According to research by Professor Yijiang Wang of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, SMEs are the backbone of the Chinese economy.

FORBES: China In Transition

Mr. Wang spoke with Emily Veach in Hong Kong about the challenges of winning brand loyalty in Asia's varied markets as well as how he retains quality staff, no small task in the retail business.

WSJ: Managing in Asia: Good Brew: Happy Employees, Local Flair; Starbucks Jinlong Wang

"The timing of Chinese New Year played a very important role, " said Tao Wang, an economist with UBS in Hong Kong.

BBC: China reports better than expected trade data

That's not a view shared by Wang Man-ling, who has been writing on Hong Kong films for more than two decades.

CNN: The Next Mission

That learning and training process could take one to two decades, said Wang Jiangyu, a trade law professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

FORBES: A Series: China's Trade Offensive

"In China we are jealous of our HR co-workers in the U.S., " where online recruiting platforms are more mature and can attract qualified candidates, said Willa Wang, talent acquisition director at Lenovo China, the Chinese unit of Hong Kong-based personal computer company Lenovo Group Ltd.

WSJ: In China, Recruiting Gets Social

Singapore may field three badminton players at the Commonwealth Games who have come from Indonesia, and Hong Kong could have one, in addition to their former world women's singles quarter-finalist Wang Chen, who crossed the border from China to the former British colony.

BBC: Defecting dilemmas for Games