Alibaba Restructures

©iStock/Robert Way

The Jack Ma-founded conglomerate, which includes Alibaba, said on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 it was planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, marking the biggest restructuring in its 24-year history.

This might be a signal that Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on corporates is ending, propelling the conglomerate's shares higher and boosting investor confidence in prospects for Chinese tech firms.

Beijing's Global Media Offensive (New Book)

©iStock/Oleksandr Siedov

James M. Lindsay, Council on Foreign Relations, "My sense is that China has consciously decided over the last decade or so, to try to use media power to influence politics in other countries. Can you tell me a little bit about what China has been doing, and why it's pursuing these efforts?"

Joshua Kurlantzick, author of Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World:  "Well, I think within the last ten years to twelve years, China, under Xi Jinping decided that the global discourse, both about China and about all sorts of events that relate to China, because virtually every event relates to China, the discourse or the discourse power, as China refers to it, are being dominated by liberal democracies and their media outlets."

Read the entire interview and Mr. Kurlantzick's complete answer here.  

Design Destination of the Month: Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort in China

Hip, Young China: Sanlitun Village

iStock/Thinkstock

If you are planning to visit Beijing, be sure to explore Sanlitun Village.  English version here.

About Sanlitun Village:

The name 'Sanlitun Village' is taken from the small scale urban communities based around various culture and art scenes that spontaneously develop in cities across the world. Here in the Village, we wanted to create a community that places emphasis on 'people': people eating, drinking, shopping, performing, discovering, and creating, ending up with an experience that is influenced from everywhere, yet feels like nowhere else.

Related post:  Pizza in Sanlitun:  A Story

Pizza in Sanlitun: A Story

Hemera/Thinkstock

I am not sure who authored the article below or perhaps by the time it is published a name will be attached to it, but it's about cab experiences in Beijing, giving a good dose of daily interactions in China.

Read:  Going Global

The Cool Factor: Hotel G in Beijing

iStock/Thinkstock

I'm always on the lookout for cool things related to global business and while I was scanning the Chicago Tribune over the weekend I caught:

Icelandic composer raves about Poland

Why am I sharing this article with you?  Because deep within the body of it Olafur Arnalds mentions his favorite hotel:  Hotel G.

Q: What are your favorite hotels?

A: I've probably stayed at more than 100 hotels in the last couple of years, but my favorite must be Hotel G (hotel-g.com) in Beijing. Very cool interior design, and you can choose the color of your window with the switch of a button in the room. I have tried very hard to persuade the management staff to use the master control to write my name on the outside of the building with the window colors, without much luck! And the floors are so soft that you don't really need the comfy bed. I stay there every time I go to Beijing, if not only for the friendly staff and nice food, then the iPod docks … in every room.

So the next time you travel to Beijing to drum up business, check out the very cool looking place.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Welcome to the Great International Education Race

iStock/Thinkstock

There is a well-thought out scramble for students, professors, prestige and prosperity that is changing the face of university education around the world.

For decades the United States attracted more than a quarter of all foreign students in college or graduate education. Recently that has begun to change. While the continuing boom in study overseas — an explosion largely unaffected by the economic downturn — means that the number of foreign students going to the United States has continued to grow, the U.S. share of the foreign student market has fallen to just 18.7 percent, according to the most recent report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Meanwhile countries like Australia, Russia and New Zealand have all seen their share of the market rise sharply.

Read all about the rapidly changing international education landscape here.

Home Alone or Abroad

iStock/Thinkstock

Whether it's Dubai, Beijing or Cape Town, Americans abroad know how to make a home for themselves.

Read more here and take a tour of three homes for expatriates here.

Worldsourcing

iStock/Thinkstock

An interesting blog by Lenovo called Worldsourcing. The author, Reid Walker, is also covering the Beijing Olympics.

Beijing Club of the Moment

iStock/Thinkstock

As the Summer Olympics draw near and you are finishing up a special order (hopefully!) before you head out there, the club of the moment, Lan has local tastemakers gawking. See why (be patient ... a very slow load).