Everyone knows China is good at copying things Western – like handbags and iPods and even whole Apple stores – but increasingly, the Chinese are aping the worst aspects of Western culture, along with jeans and electronics. Increasingly China is copying the diseases of capitalism, like heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and diabetes.

According to a report today from the World Bank, the Chinese Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, “Toward a Healthy and Harmonious Life in China: Stemming the Rising Tide of Non-Communicable Diseases”, China is experiencing an “epidemic” of non-communicable diseases – the kind that the third world poor (with their malaria and malnutrition) can only dream about. Continue reading »

In a sign of the growing importance of fast-growing emerging markets, GE Healthcare has decided to move the global headquarters of its 100 year old X-ray business from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Beijing, China.

OK, so the move only involves shifting four actual employees and will not result in any layoffs in the Wisconsin office but the four relocated employees are probably the most important ones in the unit – the general manager, CMO, CFO and vice-president for HR. Continue reading »