ChinaFile Recommends
03.27.18How Clean Indoor Air Is Becoming China's Latest Luxury Must-Have
Guardian
One luxury hotel in Shanghai is attracting guests with clean filtered air.
The NYRB China Archive
03.02.18The Brands That Kowtow to China
from New York Review of Books
There’s been no joking as the apologies to China have come thick and fast in recent weeks, issued not by teenage singers but by some of the largest and richest multinational corporations in the world—the German luxury car manufacturer Daimler, the...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.15.18In China, Flashy Logos Are Making a Comeback as a Status Symbol
Quartz
Over the past few seasons, logos have made a return to the runway. Even in China, where the industry consensus was that countless fakes and shallow status projection had created serious logo fatigue, people are no longer ashamed to flash luxury...
Caixin Media
06.05.17China to Boost Checks on Overseas Spending
China is stepping up supervision of the use of bank cards overseas, a move the foreign-exchange regulator says is needed to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion.Starting September 1, banks will be required to report on a...
ChinaFile Recommends
09.27.16China’s Xiaomi Guns for Apple with Latest Premium Smartphone
Bloomberg
The Mi S5 is a luxury phone costing less than half the most expensive iPhone
ChinaFile Recommends
04.05.16When It Comes to Luxury, China Still Leads
New York Times
A younger and more sophisticated generation of shoppers is emerging, who are educated, well-traveled and tech-savvy.
Features
10.27.15Rich Man, Pu’er Man
“These men always have machetes,” shouts the driver. Through trees along an unpaved road, he spots a ramshackle hut, slows down, and warns his passengers: this is a checkpoint. It’s the only way to enforce rules in this part of the jungle, at the...
ChinaFile Recommends
04.15.15BMW China Dealers Press Auto Maker for More Financial Support
Wall Street Journal
In letter to German luxury car maker, dealers call on BMW to set more realistic sales targets.
Books
10.15.14China’s Super Consumers
China has transformed itself from a feudal economy in the 19th century, to Mao and Communism in the 20th century, to the largest consumer market in the world by the early 21st century. China's Super Consumers explores the extraordinary birth of consumerism in China and explains who these super consumers are. China's Super Consumers offers an in-depth explanation of what's inside the minds of Chinese consumers and explores what they buy, where they buy, how they buy, and most importantly why they buy.The book is filled with real-world stories of the foreign and domestic companies, leading brands, and top executives who have succeeded in selling to this burgeoning marketplace. This remarkable book also takes you inside the boardrooms of the people who understand Chinese consumers and have had success in the Chinese market.A hands-on resource for succeeding in the Chinese marketplaceFilled with real-world stories of companies who have made an impact in ChinaDiscover what the Chinese consumer wants and how to deliver the goodsThis book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants a clear understanding of how China's Super Consumers are changing the world and how to sell to them. —Wiley {chop}
ChinaFile Recommends
07.01.14Billionaire South African Family Sells Wine to China Rich
Bloomberg
When 45 alumni of Tsinghua University, the alma mater of China’s last two leaders, stopped for lunch at La Motte vineyard in South Africa two years ago, they ordered 1.5 million rand ($141,000) of wine to take away.
ChinaFile Recommends
05.23.14US Wins WTO Luxury Car Ruling Against China
BBC
The World Trade Organization found no basis for duties that China imposed on saloons and off-road vehicles between 2011 and 2013 in retaliation for US trade policies.
ChinaFile Recommends
02.12.14U.S. Targets Buyers of China-Bound Luxury Cars
Deal Book
A Florida businessman buys new cars that typically retail for $55,000 to $75,000 in the United States and resells them in China for as much as three times those prices.
Media
10.22.13China’s Silly War on Starbucks Lattes
There are worse things in the world than an overpriced latte. That’s the message that thousands of Chinese web users are sending China Central Television (CCTV), a state-owned media behemoth that ran an October 20 segment accusing the Seattle-based...
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08.12.13Is the Shark-Fin Trade Facing Extinction?
Atlantic
China’s embrace of conspicuous consumption has manifested itself at the dinner table. One item, more than any other, has possessed the power to confer face and status upon the host: shark fin soup.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.05.13Move Over Bordeaux: French Premium Winemakers Eye China Vintage
Reuters
In a country where cheap plonk and overpriced mediocre wines still define the domestic industry, the French are partnering with Chinese investors to produce super-premium wines for increasingly discerning drinkers at the market’s top end.
Infographics
06.27.13Are China’s “Losers” Really Winning?
from Sohu
“Diaosi” originated as an insult for a poor, unattractive young person who stayed at home all day playing video games, with dim prospects for the future—a “loser.” Yet as the term went viral on the Internet, Chinese youth from all backgrounds began...
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05.10.13China Is Plundering The World’s Seas
Quartz
China’s unabated market for pricey fish parts like shark fin and endangered fish bladders is not only hurting the ecosystem, but will also have a negative impact on the world economy.
Caixin Media
03.04.13China’s Frills and Posh Market Springs a Leak
Imagine a luxury goods shopper so confident and flush with cash that one day he walks into a Shanghai handbag shop, flashes 300,000 yuan, and waltzes out with almost every bag in stock.That’s what happened last year at a Prada store where Benny Lu...
ChinaFile Recommends
12.13.12Don’t Underestimate China’s Luxury Market
Harvard Business Review
China’s luxury market — and the global phenomenon of “trading up”— are well known. Yet when China's consumer markets recently experienced short terms blips, several doubters promptly questioned the pace of their long term growth.
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10.10.12Censorship Reaching 1,000 Miles Exposed on China’s Twitter
Netizens exposing public servants' taste for expensive timepieces has sparked an online and newspaper crackdown. On October 9, Wang Keqin (@王克勤), an Economic Observer (@经济观察报) reporter posted on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, that...
ChinaFile Recommends
07.23.12Fashion Magazines Laden With Ads Thriving
New York Times
While fashion labels are spending more on magazine advertising in the United States, they’re pouring even more money into magazines across mainland China.