China’s party leadership is setting an example — albeit on a much larger scale. Last week, Vice Premier Li Keqiang, seen as a rising star among Beijing’s power elite, made a trip to Europe during which he praised German industriousness and discipline as well as the quality of goods “Made in Germany.” Li spent three days in Germany alone, and German Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle was undoubtedly pleased with the outcome: orders worth a total of €8.7 billion ($11.4 billion) for Volkswagen, Daimler and other corporations.
Shopper-in-Chief
A top-ranking communist on a shopping spree. Shortly before his visit to Germany, Li promised the Spaniards that Beijing would buy €6 billion ($8 billion) worth of the troubled country’s government bonds. On Friday, he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a meet and greet.
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Officials throughout the country are promoting the construction of giant, amusement park-like shopping centers to serve as temples of the new consumer religion. Wuhan, a city of 9 million, also aspires to win global fame from its malls. The most upscale of these complexes is the Wuhan International Plaza, and — like a promise of things to come — it rises up out of the smog that envelops this iron-and-steel-producing city almost year-round.
“Many citizens of our city cannot afford the products that are on display, at least not yet,” says one saleswoman there with a shy smile. “I can’t afford them either.” Most customers are high-ranking officials or business executives. “When they go shopping,” she adds, “they spend
Ed. Who would thought?