In this blog I look beyond the obvious and try to find out why people and companies do what they do - and what it means for the rest of us. 
Only I would fly to China for 36 hours, but alas, it is my life. It remains a fascinating land, full of smog, and gross people. God I do love it.
There are now 87 different wines in China, which is good. Most of them are awful, which is bad.
Terrifying: looking up while driving in Beijing. Simply “Exorcist”-like terrifying. “Silence of the Lambs” kind of terrifying. Zanax inducing.
Gross: people like to “hawk up a loogie” (clear their throat, and spit a pile of phlegm) pretty much anywhere. Dinner time? No worries. Breakfast? Sure. They also continue to smoke, anywhere and everywhere.
Brilliant: there have to be more PhDs per square foot here than anywhere else in the world.
Bizarre: The Chinese have absolutely no issue answering their phone, and engaging in loud, animated dialog, no matter where they are – say, as in the middle of a presentation in a small conference room. With me.
Similar: to the Israelis, the Chinese seem completely fine yelling at each other, over each other, and around each other in a meeting. It seems like it could come to blows at any minute, but then everyone is fine.
There are WAY too many Chinese. Traffic in Beijing is insane.
I still, after many years studying this market, have no real idea how it operates. The good news is the Chinese are the world’s bank, as they have the money. The bad news is they don’t seem willing to spend it as “normal” buyers. I can’t figure out how anyone makes money selling to this market.
When Europe inevitably collapses due to debt – or the US does – those entities will stop spending (by force, not by design, because god knows we don’t want to stop spending money we don’t have – we can print more! My ex-sister in law once said “I can’t be out of money, I still have checks.” She must now be a prime minister somewhere.) Since our collective governments are the largest buyers of IT stuff, and that will terminate, expect major IT vendors to double down on active markets such as China. Their power – already tremendous, will only increase. Those with the dough control the flow.
Surprisingly the entrepreneurial nature of the Chinese continues to blossom. It’s not your grandfather’s ministry anymore, son.
This is probably the only country on earth that continues to control information flow. No Twitter. No Facebook. No porn (I’m told). They continue to be able to alter reality to fit the “social best interest.” It’s stunning really. Countries have toppled in the last 18 months because of the social mechanisms available to the masses – but not here. Not that anyone would want to topple China, they are all doing just fine, thank you.
Apparently these folks will eat just about anything. I have photos of scorpions on the menu, duck tongues, and maybe the grossest thing I’ve ever seen – the sea cucumber. Oh, did i mention the bullfrog? Damn. I get that you have a billion plus people, but yikes.
The people in general are very pleasant. They smoke in elevators next to newborns and cancer patients, but they do so with a smile.
They are stunningly well spoken. I know two words of Mandarin. The average farmer seems to know more English than I do. There is a reason they own the world.
It is fascinating to read the English version of the “news” in China. It’s Pravda circa 1972.
They literally control the weather. I couldn’t see 8 feet out my window this morning. No unrest if you can’t see.
Perhaps the greatest thing ever in China is the fact that while the country is approximately 9,000 miles wide, they have ONE time zone. Screw you. One! In India I think they change time zones every 15 miles. But China has one. Too confusing otherwise.
There are gas masks in every hotel room. No lie. Gas masks.
It’s too bad it’s a billion miles away from me, because it truly is one of the most awesome places on earth.
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