On Chinese Media

Life Weekly

Issue No. 26， 2015

The Age of Sharing

Jeremy Rifkin， founder and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends， has predicted that collaborative economy may replace capitalism in the second half of this century as the dominant economic form of human society. It will be a time of increased productivity， a highly developed “Internet of Things，” and near-zero marginal cost， wherein the Earths billions of inhabitants will be both producers and consumers that share energy， information， and products via the Internet. In such a new world， access trumps ownership， and “exchange value” in the capitalist marketplace is replaced by “sharable value” in the Collaborative Commons.

This idea has raised many eyebrows， but theoretically conforms to the trend of social evolution. The collaborative economy has already seen an advance amid the financial crisis. It offers more possibilities for those in an economic plight to make and save money， reduces transaction cost， improves efficiency， and saves energy. Whats more， it represents such values as cooperation， individuality， and practicality.

The sharing economy appeals to policy makers and scholars by virtue of its enormous potential for creating social wealth. In 2014， UK Trade & Investment （UKTI） initiated an independent project soliciting opinions on how to make the country a global hub of the sharing economy. “These new business models put money into households the length and breadth of the country by helping them get the most out of their spare assets and the best price in the market，” Business and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock declared. “Theres huge economic potential for the sharing economy and I want to make sure that the UK is front and center of that.”

But this emerging economic form also has a dark side to which entrepreneurs and policymakers are yet to find a solution； the sharing economy has arrived， but remains alien to us.

South Reviews

Issue No.13， 2015

Advance Towards“Created in China”

The financial crisis has exposed many countries to the fact that a debilitated manufacturing industry destabilizes domestic economy and exacerbates unemployment. Western countries have consequently changed course from deindustrialization to reviving the manufacturing sector. Information technology， meanwhile， is transforming manufacturing from the informationization to the intelligence stage.

Chinas manufacturing industry， however， has barely reached the informationization phase. Many Chinese have high hopes that it will advance to the forefront of the world industrial chain on the intelligence stage， but obstacles abound. Most manufacturers in China are small and medium-sized private businesses with low sustainable innovation capacity due to financing difficulties and narrow profit margins. Besides， the country has neither nurtured a robust domestic market nor a sizable population of skilled workers， unlike， for instance， Germany. Only after meeting these conditions can China upgrade from “Made in China”to “Created in China.”

Caijing

Issue No.18， 2015

Breaking the“Cloud” Crisis

Cloud computing has enhanced fundamental Internet capacity but， given the dynamic， open-ended and elusive nature of this technology， also entails security concerns.

Security concerns about the Internet are nothing new， but they have been more serious in recent years with the rise of cloud computing services.

A recent Microsoft report shows that the security expenses of companies using cloud computer services are one fifth that of peers who do not subscribe to such services. But it would be unwise to depend entirely on public cloud platforms.

Tan Xiaosheng， vice president of Qihoo 360 Technology Co.， Ltd.， recently cautioned that， taking into account the relatively immature cloud computing technology and nascent virtual system， cloud platforms are more vulnerable and flawed than conventional ones.

The “cloud” further empowers us， but as yet remains a stretch of uncharted waters. People working in this sector must now address security problems as a matter of urgency. Failure to do so could result in technological stagnation， or even industrial regression.

Economy & Nation Weekly

Issue No. 12， 2015

Changes in the Policy-based Financial Institutions

Chinas three policy-based banks – China Development Bank， the Export-Import Bank of China， and the Agricultural Development Bank of China – play a special role in enforcing the countrys macroeconomic policies. In the brisk development of their businesses over past years， however， such problems as dimly defined business domains， flawed policymaking and inter-control mechanisms， and absence of checks have emerged.

China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Shang Fulin last year set down the requirements for the three banks –giving priority to policy-oriented businesses， operating in line with market rules， and adopting standardized supervision.

As regards supervision， three mechanisms – respectively for corporate governance， capital constraint， and debt constraint– need to be established. Chinas economic “new normal” and accelerated marketization of its interest rate， however， make this network unprecedentedly complicated. Finding a path of healthy development for the three banks that serves the best strategic interest of the nation poses a demanding supervisory task.

Money China

Issue No. 6， 2015

Assets Enter the Securitization Era

There has been talk of a multi-layered capital market for years， and since 2014 the asset securitization trend that was nipped in the bud by the global financial crisis has picked up in China. The State Council and relevant supervisory bodies have issued several decrees to promote its development.

Asset securitization signifies not only reform of the financial sector but also of Chinas state-owned enterprises （SOEs）. Certain provinces are now moving towards state asset securitization.

Mixed ownership was once regarded as the future of SOE reforms， but asset securitization seems to have opened another front. It is， together with structured financing， a key aspect of forging a multilayered capital market in China. As China embraces asset securitization， already mature in Europe and the U.S.， it is aware of its importance but also of the need to control relevant risks. The country expects steady and rapid progress of its asset securitization.