The emergence of China as an economic superpower

Three months ago, Wal-Mart was quite embarrassingly withdrawn from Germany; the company certainly could not afford another big blow in China.

Rumors say that Wal-Mart is paying about $1 billion to acquire the hypermarkets from Trust-Mart, a Taiwanese company. The purchase will make Wal-Mart the largest food and department store in China.

Wal-Mart stores in China are usually located in the suburban areas. It is not convenient for most Chinese to shop if they do not own cars. That is why people prefer going to Carrefour, a French owned chain store, instead of visiting Wal-Mart.

I guess Wal-Mart will buy other retail stores in the future. Believe it or not, this is the only way for Wal-Mart to stay in business in China.