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When It Comes To China, Google's Experience Still Says It All (backchannel.com)
Uber's defeat by its local competitor in China was the latest of a string of such cases, and Google's experience trying to establish itself there is illustrative of the challenges facing all American tech companies that aspire to dominate in that market, writes reader mirandakatz. Steven Levy writes at Backchannel:Perhaps because its market share never rose high enough, Uber did not experience the brunt of China's regulation. Still, who's to say what would have happened if Uber had managed to outperform Didi? If Uber's market share topped fifty percent, would the government have sat by as a neutral observer? Would the Uber app start experiencing slowdowns? Would its drivers be stopped? Would airports welcome Didi cars and not Uber? My bet is that, mixed with disappointment at not winning the country, Uber executives might be feeling a bit relieved that such worries are now off the table. As it is, Uber has become one more casualty in China's other wall, a towering fortress of restrictions, regulations and unfair play that keeps down American internet companies.
If US companies can't operate under fair rules in China, should Chinese companies be permitted to operate in the US without restrictions?
We can still trade, but do we necessarily have to allow service oriented businesses operate on each other's soil?
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
America wouldn't know fair if it kicked them in the balls, what you're actually seeing is when you become number 2.
Number 1 gets to decide what's fair.
Just because one of the founders is Canadian doesn't make it a Canadian company. They've been operating their business out of San Francisco from the start, and the founders have been part of previous SF-based businesses. Now there are surely business entities registered in countries all over the world so that Uber can operate there, and the service has definitely been available in parts of Canada early on.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Different rules for different people is pretty much the definition of unfair.
Only among equals. There are different rules for employers and employees too. China is stronger than a decade ago but still far behind the US.
GDP per capita (2015 in USD) USA: $55,805, China: $7,990
Protecting a growing and still weak market is normal and proven to be a necessary step when growing an economy. There is no "equality" when you have "equal" access (which is anything but) between two highly unequal economies. The reason China seems so strong - with so much in the US marked "Made in China" - isn't because China is an advanced economy but because China is a huge country with a billion(!) more people than the US.
In theory "lopsided" trade where one side cheats is still beneficial to the more-open partner.
But, it seems such formulas and simulations fail to account for or detect "emergent" side-effects, such as income inequality, and financial bubbles caused in part by one side building up cash from the imbalance. Bubbles still puzzle economic simulation experts.
The simulation may predict that average GDP increases, which may technically be accurate, but most of the increase is flowing to the top 1%, not regular folks. This excess power allows them to buy the political system, giving us crap like the Citizen's United ruling, which in terms gives them even MORE influence, risking a slippery slope into a full-blown plutocracy.
They can simulate consumer buying behavior to some extent, but so far not the related politics that affect everything in practice.
They are using spherical cows.
Table-ized A.I.
The overriding issue with doing business in China is corruption and intellectual property theft. In plain English, that means (1) the government runs on bribery, and (2) Chinese cultural values do not regard things like corporate espionage, patent infringement, bootlegging, and knockoffs, as being unethical. This is why non-Chinese companies tend to fail, because they allowed to enter the market only long enough until a Chinese company can copy their ideas and property.
Red China has become Fascist China, where the state and business work hand-in-hand to ensure China-based companies dominate the marketplace of a billion+ people. The government keeps control, and the companies profit.
Whether that's true or not, I'm surprised The Donald is not talking MORE about this kind of thing, instead of trolling the parents of a fallen soldier. This should be right up his political alley.
It's like someone has cleared a path for him to the goal line, carefully handed him the football, but instead he goes off to beat up a cheerleader. #Idontgettit
Table-ized A.I.
As a Canadian, I have to apologize for parent AC's comment.
I'm sorry.
Posted by "OrangeTide (124937)", is that you Donald?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
I'm sorry.
You really are Canadian!
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
It's really strange to hear people claim Protectionism is bad for the US, but we are forced to compete against Countries who are protectionist. You can try to get them to compete openly, but at a point you get played for a sucker and lose your shirt. The US has lost it's wardrobe playing that game.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Came here to say this.
The last sentence in the summary reads like outright propaganda. What China is doing is saying "China first, the rest of the world second" and honestly I can't fault them for that.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
He's sorry aye.
Make China Great Again!
Oh, wait, is the right country?
That's why they failed in China. Nothing to do with China. Everything to do with Uber.
Racist, stoopid Trump has once again seen and voiced what politicians are loathe to even acknowledge.
He's a Canadian not a sailor.
It's, "He's sorry, eh"
Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.
Google... you have failed me for the last time.
You told me it was spelled "aye".
Oh wait... it was Yahoo Answers... no wonder Verizon bought them!
You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
We're going to build a wall along the entire border.
And the Mongolians are going to pay for it!
The Mongols did indeed pay for the wall, in the form of bribes to get inside to plunder the towns and villages of China.
Of course, in Canada, Uber claims they are operating out of Europe, so cities can't drag them into court.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
If folks think Americans are jingoistic and racist, it's probably because they haven't dealt with the Chinese (yet). African countries are already starting to experience the Hidden Kingdom's version of TANSTAAFL. Ironically, I fully expect the USA and Vietnam to buddy-up pretty close over the next decade due to the increasing aggression of their common enemy.
Developing markets protect their infant industries. They have to in order to advance. See here for plenty of detail.
Chang blasts holes in the "World Is Flat" orthodoxy of Thomas Friedman and others who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows, today's economic superpowers-from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea-all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry, a fact conveniently forgotten now that they want to compete in foreign markets.
Nope, no sig