13. Very high rate of change of many of the above indices most of the trajectory implied by course reading seem to hold true in more recent information sources Rapid development of basic infrastructure elements (roads, electricity, etc.) in preparation for 2008 Olympics

14. Serious problems: Land ownership – Much of urban population allowed to own property, not so for rural farmers, leading to frequent unrest Shifting demographics – Much of the young, rural population moving to urban areas to seek employment, stressing urban social and infrastructure Banking industry – Top 4 banks still state owned and controlled, Large number of bad loans, propped up by large foreign currency reserves (mainly U.S. and Japanese) Stock Market – 2/3 of listed businesses are still state owned, due to currency pegging it is difficult for investors to value listed stock Government – Facing questionable future, struggling to find legitimacy under rapidly advancing economic pressure and increasing sophistication of population Political posturing/Nationalism – Growing military capability, combined with increasing govt reliance on nationalism of population for legitimacy has many developed countries very worried.

15. Advantages: Large, low wage, relatively well educated population, attractive to foreign and domestic enterprise Government commitment to improved infrastructure, including higher education, IT, etc. Controlled movement toward increased market based economy

16. Overall Assessment of IT Capability of Country (2 sentences maximum): China IT capability is good and growing. Significant resources invested by the government could propel the nation into the ranks of developed nations within 10 years. Attractiveness of the Country from an IT Strategic Perspective (2 sentences maximum): Moderately attractive from an IT prospective. Good and growing IT capability is offset by a questionable political environment interfering in investment and basic freedoms.

17. Discovery Times Channel: “China Rises” series This week only! and http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/