CHINESE HURDLER RETIRES

Liu Xiang， an Olympic 110-meter hurdles gold medalist and former world record holder， announced his retirement through his personal social media account on April 7. According to his coach Sun Haiping， Lius Achilles tendon was injured too badly for him to carry on wearing his track shoes.

Born in 1983 in Shanghai， Liu became Chinas first male Olympic champion in athletics when he won the 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Games， dead even the world record of 12.91 seconds. Liu set a new world record to 12.88 seconds in Lausanne， Switzerland， in July 2006. Owing to his foot injury， he failed to pass the qualifying stages at both the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012 London Games.

According to the athletes retirement announcement， he plans to devote himself to the promotion of Chinese athletics on the world stage and the fostering of greater public participation in sports in China， rather than becoming a coach or sports official.

Opening Westward

Outlook Weekly March 30

Over the past 30 years， a lack of openness has been a factor restraining development in west China， a region covering 71 percent of the countrys total land mass. In 2012， the export and import volume of the region totaled $230 billion， one quarter that of south Chinas Guangdong Province and half that of east Chinas Jiangsu Province.

Ever since the introduction of the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative in 2013， progress has been made in connecting west China with Central Asia， Russia and Europe. However， despite the gusto of those involved， many areas havent fully recognized the attendant problems and challenges.

Many cities in west China have started to vie for projects and preferential policies and concentrated their efforts on building free trade zones as well as hosting expos and trade fairs. This will engender overlapping investment and excess capacity， which will in turn give rise to future zerosum competition between various locales.

Some are overly optimistic about opening up and lack awareness of the inherent risks， particularly security threats. Many Central Asian countries are undergoing economic and social transition. Religious extremism and terrorist activities pose uncertainties for economic cooperation.

As Central Asian countries typically possess a small-sized economy， many have not joined the World Trade Organization. Their regulatory system for foreign investment remains underdeveloped， making investment riskier. It is therefore imperative that Chinese companies familiarize themselves with the laws and cultures of Central Asian countries before investing there.

Xiaomis Expansion

Caijing Magazine March 30

Even though Xiaomi Corp. has not yet gone public， its estimated value of $45 billion makes it the highest valued tech startup worldwide.

Its customer-oriented business model has perfectly matched market needs. According to statistics from consultancy firm IDC， Xiaomi occupied 14.8 percent of Chinas smartphone market in the third quarter last year， surpassing Samsung and Lenovo to become the top smartphone maker in the Chinese market. Its global market share， meanwhile， grew from 2.1 percent to 5.6 percent， making it the worlds third largest smartphone maker.

The company turned five years old on April 9. Some say that in the Internet era， the profitability of a new business model can last only three to five years. Lei Jun， founder and CEO of Xiaomi， has realized this. He predicted last year that Xiaomi will encounter a bottleneck once its domestic market share reaches 25 percent. He said no company will be able to dominate the market， pointing to the fact that even Apple Inc. cannot satisfy everyone.

In order to further develop itself with smartphone market growth slow-ing， Xiaomi has chosen the strategy of expanding its production range from smartphones to televisions and routers. Xiaomi plans to invest in 100 hardware companies， which cover the production of most types of intelligent hardware， including unmanned aerial vehicles.

Xiaomi has laid out a clear growth strategy； however， its success depends on how effectively the company can fend off rivals and properly manage its expansion.

Chanel Changes Chinese Game Plan

The Beijing News March 20

On April 8， the European luxury brand Chanel slashed the Chinese prices of two types of handbags by 20 percent while increasing the prices of the same products in Europe by 20 percent. The price gap between the two markets with respect to both product lines is now less than five percent.

Over the past five years， prices for Chanel products in China have grown at an annual rate of over 15 percent. This adjustment marks the companys first price cut in China. Chinese customers are an essential driving force behind the growth of the global luxury market. Last year， the countrys consumption of luxury products increased 9 percent， reaching 380 billion yuan（$61 billion）.

For a long time， the chasm between the prices of luxury products in the Chinese and foreign markets has spurred Chinese consumers to employ overseas purchase agents or travel abroad. Conversely， stores specializing in luxury brands in China have relatively few customers.

Furthermore， the depreciation of the euro by nearly 20 percent over the past year has rendered luxury goods in the European market even more affordable for Chinese customers. These factors have led Chanel to adjust its pricing strategy to keep Chinese customers from buying abroad， thus ensuring its survival in the Middle Kingdom. It is anticipated more European luxury brands will follow suit.

POTENTIAL AIIB CHIEF

Jin Liqun， Secretary General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB）， has been thrust into the spotlight recently following the end of the banks application process for its founding members. Analysts have speculated that Jin might be the top pick to act as the chief of the bank when it is established later this year.

Jin， 66， holds a masters degree from Beijing Foreign Studies University and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in the Economics Graduate Program at Boston University in the United States. He served as vice minister of finance from 1998 to 2003. In August 2003， Jin became vice president of the Asian Development Bank.

Initiated by China last October， the AIIB will focus on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia. Thus far， 52 economies have applied to join this multilateral financial institution as founding members. Commentators believe Jins experience will enable him to maintain the necessary delicate balance among these members.

“Chinese enterprises are more aware of the need to nurture their brands as part of the ‘go global drive.”

Wang Haizhong， a strategy researcher with Sun Yat-sen University in south Chinas Guangdong Province， commenting on Chinese companies growing popularity in the international market in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency

“Deposit insurance is a crucial step toward interest rate liberalization.”

Ma Kunpeng， an analyst with Sinolink Securities Co.， commenting on the Central Governments announcement of an insurance system for bank deposits starting on May 1

“While poor air quality is a major concern， Beijing remains the preferred location when companies choose their regional or national headquarters.”

Tin Sun， Associate Director of international real estate service provider CBRE， discussing the fact that about 66 percent of respondents identified air pollution as a key disadvantage for Beijing as an office location， second only to rising rents

“Although Japan tried its utmost in searching for supportive documents， which have been taken out of context， it can never change the fact that China has sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.”

Hua Chunying， Foreign Ministry spokeswoman， responding to the Japanese Governments recent claim that it has collected 500 documents showing Japans rule over the islands before World War II