Quotable

"This is the positive side of champion effect. If building statues of the two icons can encourage our children to learn from them, why not?"

Wei Yingjie, commenting in the Beijing Times on a plan by local authorities to honor Olympic swimming champions Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen by erecting life-size statues of them in their hometown of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The proposal has sparked a debate, with many concerned the project is an attempt by the local government to boast of its achievement.

"The most terrible competition in the household appliances industry has just started. If Jingdong can carry on for three years, the industry will say goodbye to low prices, at the cost of the death of Suning. And consumers will have to pay for Jingdong's craziness."

Ma Guangyuan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, commenting on the price war started on Aug 15 among three household appliance companies Jingdong, Suning and Gome. Richard Liu, CEO of Beijing Jingdong Century Trading Co, which runs online retail 360buy.com, said on Aug 14 that "Jingdong will get a zero percent gross margin from large household appliance sales in three years. The prices of large household appliances sold on Jingdong will be at least 10 percent lower than those in Gome and Suning stores."

(China Daily 08/17/2012 page2)