China Fast Forward: The Technologies, Green Industries and Innovations Driving the Mainland's Future

Will China Surpass the United States as an innovation nation? China is tirelessly working to overcome its technological deficiencies by driving R&D initiatives in government and business and adapting Western Internet platforms for domestic use. It is extending its technological reach through a major drive to rival India as a services outsourcing leader and projecting its high-tech brands into the companies and homes of other countries. But whether China succeeds will depend on how it handles such issues as demography, energy dependency, and resource limitations. The environmental challenges posed by China's vast manufacturing sector are well documented, but what isn't widely realized is that China is actually outstripping the West in all manner of green initiatives, renewable energy investments, research and development funding, and other areas essential to improving the health of the planet. However, omnipresent government intervention, environmental degradation, natural resource exhaustion, and other issues threaten to derail China's rise to superpower status. As the country meets global challenges on a scale that few nations can match, China Fast Forward takes a look at what lies ahead and why China's success is important to us all. In this book, Bill Dodson explores China's reincarnation from a closed, agrarian nation into a modern, high-tech superpower bent on literally cleaning up its act. * Presents an on-the-ground survey and analysis of China's renewable and clean energy sector that identifies the kinds of projects and technologies Chinese enterprises and local governments are hungry for* Includes a discussion on how successful Chinese companies are developing their brands to go head-to-head with the world's best-known companies* Discusses how central government conflicts of interest are actually foiling corporate and official drives to innovation across a range of sectors Taking a look inside China's march toward becoming a sustainable superpower through innovation, China Fast Forward presents a balance sheet of the country's technological and social progress on its path to becoming a world leader.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xi Introduction xv Chapter 1 Innovation Nation 1 Impure Research 4 The Patronage Party 5 Gimme a Big "I"! 7 What's a Little Intellectual Property Theft between Friends? 10 Education 11 Grafting Innovation 13 A Cautionary Tale 16 The Glory That Was Ours 18 Chapter 2 The Fractured Web 21 Finger on the Button 24 Filtering for Profit 25 Just the Internet, Please; Hold the Coffee 27 Into the Fray 29 If You Can't Beat 'Em 33 China Scrums 34 Chapter 3 The Silicon Paddies of China 39 The Hi-tech Face of China 42 If You Build It, They Will Outsource 44 Crouching Dragon, Leaping Elephant 47 A Tale of Two Outsourcers 51 On the Hunt for BPO in Deepest China 55 Chapter 4 Heavy Metal 59 Ships Ahoy! 61 Fast Car 65 A Ticket to Ride 69 Selling into Developing Countries 73 Chapter 5 Brand China 77 A National Image Made in China 79 When Being a Chinese Company Isn't Cool 81 Beyond Cheap 83 Management Innovation 85 The Operation Was a Success... 87 What Was the Plan Again? 90 Red Flags 93 Branding Beyond Nationality 94 Chapter 6 Declaration of Energy Independence 97 Coal in China's Stocking 101 Cleaning Up Coal's Act 104 Economics Rules 106 Oily Risers 108 What a Gas 109 Breaking the Addiction 111 Chapter 7 Consider the Alternatives 115 Wind at My Back 116 A Little Ray of Sunshine 119 Damming Neighbors 124 Nuclear Deterrents 127 Welcome to Electric Avenue 131 A Battery of New Energy Technologies 134 Chapter 8 Errors of Emission 137 The Dark Side of the Sun 138 Get the Lead Out 141 Rare Earths, Common Pollution 145 When There Is No Longer a Backyard 149 Chapter 9 Dragon on a Diet 153 Watergy 155 Turning Water into Oil 156 Manufacturing Water 158 Building Sustainable Cities 159 Building Energy Effi ciency 161 Green Shoots 165 "Dunno Where It Came From" 167 Chapter 10 Assembly Required 171 Can't We Be Civil? 173 "For We are Living in a Material World ..." 177 Onward Christian Soldiers 178 A Charitable Streak 180 The Final Innovation 184 Hot House Innovation 186 Afterword The Curse of Steve Jobs 189 Indigenous, not Ingenious 191 The Scramble for Energy 196 Free Exchange 198 Oops! 199 A New Dialog of Discovery 201 Notes 205 About the Author 219 Bibliography 221 Index 223

About the Author :
Bill Dodson has been an industry analyst, advisor, and business manager in China since 2003. He has been quoted on China-related topics in Newsweek, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, the BBC, The Economist, Shanghai Business Review, China Economic Quarterly, and other international media outlets. A graduate of Cornell University, he is a columnist for the China Economic Review on the China energy sector. He makes his home in the Greater Shanghai area with his wife and son. Follow daily discussions on China innovation at thisischinablog.com