Sir Richard Branson is a role model entrepreneur and innovator and I have enjoyed reading his autobiographies and I am looking forward to his latest one when I am back in London mid August. He adds great value to the Virgin Brand. Yet he has passed the traditional retirement age in the UK though that means nothing these days and he shows no signs of slowing down. However it makes sense to secure the future investment in Virgin Atlantic which is one part of the Virgin Group. In the past Virgin Atlantic enjoyed an investment from Singapore Airlines (SQ) when I was a Gold member of SQ so I got to use Virgin Lounges which were really great. It was hard to achieve high status purely with Virgin Atlantic since their route network is limited when compared to the big boys. That changed nearly five years ago when Delta Airlines from the USA took a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic leaving Sir Richard's outfit with a controlling 51%. Today we learn that this will change with a further 31% being sold to AirFrance-KLM group leaving Virgin Group share at 20% but Sir Richard promising to remain actively involved. A huge increase in route access results and Delta Air-France KLM are all in Sky Team Alliance. Expect Virgin to get involved alongside their Virgin Red (and above) frequent flier program. Good to see the future of an iconic British brand looking good.

I would add as a foreigner here in China that, of course, the smartphone is almost indispensable in western countries too, but there are some differences. One basic aspect is that westerners tend to see the make and model of phone as a key aspect - the battery life, the memory, the camera quality for sharing in global websites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. (we know the issues in the PRC). In China, increasingly it is a key App called WeChat that is most important as a platform with fast approaching a billion active users - Literally, if you are not on WeChat you are not "on". This reality explains why Apple high end smartphones are not the automatic purchase of choice and functional Android models do the job here. Another aspect which I discussed with my American students recently was whether smartphone payment systems will take off in USA in the way they have here. They were cautious about the prospects as they said they prefer plastic bank card payments. A big reason is that most cards have member rewards linked to frequent user programs of airlines, hotel chains and rental car companies and they love to collect these. As far as I can see no loyalty schemes like that apply to WeChat and Ali-pay. Also, many like to pay with credit cards and leave cash earning interest before paying at end of month or spreading big payments. There is also the impression that virtual payment cards and memberships take more time to complete at cash registers in China - The contactless bank card is quicker. I have to agree with this, as I find that just presenting my Starbucks Gold Card in China and handing over the exact purchase cost in rmb is processed faster than the customer in front who is fumbling to find their virtual membership card and then their Ali-pay app. However, the popularity of smartphone app payments is underpinned by the fact that many users use WeChat to make and receive payments from other people (including Red Packets) and of course need to use that money. Technically balances could be transferred to the linked China bank card, but why bother? Many of my Chinese friends do not like to carry cash at all, whereas as a foreigner who knows the dangers of relying completely on technology, I always carry emergency rmb funds on me. OK we have discussed some of the issues, but let’s face it, smartphone access to services in the broadest sense has become indispensable in China. An interesting one for me is the western banking systems where mobile banking has long been in vogue. As a Brit, it was quite important to download the apps in the UK as one time the bank will want to send a UK local mobile number verification that it is you, but after that, one can use touch (fingerprint) ID to see payments, statements and transfer funds between different banks in UK instantly even though in China. That is impressive and I use three UK bank accounts that way while here. Another useful area for foreigners is apps that provide travel info in China such as metro maps, train timetables and bus routes and general GPS related mapping. The smartphone is rapidly replacing the laptop for website access and flight and hotel bookings can easily be done this way. For me there are important business applications, going far beyond basic email, that are smartphone friendly such as okta - a secure gateway to MS office apps and customer management databases like salesforce. None of these indispensable apps for me require the WeChat platform but the ones many Chinese use are closely linked to it.An essential first step for a foreigner is to open a local bank account and get a local SIM card - increasingly we find we won't get many phone calls as nearly everyone communicates in the WeChat message app - However, without the local number one cannot set up the local account or verify applications including joining services such as shared bike use. So, what do locals do on smartphones? Watch videos on the move, order in food, do shopping, store and share photos in their moments, order taxis, rent shared bikes, text in WeChat a lot, join WeChat clubs to learn English if needed, and perhaps blog on China Daily, and the list goes on. I expect many new additions in the near future and I also expect smartphones will need much longer battery life and memory capacity as a result. Watch this space (if you can drag yourself away from WeChat for a minute!)

Inspired by a recent WeChat re-issue of Michael Murphy's October 2015 Blog "7 Reasons I love China", I decided to post my own - after all that time I thought of eight :-)Actually some reasons I agree with but others are different - we are not all alike.1) Chinese People - I too put this first after meeting so many wonderful people here since my first visit it 2003. Chinese true friends believe in long term relationships (rather like in business here). I have had the privilege of living in Nanjing, Beijing and Shanghai several years in each and it is great to go back and see old friends. I even have two separate friends I made long ago in Beijing when living there who now live in Shanghai where I moved back to in 2015. We still meet up regularly. Chinese friends are optimistic and fun-loving. They don't worry about the big political issues that burden many westerners.2) Chinese and Asian Food - One has to like Chinese food to live here for the long haul - I got used to it in London but it was mainly Cantonese with the chefs coming from Hong Kong (that old British connection). I still seek out Cantonese food here but I really enjoy all kinds of Asian food too - in cosmopolitan Shanghai that includes Vietnamese in the former French Concession, Indonesian, Singaporean, loads of Thai food and more. While some Asian fusion food is expensive, some is not here - it all is in London.3) Chinese Culture in general - I have some specific loves separately below, but the huge history, the Confucian concepts, the inventions at times we Brits were "Barbarians", the cultural change witnessed in economic transition - of course I talk about some of this with my students. The revival of the bicycle in China is a current love.4) My work - hey there was a neat link! My mission is to help the west (especially American students) understand China better - China Through Western Eyes - a unique opportunity here working with American university students studying in China,,, and writing for China Daily since 2008.5) Oriental massage - need not be specifically Chinese (some in Shanghai offer Thai and other variants) but it is so relaxing, affordable and accessible here - if one avoids some rip-off in-hotel massage parlours, a good one hour foot or body massage can be had for 25% of the price in London - I know! It is a crime not to have some here.6) The Chinese Economy - Since I teach about it, I have to love it. Yet China has been such an exciting case study for the two decades in which i studied and taught about it - and Shanghai as the "City of Experiment" and Beijing as the economic planning powerhouse, both come into it.7) Shanghai itself - The rising Global Mega-city which the municipal Government is determined will be a top Global City in the next 20 years. In 2003 I stood on The Bund and gazed across to Pudong's neon waterfront and the picture postcard of China's Economic Miracle - and fell in love with it. The 24 hour city, the Paris of the East - He who is tired of Shanghai, is tired of life!8) China as the Asian base - I mentioned I like Asian food, massage etc. Shanghai is a great base to visit easily so much of Asia from - this year so far i have had an average 5 or 6 days in each of Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan - that is a much longer journey and a much more expensive activity from London!Go China!

My lasting thought about the outcome of the American Presidential election was that it revealed a divided USA and a lot of compromise was going to be needed to heal the wounds. Yet President Trump is an uncompromising figure. Sure he included a need to unite the nation to make America great again in his victory speech but he has embarked quickly on divisive policies once in office. The travel ban on citizens of 7 Muslim majority countries was bound to produce an outcry both against the concept and especially its ham-fisted execution followed by much backtracking and clarification (oh we did not mean to excluded Green Card holders, oh people of dual nationality can travel on passport of choice and be admitted) and of course the whole Executive Order has been declared invalid (unconstitutional) by a Federal judge throwing the status into confusion. Trump has been criticized by EU leaders for his interference in EU affairs and his recommendation for US Ambassador to the EU who has made anti-EU statements in the past. The POTUS has sown more disunity than unity so far. No wonder a poll just out shows President Trump has having the lowest approval rating early in office at 44% of any recent President - at the same stage President Obama's was mid 70s percentage approval. There seems a determination to fight a Trump presidency at every opportunity - we live in interesting times.

Yesterday I hosted a group of 12 (mainly Americans) in Shanghai at a Thanksgiving Dinner. I have experienced a few in USA too! This was my 6th special dinner on fourth Friday of November in China, all restaurant based. A big difference is that my experiences in USA have been in American friends' homes - it is the traditional way, bringing family and friends together in a cosy warm place - There have even been movies about the struggles to get home to family from other parts of the USA - delayed flights, bad weather - yes many parts of USA are cold, even experiencing snow that time. Some of my students told me they would have had the whole week off if still back on home campus - others would have had a five day weekend starting on Wednesday. That five day period also includes the holiday on the Friday after Thanksgiving - The famous Black Friday. That is a crazy shopping time which now encroaches on the Thursday Thanksgiving. No sooner has the Turkey been digested than the shops open their doors to bargains later that evening and remain open throughout the night. It is supposed to be an opportunity for bargains but not always a great catch. In the days I observed it first hand in the USA, folks lined up (as a Brit I would have queued up!) to grab limited supplies of half price flat screen TVs and sofas - I guess the sofa is useful for watching the TV? Then others had to settle for buying something at reduced price having got in, but did they really want it? What might disappoint people is that sometimes the same items are then found on sale at cheaper prices after Black Friday! After all, it kicks off the Xmas or holiday shopping season and more sales are needed to keep stores busy.The name Black Friday itself originated from the description Philadelphia City Police gave to the congestion and traffic problems faced in the city center on that shopping day decades ago as crowds poured in. The name stuck but retailers have put a positive spin on it - accountants use black to show profits and mark losses in red - Black Friday puts retailers in the black! Back to those Thanksgiving Dinners in China - I started with an all-you-can eat buffet in Nanjing in a Japanese restaurant - that was not very authentic but it brought a large group together and the key words were "all-you-can-eat" - American students have big appetites. After that I did three in Beijing that were more authentic but limited servings in American Tex-Mex and American Diners, and last year in Shanghai Spanish style. Last night I returned to the "all-you-can eat" concept in an authentic American style buffet. So pumpkin soup, salad, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, mashed potatoes, vegetables, pumpkin pie and apple pie. Yummy! Hard to trump that! Well, we know it is a special time of year for American students abroad and they will be heading home soon. America may have changed a bit in the meantime.

I thought very hard about this title. I did not want to put the word "terrorism" in it as it has become an overused word, which risks devaluing its horrific true meaning. Media seem to look to add terrorism too readily to headlines about any act of violence in and against society. Equally the authorities strive to look carefully at whether each act is an act of terrorism. We know terrorism when we see it - The downing by a bomb of PanAm 103 over Scotland in the late 1980s (I mention that just as a reminder that it has been around a long time), 9/11 in New York, 7/7 in London, the attacks on concert goers in Paris, the attacks in Brussels and so on, with far too long a list.Of course any acts of violence can be terrifying but we need to distinguish between something that is terrorism enacted in the name of a group, a cause or a country which might lead to severe retaliation, restrictions on movement of some individuals and groups, and some stereotyping, and, on the other hand, an act by an individual, mentally unstable, a copycat of recent terrorist attack because they got the idea, a grudge revenge against an ex-lover, co-worker or anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time when a member of society was the victim of another member's bad mood or manic depression. The latter usually leads to statements about the need to review mental health care, to increase security in shopping malls and offices, to limit gun ownership (or to increase citizen gun ownership - depending on the analysis and the country). However the latter does not usually result in stereotyping all similar individuals as a danger because of the actions of one - not when they are not seen as terrorists.In Germany headlines ask :What is going on? Four acts of violence against society in different locations. all terrible but were they all connected? Where they all acts of terrorism? At least one seems like a domestic revenge attack for personal reasons, a second an act of a depressed person. Terrorist groups might like to claim these actors as their followers. It all adds to real terror. So we need to be able to review and distinguish acts of violence in society and put all into perspective. Media have a responsibility in this and so do politicians. Otherwise we will be living a daily terrified life.

My last few words at the end of Euros:17 post were "France can do it" - that referred to reaching the final and they did beating Germany 2-0. I will have a last few words at the end of the post too! First we need to look at France's opponents - Portugal. They are in their second Euro Championships Final this century - they lost as hosts in 2004. So they know what it feels like.Ronaldo was only 19 and entering his second year at Manchester United. He cried on the pitch but it was his home nation and the 1-0 loss was to a low ranked Greece - though they played well in that tournament - a team who did not even qualify to be in France this year. He might have thought that it was his only chance after Spain dominated in 2008 and 2012 - he was playing in Madrid himself by then. Yet he is back and has that second chance, although against the fancied team on their home soil. Soocer is a funny game though and Ronaldo has a huge incentive to score. Ronaldo's goals this tournament have put him on equal top of all time Euro Champiuonships scorers at 9 goals - he shares it with Michel Platini of France. Platini has not been there to watch the tournament after the Court of Aribtration for Sport has backed the FIFA judgment that Platini's payment from FIFA then leader Blatter was unfair and a conflict of intetests. He has a four year ban from the game. His colleagues will want to keep Ronaldo quiet. However, one more goal will put Ronaldo ahead on his own and three goals ahead of England's Alan Shearer in third place. Could the outcome be that Ronaldo gets this honour by scoring but France still win the Final? I think France have several goals in them and Griezmann is after this year's Golden Boot award. He will want to stay ahead of Ronaldo (he leads by 6 goals to three right now!). The weight of expectation is on France but they have been carrying that throughout. We will know at 3 am on Monday, China time zone. France can do it!

In the 1960s and 1970s a famous striker was nicknamed "Wyn the Leap" as he could jump high to win headers - this was Wyn Davies who played for Newcastle United, Manchester City and Manchester United and my club Blackpool (for two years). He was Welsh and capped many times for Wales. In France it was a pity that Wales did not have such a player to counter Ronaldo the Leap last night there.Wales lost 2-0 to end a gallant run to the Semi-Finals - great memories. They looked to have a chance of progressing after a poor Portugal played out a quite dull first half. Yet Ronaldo scores most of his goals in the second half of games. On 50 minutes he lept very high above the Welsh defence to power an unstoppable header into the net. 1-0 was recoverable, but Wales were shocked and hesitant. Ronaldo pressed forward again an unleashed a low shot that was just going wide to left of the goal - that is before Nani stuck out a boot and deflected it into the right corner and 2-0 up in three minutes was game over. Wales foought on but lacked the creativity of suspended Ramsey - their threats came from long range shots from Bale - on target but not beating the Portugese keeper.So Portugal finally won a game in 90 minutes in this series and Ronaldo joined the leading scorers in all Euro Champoionships. Portugal are back in a final again after losing 1-0 to Greece in 2004, when they hosted the tourament. 3 am tomorrow local China time, they will see their opponents battle it out - They await hosts France or World Cup holders Germany. France can do it!

Anyone waking up and hearing that France beat Iceland 5-2 could be forgiven for saying : "What, it went to a penalty shootout?" In fact France won in 90 minutes - effectively in 45 minutes by which time France were 4-0 up. Still it was nice to have three more goals in the second half and we could say "Iceland won the second half"!We have not been treated to a seven goal game in this tournament and it was overdue, especially a top team versus a minnow. The national rankings do not lie and Iceland have been punching above their weight. It only makes England's defeat to Iceland look even worse - there is no hiding that. Still Iceland will feel that being in the top 8 in Europe is a trophy and congratulations to them for giving us a lot of excitement.So France v Germany will be a mouth-watering game. Will the sequence continue? Spain, the holders, fall to another top team, italy. Italy then fall to Germany. In turn will Germany then fall to France? Sure, the French have not yet faced a top team but their strikers are on form and all of Giroud, Payet and Griezemann have several goals each - Griezemann could get the Golden Boot! By contrast, the German strikers are struggling to find the net - Muller could not even score in the penalty shootout! Where would the Germans be without Ozil goals? and he is not an out and out striker.It depends on how the game is played - If Germany's defense holds and it is 0-0 or 1-1 at 90 minutes you have to fancy them to qualify for the final. But if France's attacking game dominates, you have to fancy France in a high scoring match. So it is all about the tactics. We will have to wait until 3 am on Friday July 8 our timezone for the match - with Wales v Portugal a day before. Exciting!

The UK continues to agonize over the Brexit decision. A huge march in London by Pro-EU supporters with hearts containing the EU sign. We know of the almost 4 million strong petition asking Parliament to change the Referendum rules - but cannot be done after the event. Hindsight is 20-20 and how Cameron must regret not taking up the suggestion by the Scottish leader to require that the vote could only change the status quo if it was confirmed in all regions of the UK - thus all of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would have had to say Leave to change things. We know that Scotland and Northern Ireland said Remain very clearly, but those rules had to be in place before the vote.If David Cameron has regrets, they are trumped by those of Boris Johnson, who almost single-handed revived a Leave campaign into a success by fronting it after agonising over which side to support. Johnson has come under withering attack from Conservative grandees and accused of being a General who deserted his army. Johnson won't lead the new Conservative regime and won't take forward the new UK vision. Who can? The problem is that vision is flawed - it almost certainly cannot be delivered. Some voters were misled into thinking they could have their cake and eat it. They thought we could withdraw from the EU and regain sole control over immigration and yet get a strong economy by negotiating a trade only deal with Europe and some new trade deals with other major economies. Yet we have to ask, on the latter point, why would such deals be possible now (without the benefits of UK access to EU) and could not be negotiated before? We are less attractive now! Sadly, experts that tried to point this out were shot down as being part of a clique against reform - we weren't against reform, we were against suicide! The fundamental problem is the first misleading concept - It is not true that the UK can control its own immigration while having access for trade to the EU's Single Market - this market is founded on the four principles of freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people. That cannot change and countries like Norway and Switzerland know that. Arrive at a border in Europe and look at the signs - EU and EEA Passport holders this way. Membership in the European Economic Area comes with free movement of people. The very least the very angry pro-EU voters would accept is a deal that allows those Brits to travel easily in Europe. If folks were worried about terrorism, understand much is home grown converts to radical views and for other aspects, we need total cooperation with intelligence agencies across the EU. Yet controlling immigration was a key argument by the Leave campaign. It cannot be achieved without huge loses in other aspects of EU trading relationship. It is a price too high to pay. We would lose more jobs through economic decline than any that immigrants would seek to take! And without anything the other way - Right now Brits have access to job opportunities in 27 other EU nations. Were we mad? You cannot have your cake and eat it! Too late, some are waking up to that reality! It is too late to say "Crumbs! What have we done?"