Where is the future of creativity headed? This article has something interesting to say about it.

Joe Qiu, a car designer for General Motors, has an uncanny knack for divining Chinese tastes and whims, what it is they'll buy. Two years ago, he was part of a team that radically overhauled the Buick LaCrosse for the Chinese market. The redesign was pitch perfect, so well targeted that the Chinese LaCrosse is on track to sell nearly 110,000 units in its second year in production. Qiu doesn't own a car or have a driver's license.

Let me first state that I am far from an expert on China, having been there only twice, although the last time for a period of six weeks. Most of my time was spent in the province of Shandong, about 200 miles south of Beijing as a university professor.

Living outside of the well-known and/or oft-visited cities of Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou brings one into contact with what I think is a more typical picture of China – one where foreigners are still something of a novelty, English is not widely understood, and the creature comforts of home can be hard to come by.

Jinan, a city of some 6 million people, is the capital of Shandong and a major nexus of transport for travel between Shanghai and Beijing, yet few tourists stop, despite some pleasant attractions. The city is known for its springs which give rise to an urban lake and boundless parks ripe for strolling and people watching. Like most of China, it is changing fast.

Landmark buildings dot the skyline, KFC and McDonald’s abound, and there’s even a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Big-name hotels cluster around the main square and, in the nicer areas of the city, tree-lined streets are filled with trendy shops and cafes.

Beneath the veneer of modernity, however, is a very traditional, oddly quiet community where neighbors sit outside in the evenings to chat, play checkers, and just while the hours away. Streets can overflow with sidewalk vendors in places, narrowing the traffic to a sliver thronged with bicycles, pedestrians, trucks, busses, and all manner of humanity and transport.

It’s a strange feeling being in China. It’s not quite modern but then again, in fits and starts, it is pioneering new technology that I’d never seen before. My apartment, for example, is a generous flat with a collection of mod-cons like color tv, a/c, and high-speed internet and might have seemed a world away from the reality of Jinan, but its location, cramped among a large cluster of high-rise buildings separated by narrow cement alleys, served as a reminder of the sheer number of people who live in China and the demands they place on limited real estate.

The next web browser to vie for market share comes out of China.

Maxthon is actually the only Chinese Internet Software company with a global presence. With its success in China and the brilliant features in Maxthon 2.0, Maxthon is ready for the worldwide market. Netanel said they are growing very fast globally, especially in the US. Also a lot of new users are young, which is a good trend for Maxthon.

In 2007, Maxthon will be working actively with local communities in the US and Europe. It will start organizing Maxthon meetups and developer conferences, to officially show the power of Maxthon and promote its presence in the global market.

The first Chinese car you drive will likely be a Chery

In 2005, Chery (its English translation should have been “Cheery” but there was a mistake in the translation process and it was decided by the company to not correct the error) was upgraded to ISO/TS 16949:2002 production quality, the highest and strictest quality control system in the global auto industry. They also began working with Malcolm Bricklin’s company, Visionary Vehicles, hoping to be one of the first Chinese automobiles sold in the United States. The plan was to import five new car lines. Bricklin planned to have 250 dealers in the United States selling 250,000 cars a year by 2007. However, after 2 delays and various disagreements over finances and car design, the deal broke down. Instead, Chery is pursuing its own export plans and is designing a large array of cars for the American and European market and Chinese market.

en.wikipedia.org

Tencent is the name of the number one internet company in China.

No other Internet company in the world — not even Google — has achieved the kind of dominance in its home market that Tencent commands in China, where its all-in-one packaging of entertainment offerings and a mobile instant-messaging service, “QQ,” has reached more than 100 million users, or nearly 80 percent of the market.

theledger.com