The Chinese central government's decision to delay the "mandatory installation" of the "Green Dam Youth Escort" filtering software on new computers, announced yesterday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), highlights an evolving relationship between the Communist Party and the Chinese people. Despite being light years from introducing...

The underlying drivers of the recession are different in China -- by global standards, growth remains robust here but the slowdown is pronounced -- versus Western countries. In the latter, times are toughest for low-end workers and entrepreneurs who have been hit by the slowdown of export industries. While aggregate...

In both Japan and China, there is much talk of "harmony." In China, it's is a means to an end. "Advancement," either individual or national, is the ultimate objective. In Japan, harmony -- fitting in -- is an end in itself. Primary satisfaction is taken in consensus. Yes, the young...

During Hillary Clinton's recent visit to the PRC, she unsettled human rights advocates, Amnesty International included, with a rather blunt assessment of the current state of China and the United States' human rights dialog. She "decoupled" pursuing America's long-term goals of advancing "universal" rights with the short-term imperatives of stemming...

As the finanical crisis reshapes the corporate landscape, many are asking whether low-cost Chinese brands will take this opportunity to conquer foreign markets. Here are some thoughts on frequently asked questions vis-a-vis Chinese brands today.

Can Chinese companies capitalize on the global recession to better establish and development their...

Before I landed in Shanghai in 1998, even after four years of living in Hong Kong, my world view was "typically American." It's difficult for non-Americans to appreciate the sense of exceptionalism we grow up with. From Ronald Reagan's stirring references to the United States as a "shining city on...

In China, exports have hit a wall, with tens of thousands of small manufacturing companies closing their doors in Guangzhou and Fujian provinces, throwing millions of migrant workers out of work. In cities, property values are slumping and stock market investors are still looking for the bottom. The World Bank...

This is the first time in history in which a Chinese middle class of broad scale (125-150 million people) has confronted a global economic shock, begging the question of how spending behavior will - or will not - shift across a suddenly-altered economic landscape. Marketers hoping to counteract weakness in...

The Chinese are supreme pragmatists. They view the outside world as inherently dangerous, and revere stability and order as both tantamount to happiness and a prerequisite to progress. In a society without a fully developed legal system, anti-toxicity, in paint and milk, was never taken for granted, even before the...

What will be the main challenges in 2009?

To quote Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, "It's the economy, stupid." China will not be immune to the global slowdown and any government-led efforts to stimulate consumption will take at least a year to kick in. But smart marketers will realize that this...

After the success of the Beijing Olympics, "brand China" was on the rise, both domestically and internationally. Now, however, those gains are threatened by one of the most dramatic product tainting in China's history, one that has shaken local consumers much more than 2007's recall of toy, pet food and...

Now that the Olympics marketing extravaganza is behind us, let's take a deep breath and ask ourselves whether China is truly poised to emerge as final frontier for multinational advertising and communications companies.

We have a trick. When we want to impress China's glorious opportunities upon colleagues from abroad,...

A lot was on the line.

The twelve global sponsors shelled out a combined $860 million while national rights cost upwards of $20 million. None of this includes incremental expenses on advertising, on- and off-site events, product supply and other "activation" efforts. As the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing winds down,...

In my 2005 book, "Billions: Selling to the new Chinese Consumer," I asked whether the Middle Kingdom would summon enough courage to show the best side of itself. "Will the opening ceremony be a rousing release of national passion or an Orwellian propaganda spectacular? Will the awe-inspiring zip, zing and...

Here's a bold prediction: the 2008 Olympics will not be an Orwellian creep show or Fellini film gone bad.

In the end, the people of Beijing will relax and have fun.

High Anxiety. Granted, the signs to date have not been good. In fact, they point to failure....

When 500,000 foreign visitors descend on Beijing during the Olympics, they will roam about a land that both inspires and frustrates. Their emotions will likely swing from admiration and awe to rage and then back again. They will experience a kaleidoscope of contrasts -- some maddening, others glorious -- that...

China has long been Clinton Country. Bill, during his presidency, was seen as handsome, charismatic and virile. His efforts to build a "strategic partnership" with the PRC were embraced by a population aching for acceptance as global player. He was able to articulate an American world view -- a moral...

Read more HuffPost coverage of China and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Lenovo, a Top Olympic Sponsor and one of JWT's clients, graciously invited me to be a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing games. A few days ago, I ran 100 meters in Minghan, an outlying...

2008, China's "glory year," has not been kind. The news has been chockablock with train wrecks, bus explosions and mining disasters. Freak snowstorms paralyzed half the country, stranding millions in dingy, dank train stations. And, last week's earthquake in Sichuan province, the largest natural disaster to strike the mainland in...

The Chinese character for "man" (男) depicts "power in the field." Angular and bold, the pictogram celebrates testosterone-fueled masculinity; it also suggests that men, while ruling the roost, are fully responsible for the material well being of the clan. Confucianism, the Middle Kingdom's cultural blueprint, is rooted in double-edged patriarchy;...