Article first appeared in FDM. What’s next for China? Best case, worse case and status quo scenarios are almost equally plausible. Here are eight questions about China’s future. 1. Is China’s growth sustainable? When China embarked on its economic liberalization, it was, effectively, a Third World country and a recipient of aid from the World Food Program. Starting from such humble beginnings, it’s easy to make great strides in economic growth. But as the country becomes richer, those numbers are harder and harder to achieve. Is China’s growth likely to level off? Probably. Will it hurt business? Probably not. Will China crash hard, as Russia did in 1998, when its banking system collapsed and it had to default on its obligations? Definitely not. The difference between China now and Russia then is that China is … Read more »

This article originally appeared in FDM. Larger firms offer higher quality as domestic demand grows and consolidation is likely. Cabinet products from Jianpan Cabinet Co. The larger Chinese cabinet manufacturers are using advanced equipment to improve quality. The Chinese cabinet industry is expected to begin a round of consolidations as government policies and more discerning consumers will make it harder for smaller and more marginal players to remain in business. Meanwhile, the larger companies are improving quality and are increasingly looking overseas for new markets. Bihui Zhao, manager of the planning department at the Chengdu BaiV Kitchen Co., says the larger cabinet manufacturers used to see a lot of competition from smaller players who attracted customers with dirt-cheap prices and shoddy quality. Read full article. … Read more »