The more things change...

...the more they stay the same.Shocker: Official and unofficial numbers for China 2012 economy are not the same!!!  And, hold your breath…..the official numbers not only aren't accurate they've erred on the side of making last year's downturn less dramatic and the upturn more impressive.  Amazing how it always seems to happen that way for the govt. fighting for social stability.All irony aside, the numbers show that growth, while slightly better is not at the 7.5-8% levels that just 5 years ago Beijing was claiming MUST be maintained at all costs to keep employment where is needed to be (one of the arguments for not floating the currency).  Growth at 5.5% this next year without significant reforms for the 400 million still not urbanized and poor job prospects for the recent college grads will mean continuing frustrations for the CCP (especially as housing prices start to tick back up again).New Business Insight: Don't transfer Western business practices to China directly without some cultural/market specific adaptations.  Do MBA's learn anything other than numbers in grad school?  Surely they have to take a couple of OB or corporate culture classes, right?  I'm no accountant, I'll be the first to admit.  But if I needed one, I'd hire one rather than think that I could do it myself.  Why don't accountants (not picking on accountants specifically, just making a point) hire Chinese consultants before moving to China?Amazing Thailand: A Buddhist country steeped in centuries of political corruption and a face-conscious culture chooses the middle ground to keep the economy going and wait out the end of the King's reign.