China
Calling/China Daily
The economic crisis has also affected
China, where thousands of factories
have closed their doors. I gave three
lectures in Shanghai in August around
the theme of ‘Beyond the Crisis’. The
EU-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (EUCCC)
organised a breakfast meeting with top
European entrepreneurs in Shanghai,
while the association of female expats
or EPWS organised a lively discussion
evening. The CEIBS University put on
a debate one evening for MBA students.
The China Europe International Business
School (CEIBS) in Shanghai is a joint
venture between the EU and China. CEIBS
is eighth in the ranking of the best
MBA degrees in the world published by
the Financial Times. I enjoyed giving
these three lectures. Yet again, I gained
a lot of input which I can use in my
work. Office rentals in Shanghai have,
for example, not fallen, contrary to
most other world cities. China is using
the crisis to develop new eco products
at a high tempo for its own use and
for future exports. China already has
more than 100 million electric bicycles
and scooters. Electric cars are also
being developed at an intense pace.
It is striking how important the environment
now is on everyone’s agenda, while ten
years ago you never heard anything about
this in China. I believe that China
could become the world leader in the
transition to the new energy economy
and climate change management. Outside
the lectures I was also interviewed
by various Chinese media, including
the official newspaper ‘China
Daily’, which published a full-page
interview and expressed its appreciation
of my work and publications. This was
a big boost.
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