Last I knew, China's best beer, Tsing Tao, is really German, having its orgin in those long, long ago years when Imperial China granted a German firm a concession to make beer in China.
Remember all those trade "concessions" that Imperial China granted to western nations? Most were/are located in Shanghai, once a grubby little fishing village, above (shang) the sea (hai) -- a fitting place for those obnoxious westerners. Lots of those westerners were chased out when the Nationist Chinese were routed off to Formosa (Tiawan today). I grew up with some of those westerners. Today the westerners are back. One can see lots of familier looking autos in Chinese cities, thanks to China-based auto factories by Volkswagon, Chrysler, etc. Look at the huge parade of neon signs up and down river from the Bund (european part of Shanghai) sometime. Just about all of the major western manufacturers are there -- Coca Cola, Seimans, Goodyear, etc.
Problems in China -- yep, huge ones, as befitting a huge country undergoing huge changes. Pollution of air and water is one of the most visible.
Also, don't forget that the western world inserted itself into China during the decaying years of one of China's longest running dynasties. Actually the last dynasty was Manchurian (North Korean in modern geographic terms), rather than Han, and is one of the two times the Chinese (Han) asked a foreign power for help (the other was Mongolian). In both cases, the foreigners stayed in power for a long time. After each decay period, a new dynasty evolved and lasted for some time, sometimes hundreds of years, before the cycle repeated. Their affair with Communism, following fall of the last dynasty, has its presidents in Chinese history.
Stay tuned for changes in China. But, plan to stay tuned for decades.
Niklas
