Its 400-year-old synagogue is decorated with blue-and-white willow pattern tiles from China.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Afoot and Afloat, Kerala Is Worth the Journey

When we meet, he wears a china-blue double-breasted Van Noten suit and white distressed Church's loafers that match the slightly cartoonish white round-frame sunglasses he puts on later as we walk over to Van Noten's Antwerp store, where he often shows up unannounced.

WSJ: Inside the Eclectic Studio of Gert Voorjans

Now, worryingly, something similar may threaten Haier, China's leading white-goods maker, which recently failed with a bid for Maytag, an American rival.

ECONOMIST: The scare stories��and the chaotic reality

Guangdong Kelon, China's largest private white-goods maker, was the first private company to list in Hong Kong, with a share issue in 1996.

FORBES: Chinese Capitalism Gets a Face

Company name refers to high-quality white porcelain that was exported from China to the West in the 18th century.

FORBES: 25 Influential Chinese In Global Fashion -- 2010 (Full List)

"With demand for steel and other metals from China likely to remain strong for the foreseeable future, even if it does cool from recent white-hot levels, we think RT offers excellent value, even as we concede that the stock price has already had a great run, " he says.

FORBES: Strength In Steel Schlepping