Welcome to this edition of Business Tianjin with many updates on commercial and economics news, interviews and reports.
A cause of concern over the last few months has been the state of Chinese economy and in this issue we provide you with the most recent figures and trends in form of a monthly update. 'Soft landing' of the Chinese economy continues to take shape with emphasis being to shift away from exports. This is indicative of a lower GDP of 6.5% and a slightly fluctuating index of 51.9 which is a tad higher than expected, thus presenting a mixed outlook. Another seminal factor is President Trump finally assuming office and it remains to be seen how this will impact China's economic climate over the coming months. In the absence of any concrete information, Chinese markets are likely to go through a phase of uncertainty.
Given that US-China trade relations seem to be everyone's mind, we decided to have a further discussion in form of our Cover Story wherein we interacted with the Chairman of American Chambers, Mr. William Zarit to know his perspective on the situation.
If there is a silver lining in a black cloud, it is that of Chinese real estate wherein the latest trend among shopping malls is indicative of improvising as per the changing tastes and preferences of consumers. Rather than stick to the conventional model and lose business, shopping malls are beginning to adopt new and innovative models that would not just draw customers but also ensure long-term survival.
As McDonalds' sells its Chinese presence and global tech leader Apple Inc continues to suffer declining sales, an important breakthrough in the ball-point industry assures of progress being made towards self-reliance. Deterioration in the US-China trade relations continues to cause concern and has prompted the Chinese government to take supportive measures as a form of damage control.
More on the economic front can be found under our Book Review section which discusses China's economic culture, chamber reports and management and marketing sections. We round up this February issue with perspectives on how to handle bad faith in trademark registration, the impact of artificial intelligence on human resources and expats' interpretation of life in China.
Don't forget to visit our website www.businesstianjin.com and follow us in our official Wechat account (ID: business_tianjin) for more information.
Best Wishes, Mary Smith
Managing Editor | Business Tianjin Magazine
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CONTENTS
05 BIZ BRIEFS 09 NUMBERS 10 ECONOMY: Monthly Economic Update 12 COVER STORY: China and the USA, Business as Usual or a New Normal? 17 DIALOGUE: Reforms to make the economy boom again 22 INVESTMENT: How to invest in China in 2017: A Macro View 24 INVESTMENT NEWS 25 REAL ESTATE: Tianjin Retail Market 2016 Review 28 IPR: Bad Faith Trade Mark Registration 30 MARKETING: The 4Ps of Marketing Mix 34 LEGAL ASSISTANCE: Personal Information Protection of Consumers (PART I) 38 HR: How Is Artificial Intelligence affecting HR? 40 TAX&FINANCE: China Introduces The First Green Tax Law for Environmental Protection 44 TECH: Google Glass: so what's now? 46 MANAGEMENT: Identifying the proper moment to raise money for your new business idea 50 PAST EVENTS: Successful Launching Of BTH Business Awards On 23rd Jan 51 CHAMBER REPORTS 54 LISTINGS 59 TRANSPORTATION 60 ART & LEISURE: To the Opera! 62 BOOK REVIEW: China's Economic Culture 63 LAST WORD: Long Term Ex-Pat Life in China 64 BIZ FUN