‘manipulating’ its currency, the renminbi (RMB). Whenever he brings this particular issue up, Krugman argues that China is undermining America’s (and other countries) manufacturing competitiveness.

I have responded to Krugman’s previous commentaries about the Chinese currency issue before (U.S. – China Trade Complications) and discussed why letting the RMB float will not bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Krugman doesn’t seem to be getting the message based on yet another  Op-Ed he penned titled China, Japan, America. Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Shenzhen: Special Economic Zone Turns 30

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By now everyone knows the story of Shenzhen: a small fishing village in  south China’s Guangdong Province transforms into an economic powerhouse in only a matter of a few years. It was a mere 30 years ago this month when China’s then-leader Deng Xiaoping selected Shenzhen to become the country’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ), laying the foundation for what would eventually become the most symbolic city of the new China. Continue reading →