Join us on June 10 in Silicon Valley as we take an in-depth look at China's transformation and its implications for global business. This event will be hosted by Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) and the Financial Times Outstanding Directors Conference.

Long-term reasons for optimism about China’s economy remain, but the current challenges must be addressed. That was the conclusion of CKGSB’s 4th China Economic Symposium, held in Beijing, just one day ahead of the school’s official 15th anniversary. The event drew 300 senior executives and economists in person, with close to 600,000 unique viewers watching online via five different live-streaming platforms.

Munhwa Ilbo, one of Korean general dailies, published an article based on the interview with Professor Li Wei of CKGSB. The interview, conducted at CKGSB Beijing Campus, focused upon the insights of Professor Li on the prospects of Chinese economy. He explained that in both short and long terms, China would not face critical problems, but current limitations of China's policy measures could cause serious problems in the mid-term. While sharing his insights on various aspects of domestic economy and relationship with other nations, he also indicated pursuing RMB internationalization as a pivotal task of the second-term government of President Xi Jinping.

A stellar line-up of experts in US-China relations, including Ambassador Stapleton Roy, the former US envoy to China; Hank Greenburg, who was instrumental in opening up the financial sector in China; and Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, who played a central role in the negotiations for China to enter the WTO in 2001 headlined the sold-out symposium, “Understanding China Today”, which was co-hosted by CKGSB, Princeton University’s Center on Contemporary China and The Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance.

Silicon Valley may hog the AI limelight, but Chinese companies are catching up by implementing AI in real life.

More than 500 executives, scholars and media representatives attended the 3rd Women in Leadership Forum, co-hosted by CKGSB and UN Women, with hundreds of thousands more watching live online, to hear the thoughts of 30 respected business leaders, decision-makers and influencers as they discussed female empowerment issues in China and around the world.

Li Wei, a professor of Economics at CKGSB, wrote a column on diagnosis and in-depth analysis of China and global economic recovery in ‘Insight’ section of Chosun Ilbo Weekly Biz on Mar. 18. In his column, Prof. Li forecasted that a robust growth rate for China will be above 6% in the next few years and biggest obstacles for economic growth would be corporate and household debt. He gave his opinion that additional spending on infrastructure and structural reform by Chinese government are needed for the solution of these crisis.

Debt is a ticking-time bomb for the Chinese economy. In the past three years central government stopped local governments from financing through investment vehicles and set a cap for the issuance of bonds. But new forms of debt continue to be formed. Local officials appear not to care about borrowing more, as long as the money can be used in projects that may translate to political achievements. And with those achievements, officials will be promoted to a higher level--as will the debt burden. A more worrisome thought will be: can those additional government debts and investments support China’s long-term growth?

Optimism for Chinese firms over the next six months still holds, but the corporate financing environment is getting difficult and the corporate inventory is increasing, according to the CKGSB Business Conditions Index, which registered 61.5 in February, a slight increase on January’s mark of 59.8. For CKGSBʼs sample of successful businesses operating in China, corporate sales index fell slightly from 82.7 to 80.5, while profits rose from 67.0 to 72.2, both are well above the confidence threshold of 50. Yet the other two sub-indices—corporate financing and in inventory—are below 50.

CKGSB Professor of Economics Li Wei talks to the Financial Times about the growing trend of listed Chinese companies from the auto, industrial, chemical and manufacturing sectors switching tack and investing in entertainment, pharma and gaming – often through overseas takeovers – in a bid to capitalize on changing newly-surging sectors and turn around failing business models.

Baidu, China’s largest internet search engine, is having a hard time after a college student named Wei Zexi died after mistaking an advertisement on Baidu for an experimental cancer treatment for medically reliable information. Baidu was then accused of being “unethical”, failing to clearly delineate paid advertisements from search results. Months later, the Nasdaq listed company reported its worst quarterly earnings. With the increased competition from domestic players like Tencent and Alibaba and the downward pressure on online advertising, which contributes to over 90% of Baidu’s revenue, it is crucial for Baidu to diversify its business.

Over the past 25 years, China has become the world’s preeminent manufacturer, churning out everything from running shoes to Apple products. Powering that ascent was heavy foreign direct investment combined with a seemingly inexhaustible pool of cheap labor. But now, as the Chinese economy slows, wages rise and the workforce atrophies, the decades-long manufacturing boom may be ending. To help deliver China from industrial decline, the Chinese leadership is betting on automation. However for Beijing to become the world's robotic leader, there is an even more complex issue behind updating robotic technology: how to handle the displacement of large numbers of Chinese workers?

CKGSB cements its reputation as a thought leader on China business and economic issues, as three professors are joined by leading industry figures to debate the challenges and opportunities that lie in store for 2017 and beyond.

Four young Chinese entrepreneurs working at, or running, web-based start-ups based in the US pitched their companies to a panel of judges at a recent Knowledge Series event at the school’s New York offices in Manhattan.

Everyone in the world is concerned about how the Chinese economy is faring and understandably so. China’s linkages with the world mean that the health of the Chinese economy has a bearing on other economies as well. The CKGSB Business Conditions Index, based on a survey conducted each month, gauges business sentiment about the macro-economic environment among successful Chinese business executives. BCI registered 54.5 in August, slightly less than July’s 56.3. Corporate sales and inventory levels rose slightly.

CKGSB Professor of Economics Li Wei is featured in a China Daily article that looks at how China’s manufacturing sector is adapting to new global realities, as the country advocates scientific and technology-oriented new enterprises to engage in innovation and entrepreneurship.

CKGSB has launched an official Facebook page in Korean this month, thanks to the support of all the school’s Korean blog readers. The Facebook page aims to deliver the latest news about CKGSB and the most up-to-date analytic information about China’s socio-economic trends in a faster and more accessible manner to a Korean audience with great interest in China.

Employment figures and commodities prices in the US and the Bank of Japan’s recent rate decision are among the topics discussed by CKGSB Professor of Economics Li Wei during an in-depth studio discussion with CCTV’s ‘Global Business’ anchor Tracey Chang.

CKGSB Professor of Economics Li Wei completed a full media tour of London to introduce his Business Conditions Index (BCI) to a European audience, before discussing the prospects for China’s economy and its impact on global businesses to a packed crowd at London’s iconic Ritz Hotel.

Having delayed serious structural reforms, China faces eye-watering overcapacity in heavy industries. Steel production volume is more than double that of the next four leading producers combined: Japan, India, the United States and Russia. Aluminum production capacity reached 40 million tons last year, exceeding global consumption by 9 million tons. Most remarkably, between 2011 and 2013 China produced more cement than the US did during the entire 20th century—6.6 gigatons, compared to the US’s 4.5. What can China possibly do about this excess capacity that is weighing on the balance sheets of debt-ridden firms reeling from China’s economic slowdown?