Shanghai office rents close to overtaking NY

[RawMaterials]

http://www.nytimes.com/financialtimes/business/FT20050126_6538_582290.html

The cost of renting high grade offices in Shanghai is close to overtaking that of downtown New York, according to a new survey which underlines China's rapid economic growth.
The Pudong district in the Chinese city is now the 41st most expensive place to occupy in the world, just behind lower New York at 40th
The trend reflects China's emergence as a global economic power.

China's trade surplus with the US is now running at around $160bn a year. For 2004, its gross domestic product increased 9.5 per cent while industrial production was up 16 per cent.

snip..

A handful of international property developers are taking their first tentative steps into the Chinese market, although the risks and barriers to entry are still considered high.
Meanwhile, London's West End remains the most expensive location in the world, at $191.60/sq ft a year. It is followed by London's City at $125.80, central Tokyo at $124.36, outer Tokyo at $119.51 and Paris at $96.12.

By contrast, downtown New York is $37.80/sq ft a year and Pudong in Shanghai is $37.61.
Some experts caution against direct comparisons of office costs, given that rent is often measured in different ways in different countries

china is going to throw a wrench in the whole world economy and governace and should be respected, but not given the opportunity to control the world. With the US current budget deficit and political attitude china could be the greatest terrorist of all, since they own over 40% of our debt and could crush our economy when ever they wanted. great leave it to the Chinese to figure out a way to defeat the strongest military power with out even going to war.

[RawMaterials]

1. can i get this moved to general discusion I F up n/m

[Old and In the Way]

2. China spends 1/20 a year on their military budget that we do.....

with 5X the population.

Chinese are extremely peaceful and I've never see anything approaching the nationalism exhibited here or in Taiwan. Believe me, the Chinese people want their little piece of the American dream, Chinese-style. They will dominate the 21st century, no question. But they have no aspirations or capabilities to dominate the world. They've got enough problems controlling rising expectations in their own country to keep them busy for the next 50 yers or so.

Throw a wrench in the world's economy? They are going to be the engine of the world's economy. They have the faster per capita growth rate and a domestic market demanding to be satisfied. Every major corporation in the world is beating feet to China to sell there....because that's where the growth is.

[RawMaterials]

3. there still the communist

that ran over a person on Tainan square

[Old and In the Way]

4. Who? The people or the government?

The Communist Party no longer dominates their society. In fact, I have never met a registered party member in my travels in mainland China. Nobody much pays attention to the Party, actually. They are an insulated bureacracy that's extremely inefficient. Believe me, the good ole days of Chairman Mao's Party are gone....and no one I've met has the least bit of interest in going back. It's capitalism baby....and the Chinese have been doing that a whole hell of a lot longer than they've done communism.

[RawMaterials]

5. they dont have to be communist to

be able to do what they can to the US.
how many thime have you been over to china?
what is you experance with there goverment?

[Old and In the Way]

7. Been there a dozen times since 1985.

You? What are they able to do to the US and why are you so afraid of them? The ones I know and have met are all extremely open and friendly. I have never met any Chinese who has any interest in dominating the world. If you read history, these people have taken it on the chin in the 20th century. They don't even hate the Japenese....and they commited brutal atrocities on the Chinese in the 1930's and 40's. Really, what have the Chinese done to make you fear them?

[RawMaterials]

9. Lock The U.S. Dollar In A Death Struggle

Beijing's alleged "Dirty Secret #3" is to "lock the U.S. dollar in a death struggle." China now hoards more than $310 billion actual U.S. dollars. "Why would China want to keep so much of their newfound wealth in the U.S. dollar, a currency that's already down more than 50 percent since October 2000?"
The Chinese currency, the yuan, is pegged to the U.S. dollar. This means that no matter how far the dollar sinks, it has no effect on the trade gap with China. Even if the dollar rises, the "sinister yuan strategy" still yields no effect on the U.S./China trade gap.
And China can, at any time, exchange her dollars for Euros or for gold. This potential dumping of dollars would amount to a "final death spiral" for the American economy

http://www.shout.net/~bigred/ChinEcon.htm

[Old and In the Way]

10. Yes, this is a real problem for us.

Do you suggest that they float their currency against the USD? It's probably 30% undervalued today. While that would cut the trade deficit valuation by 1/3 on paper, the consumer would be the big loser here. Perhaps it would bring back some jobs here....but it would be a painful transition back, assuming corporations would make the financial reinvestments to make widgets here. And that will create another problem....who'll finance our budget deficits? China is the #1 buyer of of our Treasury bills today. Will they have the same appetite for them, if their yuan buys 30% less? Look for interest rates to move up as we will need to make those dollar sales more attractive.

There's no simple answer to this problem.

[Psephos]

6. Don't be fooled. Govt. has closed more than 20,000 internet cafes

and installed monitoring software in 30,000 more, over the past few years. Official reason given is that the government is protecting the citizenry from objectionable content. Of course, what's really objectionable is free political discourse and free flow of news. Both are under sustained fire in China. The internet cafe closings are just the tip of an information-control iceberg. (BTW, internet cafes in China are not like Starbucks with WiFi in San Diego. For scores of millions of Chinese, internet cafes are the only connection point available with the internet, and so, with the outside world.)

Furthermore, the Chinese government routinely blocks entire IP address subdomains it considers troublesome, controls the routers that direct traffic into and out of their networks, and packet-sniffs private email. They have no accountability to anyone.

Yes, capitalism has taken hold in China over the past ten years, and is changing the society forever. However, the government remains firmly in control of what is and is not acceptable politically, and you transgress the government at your literal peril. The situation is reminiscent of Singapore: a fair degree of economic freedom, good access to capital, but an authoritarian regime that stage manages international perceptions and conducts brutal repression behind closed doors against anyone it considers a threat.

[Old and In the Way]

8. I disagree.

There will be more internet connections in China this year than the entire Unied States. Yes, the government does try to censor sites, but mirroring is very popular end-around there. Hell, last time I was there, I connected to the DU. In fact, I've turned a couple of people on who post here occaisionally.

You can't demonstrate openly against the government, true. But people do discuss politics and world events quite openly. I've seen a dramatic change in the attitudes and openness of people willing to discuss their complaints with the governent.

I kind of find it ironic, in fact, that as they seem to be gaining more freedoms, we are losing ours.

Yes, they still have an authoritarian, one-party state. No one would argue that. But they have made remarkable strides in 30 years....really amazing, considering where they were in 1975. And the move from a centralized planned economy to a market based economy is not without problems. Rising expectations in the interior provinces is a big problem for the government.

All I'm trying to do is impart what I've seen to people who may not know. I think we need to separate the government from the people....I'm heading over there in a couple of months. I'm sure I'll be asked a lot of questions about this country....and I'll do the same thing. I'll try to explain that our government does not represent the thinking of a majority of Americans.