From http://www.acn.cat/acn/614590/General/text/Huachen-Automotive-Group-Brilliance-Auto-acord-empresa-cotxe-Generalitat-Catalunya-Artur-Mas-president-de-la-Generalitat.html (in Catalan)
Chinese automobile company Huachen has signed an agreement with Catalan government to evaluate the convenience for its subsidiary company Brilliance Auto to open a factory in Catalonia, as a first step for a later expansion to other European countries. Brilliance Auto is partner of BMW, Toyota and Mitsubishi. The signature of the agreement has been made by President Artur Mas and Minister of Business and Employment Francesc Xavier Mena on the Catalan side, and by President of Brilliance Auto, Qi Yumin, and by the Governor and Secretary of the Communist Party in the Liaoning province, Wang Min, on the Chinese side.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Construmat trade show exported to China in 2012
From http://www.expansion.com/2011/05/11/catalunya/1305112078.html (in Spanish)
Fira de Barcelona will organize a construction exhibition trade show Construmat in Beijing in 2012, thanks to the agreement reached with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The event will be called Construmat China and will be focused on the construction materials from the perspective of quality and sustainability. Fira de Barcelona's director Agustín Cordón has pointed out the importance of such agreement, which is part of the overall strategy for the internalization of the institution and for the promotion of Catalan and Spanish companies abroad. Construmat China is expected to host some 200 exhibitors on their first edition. The original Construmat trade show will be held in Barcelona from May 16-21, 2011.
Fira de Barcelona will organize a construction exhibition trade show Construmat in Beijing in 2012, thanks to the agreement reached with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The event will be called Construmat China and will be focused on the construction materials from the perspective of quality and sustainability. Fira de Barcelona's director Agustín Cordón has pointed out the importance of such agreement, which is part of the overall strategy for the internalization of the institution and for the promotion of Catalan and Spanish companies abroad. Construmat China is expected to host some 200 exhibitors on their first edition. The original Construmat trade show will be held in Barcelona from May 16-21, 2011.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
El Periódico interviews Chinese-Catalan entepreneur Jiajia Wang Liu
From http://www.elperiodico.cat/ca/noticias/opinio/casa-soc-perfecta-filla-xinesa-fora-soc-mateixa-998215 (in Catalan)
Nearly half a year after the first burst of news about the 20,000 € award given by UPF Emprèn 2010-Fundació Banc Sabadell for her project of a publishing company aimed at producing educational materials for the Chinese children adopted by Catalan families, Chinese-Catalan young entepreneur Jiajia Wang Liu appeared again in the Catalan press. El Periódico published an interview with her on Sunday May 8th, 2011, where she again explains her own personal story of hard work and struggle until she received a grant to study at the prestigious Harvard University and later she received the funding for her personal project. Nowadays, publishing company Jiajia Edicions has already become a reality and is already selling the first book through internet and directly to schools. Jiajia Wang Liu finishes the interview by explaining how the influence of Chinese culture is still a big influence on her daily life through her family, in issues such as the personal relationships. Despite the fact that she is sensitive to family claims, she acknowledges that she does not fancy living a life planned by others.
Nearly half a year after the first burst of news about the 20,000 € award given by UPF Emprèn 2010-Fundació Banc Sabadell for her project of a publishing company aimed at producing educational materials for the Chinese children adopted by Catalan families, Chinese-Catalan young entepreneur Jiajia Wang Liu appeared again in the Catalan press. El Periódico published an interview with her on Sunday May 8th, 2011, where she again explains her own personal story of hard work and struggle until she received a grant to study at the prestigious Harvard University and later she received the funding for her personal project. Nowadays, publishing company Jiajia Edicions has already become a reality and is already selling the first book through internet and directly to schools. Jiajia Wang Liu finishes the interview by explaining how the influence of Chinese culture is still a big influence on her daily life through her family, in issues such as the personal relationships. Despite the fact that she is sensitive to family claims, she acknowledges that she does not fancy living a life planned by others.
[caption id="attachment_567" align="aligncenter" width="228" caption="Jiajia Edicions"]
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Slight growth of Catalan economy forecast for 2011
From http://www.catalannewsagency.com/news/business/exports-will-drive-catalan-economy-09-growth-2011 (in English)
According to the Catalan Ministry of Economy and Knowledge, exports will lead the slight growth that has been forecast for Catalan economy in 2011, estimated at 0.9%. Exports are expected to grow by 6.2% during this year, which will help reverse the trend in the Catalan economy, but president Artur Mas has warned that this growth will not be enough for job creation. Unemployment in Catalonia is expected to reach 18% by the end of the year.
According to the Catalan Ministry of Economy and Knowledge, exports will lead the slight growth that has been forecast for Catalan economy in 2011, estimated at 0.9%. Exports are expected to grow by 6.2% during this year, which will help reverse the trend in the Catalan economy, but president Artur Mas has warned that this growth will not be enough for job creation. Unemployment in Catalonia is expected to reach 18% by the end of the year.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
High entepreneurship attitude by Chinese population residing in Catalonia
From http://ensenyarllengualumnatnoromanic.blogspot.com/2011/05/els-xinesos-mantenen-la-seva-vocacio.html (in Catalan)
Chinese population in Catalonia has had a ten fold increase in the last 10 years, reaching the present figure of 46,000 inhabitants. The Chinese community has a high entepreneurship attitude and some 9,000 thousand businesses have been censed in Catalonia alone, with 15,000 self-employed workers. As already described in Sinalunya, self-employed Chinese workers nearly double the percentage of native self-employed Catalan workers. They are known for being hard-working, as they are seen fronting businesses with long working hours.
Catalan TV channel TV3 recently broadcast a short report covering the entepreneurship attitude of the Chinese population in Catalonia (in Catalan).
Chinese population in Catalonia has had a ten fold increase in the last 10 years, reaching the present figure of 46,000 inhabitants. The Chinese community has a high entepreneurship attitude and some 9,000 thousand businesses have been censed in Catalonia alone, with 15,000 self-employed workers. As already described in Sinalunya, self-employed Chinese workers nearly double the percentage of native self-employed Catalan workers. They are known for being hard-working, as they are seen fronting businesses with long working hours.
Catalan TV channel TV3 recently broadcast a short report covering the entepreneurship attitude of the Chinese population in Catalonia (in Catalan).
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Chinese Dream - A review
Early this year I was browsing through the @Sinalunya Twitter timeline when I saw the promotion of a book that I thought it was promising: The Chinese Dream, by Helen H. Wang. It was advertised by the author herself and the information on her website convinced me to give it a try and order it from Amazon.com.
"The Chinese Dream: The rise of the world's largest middle class and what it means to you" is a very well written book that is also very easy to read, but by no means is a simple book. Chinese-born, US-resident Helen H. Wang examines in detail the situation of present-day China, explaining what she knows, describing what she sees and analyzing what the people she meets and interviews reply to her. She covers all the relevant aspects in today's China, such as society, politics, economy, environment, religion and spirituality, highlighting both what are the benefits and the challenges of such a fast transformation that the country is undergoing. A recurring element throughout the book is the constant reminder on how East and West can benefit from each other's degree of development if things are taken from an open mind perspective and mutual fears are avoided: a generous approach from a holistic view would benefit not only both countries but the entire world, whereas a greedy and selfish attitude would represent just the opposite. This is very well explained in the summaries at the end of each chapter, in which the concepts of oneness on thought, culture, modernization, economy, environment, politics and spirit, respectively, are exposed. Having herself one foot on each culture, it becomes logical that Helen H. Wang often reminds the reader how the situation for everyone would improve if the best of both worlds could be obtained and combined.
Because of the kind of stories and facts explained in the book, with interviews to several revealing characters, and also because of the enlighting information provided, it reminded me of "An Empire Wilderness: Travel's into America's Future" by Robert D. Kaplan, but set in present-day China instead of United States. Because of her origins, Helen H. Wang had a privileged view over China, its culture and its situation, something that would have been more difficult even for more experienced writers such as Robert D. Kaplan himself. We all were lucky she decided to write it, indeed.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="The Chinese Dream, by Helen H. Wang"]
[/caption]
See the promotional video of the book at The Chinese Dream from Helen H. Wang's website
"The Chinese Dream: The rise of the world's largest middle class and what it means to you" is a very well written book that is also very easy to read, but by no means is a simple book. Chinese-born, US-resident Helen H. Wang examines in detail the situation of present-day China, explaining what she knows, describing what she sees and analyzing what the people she meets and interviews reply to her. She covers all the relevant aspects in today's China, such as society, politics, economy, environment, religion and spirituality, highlighting both what are the benefits and the challenges of such a fast transformation that the country is undergoing. A recurring element throughout the book is the constant reminder on how East and West can benefit from each other's degree of development if things are taken from an open mind perspective and mutual fears are avoided: a generous approach from a holistic view would benefit not only both countries but the entire world, whereas a greedy and selfish attitude would represent just the opposite. This is very well explained in the summaries at the end of each chapter, in which the concepts of oneness on thought, culture, modernization, economy, environment, politics and spirit, respectively, are exposed. Having herself one foot on each culture, it becomes logical that Helen H. Wang often reminds the reader how the situation for everyone would improve if the best of both worlds could be obtained and combined.
Because of the kind of stories and facts explained in the book, with interviews to several revealing characters, and also because of the enlighting information provided, it reminded me of "An Empire Wilderness: Travel's into America's Future" by Robert D. Kaplan, but set in present-day China instead of United States. Because of her origins, Helen H. Wang had a privileged view over China, its culture and its situation, something that would have been more difficult even for more experienced writers such as Robert D. Kaplan himself. We all were lucky she decided to write it, indeed.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="The Chinese Dream, by Helen H. Wang"]
[/caption]See the promotional video of the book at The Chinese Dream from Helen H. Wang's website
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Costa Brava touristic development explained in Chengdu
Professor Lluís Mundet, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Girona has recently given a presentation entitled "The Spanish Tourism Model. New strategies of tourism regeneration in mature tourist resorts. The Costa Brava as an example" in the the School of History and Culture (Tourism) of the Sichuan University in Chengdu. The above link explains how well accepted was his detailed presentation and the warm atmosphere in the classroom, in which probably there were many of the future touristic professionals in the Chengdu area.
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