McKinsey Greater China

It’s 2014, and Gordon Orr is back with his annual predictions for the coming year in China. In this podcast, he discusses some of his prognostications with Nick Leung and Guangyu Li. Gordon is a Director based in Shanghai. Guangyu is a Partner there. Nick is the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

China’s trust industry has rapidly emerged as a needed source of capital for firms that might otherwise not have ready access to traditional sources of funding. But while trusts will continue to play a major role in getting capital where it’s needed, there’s a growing concern that the industry could pose a risk to the stability of China’s financial system. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses this topic with Stephan Binder and Xu Jun. Stephan and Jun are Partners in Shanghai who have recently published a report on China’s trust industry, prepared in collaboration with Ping An Trust. Nick is the managing partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

The recent announcement by the Chinese government of the relaxation of the one-child policy is casting light on the issue of how China plans to feed its people. The problem is especially acute given the rapid expansion of China’s cities, and the reduction of land available for farming. In this podcast, Nick Leung, Bruno Roy, and Sheng Hong discuss this issue. Bruno is a Partner who leads McKinsey’s Private Equity Practice in China. Sheng is an Associate Partner in Beijing who leads McKinsey’s work in agriculture. And our host, Nick Leung, is the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

In just over two decades, Shenzhen has gone from being a small farming village, to becoming the sprawling, first-tier Chinese city that it is today. Is there something to be learned from the Shenzhen experience in other parts of China? This is the topic of a recent conversation between Nick Leung, Jonathan Woetzel, Elsie Chang, and Changqing Zheng. Jonathan is a Director who leads the McKinsey Global Institute in Asia, where Elsie is a Senior Fellow. Changqing is an Associate Principal who is co-leading McKinsey’s newly opened office in Shenzhen. And our host, Nick Leung, is the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

China is gearing up for a major event: the third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist party. Expectations are running high that the meeting will initiate a new wave of reform. This is the first opportunity for President Xi Jinping to articulate his economic vision for the country after a year as the leader of the Communist party.

What does the recent government crack-down portend for China's pharma market?

As China evolves from being the workshop of the world to an economy driven by higher value-added products and services, it will need more high-skilled workers. But if current projections hold, China is likely to come up short. According to new McKinsey research, China faces a large and widening gap in the supply of university and vocational graduates. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses this report with Jin Yu, Haimeng Zhang, and Li-Kai Chen. Jin and Haimeng are Partners who lead McKinsey’s Beijing and Shanghai offices. Li-Kai is a Partner in Kuala Lumpur. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China practice.

Chinese companies do innovate. They just do it differently. China may not be known yet as a hotbed of innovation, but the signs are hard to ignore. A growing number of firms are creating new products and developing entirely new businesses that are changing the paradigm of Chinese innovation. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses emerging models of innovation in China with Erik Roth, Kevin Wang, and Gordon Orr. They’re Partners in McKinsey’s Shanghai office. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

How does China plan to tap the coming shale gas revolution? It still may be several years until China taps its shale gas reserves, but industry players are already plotting their strategies, and anticipation is running pretty high. How will shale gas impact China’s energy market? In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses this question with Paul Sheng, Michael Wang and David Xu. Paul is a director with McKinsey’s global energy practice in Hong Kong. Michael and David are directors with the global energy practice in Shanghai. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

Do rising labor costs and an appreciating renminbi spell the end of China’s role as the “factory of the world?” Do rising labor costs and the appreciation of the renminbi spell the end of China’s role as the “factory of the world”? Not so fast, argue the leaders of McKinsey’s Operations Practice in China. In this podcast, Nick Leung explores this issue with Martin Lehnich, Karel Eloot, and Alan Huang. They’re partners in McKinsey’s Shanghai office. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

Does China need to make a trade-off between economic development and the environment? Severe air pollution has recently emerged as one of the biggest public health threats in China. Clearly, rapid economic growth and urbanization are at the root of the problem. But is air pollution an inevitable consequence of China’s climb up the economic ladder? In this podcast, Nick Leung tackles this question with Yinuo Li, Jonathan Woetzel, and Claudia Suessmuth-Dyckerhoff. Yinuo is a Partner with McKinsey’s Healthcare Practice in Beijing. Claudia is a Director with the Healthcare Practice in Shanghai. Jonathan is a Director who co-leads the Urban China Initiative. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

E-tailing is having a broader impact on China’s economy by stimulating consumption Almost overnight, China has become the world’s second-largest e-tail market, and is set to overtake the US in the next few years. According to a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute, e-tailing is not only transforming the retail landscape in China, it’s having a broader impact on the overall economy by stimulating consumption that would not otherwise take place. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses this report with Gordon Orr and Yougang Chen. Gordon is Asia Chairman of McKinsey. Yougang is a Shanghai-based Partner who leads the McKinsey Global Institute in China. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

Driving growth in China’s premium car market is an emerging class of new mainstream consumers that seem more interested in styling and performance. According to a new report by McKinsey’s Automotive Practice, China is expected to become the world’s largest market for premium autos by 2016. Driving growth in the market is an emerging class of new mainstream consumers that seem more interested in styling and performance than earlier buyers of premium autos. In this podcast, Nick Leung discusses this topic with Sha Sha and Paul Gao. They’re Partners who lead McKinsey’s Automotive Practice in China. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

As consumers get wealthier and their driving habits and preferences evolve, will market forces play a bigger role in shaping China’s auto market? According to a new report by McKinsey’s Automotive Practice, China is expected to drive over one-third of total growth in the global auto market from now until 2020. The guiding hand of government has always been felt in China’s auto industry. But as consumers get wealthier and their driving habits and preferences evolve, will market forces play a bigger role in shaping how this industry plays out over the next decade? Or will government policy continue to prevail? In this podcast, Nick Leung addresses this question with Arthur Wang and Axel Krieger. Arthur is a Partner in Shanghai. Axel is a Partner in Beijing who heads McKinsey’s Automotive Practice in China. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China Practice.

Innovation is a priority for Chinese companies. How innovative are they today? Most Chinese CEOs say that innovation is a priority topic on their agenda. But just how innovative are Chinese companies today? In this podcast, Nick Leung addresses this topic with Erik Roth and Alan Huang. Erik is a Partner in Shanghai who heads McKinsey’s Global Innovation Practice. Alan is a Partner in Shanghai. Nick is Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China practice.