By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

China’s Golden Week has started with two fatal accidents. In Hong Kong, 37 people died when a public ferry crashed into a boat taking revellers to watch a fireworks display. On the mainland, five German doctors were killed in a bus collision near Beijing. Half of China’s 1.4 billion inhabitants are expected to travel during the national holiday. Yet while the country’s new love of tourism is an economic blessing, it creates logistical challenges.

By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

China’s leadership change might be a big event, but it is another occasion that matters most for the Communist Party. A new set of leaders will be ushered in during the 18th Party Congress, expected to happen in October. To hear what they stand for, the world may have to wait until the “third plenary”, which brings together around 370 of the Party’s top figures, a year from now.

By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Skies were unusually clear in the Chinese city of Tianjin this week as the World Economic Forum’s annual summer event took place. But there were two grey clouds: politics and the economy. Worries over both were hard to miss. Like China itself, there was a distinct feeling that the self-styled Asian gathering of the global elite had lost some of its sparkle.

By Wei Gu
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

China could benefit from a clean break. President Hu Jintao may quit his official positions in the ruling Communist Party when new leaders come in early next year, according to a report on Reuters. That would be a change from the path of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin. It would leave the incomers more room to make their mark, and push through reforms with less distraction from factional fighting.

By Wei Gu
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

For multinationals, “The End of Cheap China” is a mixed blessing. Shaun Rein, an American marketing consultant based in Shanghai, has written an interesting book with that title. The good news is that customers can afford to pay more. The bad news is that they’re increasingly reluctant to spend their higher incomes on anything multinationals have to offer.

By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

U.S. investors should take heart from a $3.5 billion Chinese-led buyout. Some of the same people who brought Focus Media public in 2005 now want to take it private. They might want to re-list the shares later in China, out of the focus of U.S. shorts-sellers, where the provider of advertising screens in public places might command a higher valuation.

By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Warren Buffett doesn’t usually like companies in which the top managers are selling when the share price falls. By that standard, the Omaha investor must not be too happy with his Berkshire Hathaway’s 2008 purchase of 9.9 percent of Chinese electric automaker BYD.

By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Chinese companies call for fairer treatment from foreigners. China’s critics say that these companies still don’t play by the accepted global rules of capital markets. The accusation of insider trading around the $15 billion bid by Chinese oil major CNOOC for the Canadian producer Nexen supports the critics.

By Wei Gu

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

As tumbleweeds roll across the ghost town that has become Asia’s equity capital markets, block trades have become a way to keep bankers busy. Though they may not be big money makers, they can offer a quick boost to league table rankings, particularly when IPO markets are moribund. But as Carlyle’s recent sale of a $720 million stake in China Pacific Insurance suggests, they can also be something of a winner’s curse.