9 January 2014 Last updated at 04:50 GMT
Chinese firms have embarked on a quest to conquer the world market. Several have already done so, with the help of Western know-how. Established rivals are making the mistake of underestimating them -- until it's too late.
The name Haier, a leading Chinese brand for household goods, originates from Liebherr, the German company that set up a joint venture with a Chinese company almost three decades ago. Liebherr taught its partner to build modern fridges. It needed to, because 20 percent of the Chinese manufacturer's output at the time was faulty.
Haier boss Zhang Ruimin started out by handing his surprised workers sledgehammers to destroy all the malfunctioning fridges they had made. The shock therapy worked. The state-owned business started to expand its market share in China, where it acquired many smaller competitors. Then it went international, and now it has an 8 percent share of the world market for household appliances.
Australia PM Tony Abbott defends asylum policy 'closed book'
Australian PM Tony Abbott has defended what critics have described as government secrecy over asylum policy.
Officials have in recent days refused to comment on reports that Australian naval forces have turned back at least one boat to Indonesia.
Asylum-seeker accounts have also alleged mistreatment by navy personnel.
Mr Abbott, who promised a tough line on the asylum issue when he took office, said restricting information flow boosted operational enforcement.
"I'd rather be criticised for being a bit of a closed book on this issue and actually stop the boats," he told local media.
"The point is not to provide sport for public discussion. The point is to stop the boats.
"I'm pleased to say it is now several weeks since we've had a boat, and the less we talk about operational details on the water, the better when it comes to stopping the boats."
‘Newsweek’ broadside stirs Gallic pride as French ridicule journalist’s errors
Politicians and media strike back over ‘French-bashing’ article
Lara Marlowe
Pique and hurt pride at US journalist Janine di Giovanni’s January 3rd article inNewsweek on “the fall of France” have galvanised French politicians, newspapers, bloggers and tweeters.
Di Giovanni, who lives in Paris, appears to have succeeded where French governments failed for decades: in forcing the French to emphasise their country’s strengths instead of its weaknesses and to face a hostile world with confidence.
As di Giovanni’s many detractors have noted, French-bashing has long been a favoured pastime of les Anglo-Saxons. The Economist has been particularly adept at raising French hackles, with cover stories on “France in denial” and France as “the time-bomb at the heart of Europe”.
Brand Expansion: China's Race to Conquer World Markets
Chinese firms have embarked on a quest to conquer the world market. Several have already done so, with the help of Western know-how. Established rivals are making the mistake of underestimating them -- until it's too late.
The name Haier, a leading Chinese brand for household goods, originates from Liebherr, the German company that set up a joint venture with a Chinese company almost three decades ago. Liebherr taught its partner to build modern fridges. It needed to, because 20 percent of the Chinese manufacturer's output at the time was faulty.
Haier boss Zhang Ruimin started out by handing his surprised workers sledgehammers to destroy all the malfunctioning fridges they had made. The shock therapy worked. The state-owned business started to expand its market share in China, where it acquired many smaller competitors. Then it went international, and now it has an 8 percent share of the world market for household appliances.
Female commandos to patrol 'rape capital' Delhi streets
January 9, 2014 - 12:15PMDean Nelson
Delhi: The new leaders of India's "rape capital" Delhi are to to recruit a female commando force to patrol the streets and boost safety for women.
Rakhi Birla, the city's new Women and Child Welfare Minister, said she was planning to recruit ex-military personnel and experts in martial arts, to train female volunteers to walk the capital's streets.
Insecurity and fear of rape has increased since the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a Delhi bus just over a year ago. The brutality of the attack provoked demonstrations throughout India and forced the government to introduce new laws and tougher sentences for rape and sexual assaults.
But despite widespread outrage and the threat of faster trials, reported rapes in Delhi have doubled in the past year, from 706 in 2012 to 1330 in the first 10 months of 2013. The number of sexual assaults increased from just over 700 in 2012 to 2844 last year.
Central African leader faces pressure to quit at Thursday summit
N'DJAMENA/PARIS (Reuters) - Central African Republic's interim President Michel Djotodia will face pressure to step down at a summit of regional leaders on Thursday amid frustration at his failure to quell his country's religious violence.
Political sources in Bangui and French diplomatic sources said Djotodia would announce his departure at the meeting of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena or shortly afterwards on his return to Bangui.
A spokesman for Djotodia, who seized power in March at the head of the Seleka rebels, denied any such plan. But CEEAC Secretary General Ahmat Allami said the group would tell Djotodia that his transitional government was not working.
Miss Venezuela murder enrages nation. But what will be done?
A high-profile murder saw President Maduro convene a national political meeting and promise to meet a soaring murder rate with an 'iron fist.'
Venezuelans are buzzing with frustration over the government's inability to deal with violent crime, following the death of former Miss Venezuela and soap-opera star, Monica Spear.
"How many more murders in my country?" wrote 2009 Miss Universe Stefania Fernández on Twitter, while the hashtag #NoMasViolenciaVenezuela (No more violenceVenezuela) was trending on social media.
Ms. Spear and her ex-husband Henry Thomas Berrywere gunned down in their car on the side of the road Monday night during a robbery. Their five-year-old daughter was injured.
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