The China Slowdown

The World Bank's East Asia and Pacific blog has a good update on the most recent China quarterly forecast. The Bank's official forecast for 2008 China GDP growth is now 9.8 percent, a full 2 points below 2007 growth. Elsewhere, we've been hearing about high fuel prices and the cheap dollar putting the squeeze on Chinese manufacturing export platforms.

OCED on Innovation in China

OCED Observer is running a good piece this month assessing the state of innovation in China:

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The World... Now Flatter Than Even Tom Friedman Ever Imagined

An untold number of business books heralded the new age - when all manufacturing would end up in China, and all services in India. But it's taking just a few blips in the world economy to undermine much of the competitive advantage of Chinese factories and Indian call centers. A weak dollar, rising fuel prices, and a global recession are all conspiring to undermine the cost advantage of offshoring. Oh, and then there's those pesky rising wages in places like the Pearl River Delta and Bangalore. The world really is flat... as BusinessWeek reports: