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I'm not the only one who thinks that 2010 is going to be an awesome year: a recent survey showed that only 38,4% of Luxembourg's inhabitants have a pessimistic outlook for the next 12 months¹.

Strangely, a Eurochambres survey painted a much bleaker picture among entrepreneurs². Let me tell you why these guys are wrong and the general public is right. In two words: Chinese people.

Yes, Chinese people are going to save Luxembourg's economy in 2010. Brilliant as it is, that's actually not my idea. It's already popular in the financial sector, which wants to become the gateway to Europe for Chinese investors. Of course, retail and tourism would also like to profit.

At first glance, this sounds like a desperate, borderline insane idea. How and why should a country with a GDP per capita of 6,000$ save a country with a GDP per capita of 81,200$? However, the realists who think like this overlook a crucial fact³:

Population of China: 1,338,612,968
Population of Lux.:        491,775

Ratio: 2,722:1

Multiply the Chinese GPD per capita by 2,722 and voilà, they're filthy rich.

This still leaves the "why". You may not have noticed, but Luxembourg does have unique qualities to attract Chinese visitors:

• Clean air combined with a lack of sunshine: Chinese people tend to avoid direct sunlight and have mostly blacked it out in their own country with pollution spewed out from smokestacks and millions of vehicles. Luxembourg's naturally bad weather and frequent fog offer the benefit of not seeing the sun for months without the carcinogenic side effects of the Chinese method.
  
  
• Hundreds of Chinese restaurants: Food is of paramount importance in China, and Luxembourg probably has one Chinese restaurant for every 10 residents.
  
  
• A combination of German and French culture: Chinese people love the Germans for their ability to develop and then surrender advanced technology while France is a must-see destination in order to confirm that Europe has passed its prime and entered a phase of terminal decline.

With a few modifications to its pavilion at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai (e.g. a room filled with imported clean air, live feeds from Chinese restaurants in Luxembourg and a replica of the Eiffel tower and the Höfbräuhaus), Luxembourg could boldly communicate these unique advantages to the Chinese public and attract hundreds of millions of visitors.

However, why stop there? By selling residence permits to the highest bidder, Luxembourg could not only balance its budget, but also reach its goal of 700,000 residents within a few days. Beneficial side effects would include even more Chinese restaurants, no more worries about Portuguese becoming the dominant language and a new justification for the crazy real estate prices.

The only downside is that the Chinese new year starts in February. Therefore, you should use this last chance to party like never before tonight. Happy new year!

1 Luxemburger bleiben optimistisch
2 Enquête Eurochambres 2010
3 Figures from the CIA world factbook