Stefan’s weekly: China

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

Many thanks for the many comments I received to my last “weekly”. It seems I am not the only one concerned. It is important for each one of us to start as early as possible to work on a strategy that ensures financial security besides or in addition to what governments may offer or not.

But now, I would like to switch to today’s topic, China.

As some of you may know, I am currently travelling in China. So far, I was in Shanghai, Xi’an, Beijing and just arrived in Shanghai again, before heading back to Europe next week.

This is my first visit to Mainland China and it is a short one (18 days) and I am only receiving a superficial first impression of this enormous country and still from what I am seeing, I am truly fascinated. Let me share some impressions in potpourri style with you.

People: I saw a lot of people; the cities are huge and there are people everywhere. The people I saw were mostly friendly and seemed happy. I saw families, grandparents, parents and children, spending time together in parks, restaurants at markets, visiting sites. I saw people of all ages and all styles and a lot of them. Very few of the people I met spoke proper English or any other foreign language, this makes conversations sometimes difficult.

Traffic: I used the high-speed rail between Xi’an and Beijing, which is perfect (average speed 300 km/h). Not only was it super easy to use but very punctual and clean. During one week of Beijing I used the subway system multiple times every day and I was impressed by the cleanliness and punctual and efficient service of this public transport system. On the other hand, the streets are almost all day long full of cars and it needs time and nerves to cope with such intense traffic. Scooters and small bikes in cities are all electric, which could lead to reasonably calm and silent traffic. However, in Xi’an and Beijing drivers are honking all the time, trying to squeeze themselves in front of others. This is not so much the case in Shanghai.

Culture: Very rich and old cultural heritage, plenty of sites dating back thousands of years, thus older than Europe. Mostly underestimated by non-Chinese and reduced to some stereotypes of rich emperors enjoying life with their concubines.

Food: You can get anything you like. From Swiss chocolate, fondue, veal sausage to German Schweinshaxe, Japanese Sushi and all sorts of Chinese dishes. This all comes in different price and quality ranges. I am loving it! We mainly ate Chinese food and Asian fusion (my favourite) and even on domestic flights in economy class the food was of surprisingly good quality.

Shopping: As for the food anything also goes for shopping. I have never seen such a concentration of upper level brand stores than in the large cities of China. However, they are very expensive, more expensive than in Switzerland as I noticed. On the other side you can buy non-branded articles at minimal cost. The range of the offer is huge.

Politics/economics: I also had the possibility to meet with people at Shanghai Fudan University and speak about current global political and economic issues and consensus was that (at least amongst the people I met) they didn’t seem too concerned by this “talk” of a global trade war. First it seems mainly the United States wanted to adjust tariffs to what seems fair to them, but no other country is following and second even if Chinese exports to the U.S. will decrease, they should be mostly compensated by exports to other regions/countries over time. Not to forget that if the United States increases tariffs on Chinese products, China will not hold back but do the same for products exported to China by the United States and according to an article in the Global Times over 900,000 U.S. jobs are supported by exports to China and thus would be at risk. Furthermore, and unlike in the U.S., the Chinese political leaders are not facing elections every four years and can therefore take decisions that may seem unpopular at short term without baring the risk of being taken out of office and therefore can easily stand up to President Trump’s threats.

Interesting, no?

Please share your thoughts and ideas with me. Please feel encouraged to do so but please don’t forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to:

smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen I wish you a great day and weekend!
Kind regards

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth