Business.view: Beware the Beijing model

The most notable overnight event was the release of the Chinese Government Work Report as part of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress which kicked off today and runs until March 17. This is the Chinese equivalent of the State of the Union address, delivered in this case by the outgoing premier Wen Jiabao. In it, Wen summarized his administration’s achievement in the past ten years in some detail, while voicing a sense of crisis when talking about existing social and economic problems.

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) expects to record annual sales of 500,000 vehicles by 2020, and that ambitious target will require the automaker to continue expanding in various foreign markets. The company, which has already expanded into China and Norway, is now rumored to be looking into starting operations out of Japan, where it expects to achieve cost savings while tapping an important market.

By John Ruwitch

Ever since the 18th Party Congress in November, China pundits have argued over whether the new leadership will or will not bring about new reforms.

By Simon Johnson

Submitted by Bill Bonner via Acting-Man blog, We’ve come to China to check on our investments. Not that we have many. But the fewer you have, the more each one is important to you. Of all the world’s major stock markets, only two are reasonably priced. China is one. Russia is the other. We are long-term bullish on both.

Dan Little:

ANALYSIS WASHINGTON — Consensus may be hard to find in Washington these days, but many corporate executives and economists seem to agree on one point: the biggest risk to the world’s largest economy may be its own elected representatives. Down-to-the-wire budget and debt crises, indiscriminate spending cuts and a 16-day government shutdown may not be enough to push the U.S. economy back into recession.