31/05/2020
- China’s leadership has made it clear to its people that the world will become more dangerous and they must be prepared for hard times
- Beijing’s relatively small stimulus response to Covid-19 suggests it wants to save its economic policy ammunition for a bigger battle
China opted not to set a GDP target for 2020. Photo: Xinhua
Beijing’s decision not to set an annual GDP target for 2020 – for the first time since 2002 – is a sign it is putting stability ahead of growth as part of its preparations for an escalating conflict with the
United States.
Economic development has always been the central theme for Beijing since it established diplomatic relations with the US in 1979. But this year it has given priority to job creation and tackling poverty. The coronavirus outbreak might appear to have been the reason for the shift, but the underlying factor is the tension with the US.
Covid-19 offered a preview of what a decoupling of China and US might look like: aircraft grounded, cargo flows disrupted, value chains broken, goodwill and cooperation lost, blame games started.
Both countries have suffered heavy human and economic losses from the coronavirus, yet that did not inspire them to work together. Instead, hostility and rivalry has thrived, and neither wants to blink first.
The Chinese leadership has made it clear to its people that the world will become more dangerous and they must be prepared for hard times. As such, the government is saving its economic policy ammunition.
While the stimulus plans introduced in the US, Germany, Japan and France exceed 10 per cent of their national GDP and interest rates have been cut to the bone, Beijing stopped at just 1 trillion yuan (US$140 billion) worth of special treasury bonds and 1.6 trillion yuan of additional local government bonds. In total, about 2.6 per cent of GDP.
Interest rates in China – 2.7 per cent on 10-year bonds – are some of the highest among major economies.
China’s 6.6 per cent defence spending boost lowest in three decades
China’s budget fiscal deficit has increased to 3.6 per cent of GDP for 2020, but the larger deficit is mainly from tax and fee cuts instead of increased fiscal expenses, except for an increased military spending.
Beijing is calling on provincial and local authorities to tighten their belts, which is unusual for a government that has huge assets and can increase spending at any time through quantitative easing.
So why is the government, which is known for intervening in the economy, being so restrained?
It is bracing itself for a perceived period of turbulence and hardship as its relationship with the US turns sour. It is putting jobs and social stability on top of its agenda, instead of growth.
Beijing is refraining from excessive spending, eliminating sources of potential instability, making appeals to the most vulnerable social groups, and saving its power for a bigger test.
Against that backdrop, the National People’s Congress passed the national security legislation on Hong Kong. Beijing knew the bill would anger the US, but did it anyway.
Hong Kong is known as China’s gateway to the international capital market and the largest offshore yuan market, but Beijing is ready to trade losses on the financial and economic front for potential gain on a fortified national security fence.
All this points to the suggestion that Beijing is preparing for the possibility of decoupling from the US, even if it doesn’t necessarily want to.
The threat of a new Cold War is clouding the world. The theme of life for one or two generations of people on both sides of the Pacific may shift from growth and prosperity to struggle and confrontation.
China and the US have yet to collide totally, but that moment is drawing near.
Source: SCMP
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31/05/2020
BEIJING (Reuters) – China announced on Sunday two new confirmed cases of coronavirus and four new asymptomatic cases, including one person without symptoms of COVID-19 on a chartered flight from Germany.
The two confirmed cases in Shandong province on Saturday compared with four cases the day before, data from the country’s health authority showed.
The National Health Commission (NHC) confirmed three new asymptomatic cases on Saturday.
On Sunday, the Chinese city of Tianjin confirmed one asymptomatic person, a passenger arriving from Frankfurt on a chartered Lufthansa flight, LH342, to Tianjin. This case was discovered between midnight and 6 a.m. local time on Sunday, the city’s daily statements show.
These charter flights are part of an accelerated entry procedure offered by Beijing as China and Germany seek to reignite their economies after months of lockdown. The flight to Tianjin carried about 200 passengers, mostly German business executives.
Lufthansa has another charter flight scheduled for Shanghai on Wednesday.
A 34-year-old German engineer tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Tianjin but he does not have any symptoms, the Tianjin government said on its official social media platform Weibo.
The asymptomatic patient has been transferred to a local hospital to be placed under medical observation, the Tianjin government said, adding that the whole process was a “closed loop”, meaning posing no great risk to the Chinese public.
Source: Reuters
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20/05/2020
- US chip giant GlobalFoundries confirms it has ceased operations at its only Chinese facility, with industry experts saying the poorly-planned project was doomed to fail
- Closure deals blow to China’s plans to move up semiconductor value chain, amid increasingly hostile tech rivalry with the United States
Beijing boasted that the final total investment in the GlobalFoundries plant could be US$10 billion. The plant was intended to produce 300mm wafers, a key material in making chips, but production never started at the 65,000 square metre facility, which was completed mid-2018. Photo: Weibo
US chip giant GlobalFoundries has halted operations at a joint venture factory in China, the company has confirmed, dealing a potential blow to China’s bid to own a bigger slice of the global semiconductor market.
The closure of the firm’s only China facility comes just three years after it announced plans to make chips in the mainland, and comes amid an escalating tech war with the United States.
The winding down, however, has little to do with the fierce superpower rivalry. It comes after two years of speculation as to what was actually happening at the US$100 million facility, which was hailed as “a miracle” by local media when announced to fanfare in 2017, but which never got off the ground.
Nonetheless, the symbolism is rich.
China is struggling in its efforts to boost its domestic chip research and production in a bid to counter US efforts to block it from American technology.
Last week, the US Department of Commerce upped the ante by
banning the sale
of Huawei-designed chips produced outside America if they are made using the US software and technology, adding further pressure to the Chinese telecom giant’s global supply chain.
The GlobalFoundries factory, in a hi-tech park in the southwestern city of Chengdu, was one of China’s major foreign-invested semiconductor projects, for which the local government rolled out the red carpet three years ago.
At the time, Chengdu boasted that the final total investment in the plant could be US$10 billion. The plant was intended to produce 300mm wafers, a key material in making chips, but production never started at the 65,000 square metre facility, which was completed mid-2018.
A spokesperson for California-based GlobalFoundries confirmed that the Chengdu plant had stopped operations and that it had offered staff an “employee optimisation plan”, a commonly-used euphemism for lay-offs.
“The plan is being carried out on the basis of open and transparent communications with the employees and they have been offered various options to choose from based on their personal situations,” a company statement read.
A 2018 annual report from the joint venture, in which GlobalFoundries had a stake of 51 per cent with the rest controlled by an investment vehicle of the Chengdu government, showed that the plant had 320 employees.
A company notice sent to employees dated May 14 and seen by the Post said that after mid-June, the company would only pay 70 per cent of Chengdu’s minimum monthly wage, about 1,246 yuan (US$175.38), while negotiating severance packages with staff.
For some industry analysts who have followed the Chengdu project from its inception, its demise has less to do with the trade war, more to do with poor planning.
There was little detailed research and planning before the project was launched. As far as the Chengdu government is concerned, it lacks a sufficient understanding of GlobalFoundriesGu Wenjun, analyst
“There was little detailed research and planning before the project was launched. As far as the Chengdu government is concerned, it lacks a sufficient understanding of GlobalFoundries, its decision-making mechanism and economic strengths, and it did not get strong support from the central government,” said Gu Wenjun, chief analyst at Shanghai-based semiconductor research firm ICwise.
The idea of establishing a joint venture was first pitched to
Chongqing municipality, a neighbouring city of Chengdu, in 2016. Chongqing signed a memorandum of understanding with GlobalFoundries to set up a plant to manufacture 300mm silicon wafers – components for making integrated circuits – using technology from GlobalFoundries’ Singapore factory.
After the deal to open a Chongqing plant fell through for unclear reasons, Chengdu moved in to cut a deal with GlobalFoundries in late-2016. A 2017 blueprint stated that 3,500 employees could be working at the site, according to Wallace Pai, then GlobalFoundries’ general manager for China.
But production never started. Initially the project was supposed to have two phases: using mainstream technologies to manufacture 300mm wafers from 2018, then transferring to more advanced technologies in late-2019.
However, in October 2018, the two partners decided to “bypass” the phase one manufacturing stage, partly because of China’s increasing demand for more advanced products and GlobalFoundries’ own financial stress. The project has since stalled.
Comparing official announcements from the Chengdu government and GlobalFroundries back in 2017, Gu from ICwise said the two had different focuses, which might explain the plant’s derailment. The government clearly wanted to bring in mainstream, lower-risk technologies to boost the city’s brand, while the company aimed for Chinese capital and government support to invest in more advanced technology, Gu said.
The joint venture will continue after the factory’s demise, with GlobalFoundries still expecting to expand sales in the Chinese market, the company said in its statement. It now has five factories, three in the US and one each in Singapore and Germany.
When The Post contacted the office of the joint venture partner within the Chengdu government, the person answering the phone said they did not know anything about the closure nor future plans, before hanging up without giving their name.
“Our focus in China is on developing and growing our partner ecosystem including creating local technology infrastructure and bringing more intellectual property vendors and electronic design automation partners to better serve the local market,” the company said.
According to the China Semiconductor Industry Association, China’s integrated circuits sales rose 15.8 per cent in 2019 from a year earlier to 756.2 billion yuan (US$106.44 billion), while sales in the global semiconductor market dropped by 12 per cent to US$412 billion.
Last week, Dutch company ASML Holding, a key supplier of chip-making equipment, set up a plant in Wuxi, in Jiangsu province, in a boost to China’s efforts to attract foreign semiconductor investment.
Source: SCMP
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17/05/2020
BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) — China’s Chang’e-4 probe has survived 500 Earth days on the far side of the moon while conducting a scientific exploration of the virgin territory.
The lander and rover of the Chang’e-4 probe have resumed work for the 18th lunar day on the far side of the moon after “sleeping” during the extremely cold night.
The lander woke up at 3:25 a.m. Sunday (Beijing time), and the rover awoke at 11:53 a.m. Saturday. Both are in normal working order, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The Chang’e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.
A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The Chang’e-4 probe switches to dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power.
The rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, has driven 447.68 meters, and is now 292 meters away from the lander. It has conducted scientific detection on lunar rocks, the lunar soil on its track and some impact craters.
Scientists used the Lunar Penetrating Radar on Yutu-2 to study the geological structure with a depth of 40 meters, unveiling the secrets buried under the surface of the far side of the moon, enriching our understanding about the history of celestial collisions and volcanic activities and shedding new light on the geological evolution on the moon.
Scientists also analyzed the data of the infrared imaging spectrometer on Yutu-2 and revealed the material composition on the moon’s far side, verifying that the lunar mantle is rich in olivine, which deepens our understanding of the formation and evolution of the moon.
China plans to launch its first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 in July. Due to the modification of the ground communication facilities, the rover and the lander will conduct in-situ detection during the 18th lunar day, said the CNSA.
The scientific tasks of the Chang’e-4 mission include conducting low-frequency radio astronomical observation, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms.
The Chang’e-4 mission embodies China’s hope to combine wisdom in space exploration with four payloads developed by the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia.
Source: Xinhua
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10/05/2020
The United States suffered the most from the pandemic, with 1,305,199 cases and a death toll of 78,469.
NEW YORK, May 9 (Xinhua) — Global confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 4 million on Saturday, reaching 4,004,224 as of 4:32 p.m. (2032 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
According to the CSSE, a total of 277,860 people worldwide have died of the disease.
Police officers walk past closed retail stores along Broadway in New York, the United States, on May 8, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)
The United States suffered the most from the pandemic, with 1,305,199 cases and a death toll of 78,469. Countries with over 150,000 cases included Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Germany, according to the CSSE data.
Source: Xinhua
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02/05/2020
BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) — The number of China-Europe freight trains hit a record monthly high of 979 in April, up 46 percent year on year, the China State Railway Group said Saturday.
A total of 88,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of cargo were transported by the trains, up 50 percent from a year earlier.
From January to April, a total of 2,920 China-Europe freight trains transported cargo of 262,000 TEUs, up 24 percent and 27 percent from a year earlier, respectively.
The number of departing trains rose 36 percent year on year to 1,638 during the first four months, while the number of returning trains climbed 11 percent to 1,282.
China-Europe cargo train services have become an important logistics channel to ensure smooth trade as air, sea and road transportation have been severely affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, the company said.
The freight trains have also been playing a crucial role in helping with the fight against the pandemic in Europe as massive quantities of medical supplies were sent by them.
From March 21 to the end of April, anti-epidemic supplies totaling 660,000 items and weighing 3,142 tonnes were sent by the freight trains to European countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.
Source: Xinhua
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30/04/2020
- European nations are divided over how best to deal with Beijing, which looms larger in their policy and public debates
- Think tanks came together and reported on China’s much-touted medical aid and ‘mask diplomacy’ during Covid-19 crisis
European nations are looking to be more cohesive in their approach towards relations with China. Photo: Bloomberg
As Beijing steps up its pressure campaign on Europe in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, their relations look set to become more diverse and contested amid growing distrust and wariness of China’s expanding influence, according to new research.
The study, based on analysis of China’s role in 19 European countries’ handling of the coronavirus crisis, showed that Europe remained largely divided over how to deal with Beijing, which has figured ever more prominently in policy and public debates in many parts of the continent.
A total of 28 experts from 21 think tanks across the continent, collectively known as the European Think-tank Network on China, were involved in the research.
It came on the heels of a diplomatic debacle in the past week that saw the European Union reportedly bowing to pressure by China. The EU reportedly toned down part of a report documenting Beijing’s disinformation efforts to deflect the blame and rewrite the global coronavirus narrative.
Although a spokesperson for the EU denied those allegations, the saga has “moreover revealed the pressures that China has placed on
officials during the crisis”, according to John Seaman, editor of the report and a research fellow at the French Institute of International Relations.
In a phone call on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shrugged off concerns about their discord and vowed to boost the fight against the virus and boost economic recovery, according to Xinhua.
Germany ‘rejected China’s bid for positive spin’ on pandemic response
According to Seaman, the Covid-19 crisis hit at a time when traditionally trade-driven China-EU relations had grown more complex and competitive after the European Commission said for the first time last year that Beijing was a systemic rival.
“Debates over the need to adopt more coherent strategies towards China have been emerging across Europe. In many ways, the current crisis has become a catalyst for a number of trends that have been shaping Europe-China relations in recent years, while in other ways it has turned the tables,” he said in the report.
“It has simultaneously brought Europe and China into closer cooperation, pushed them further apart, and seemingly underlined the fractures that exist within Europe on how to approach an increasingly influential China.”
A growing number of European countries, including
Sweden and Britain, have joined the United States and
Australia in calling for an international inquiry into China’s handling of the pandemic. Leaders from Germany and France have also pressed Beijing for greater transparency about the origin of the deadly virus.
The European think tanks’ report was also focused on China’s unusually aggressive coronavirus diplomacy, with Chinese embassies and ambassadors shifting the blame on to Western democracies and promoting Beijing’s messaging “with varying degrees of dogmatism, divisiveness and moderation” on Twitter and in traditional media.
“While China’s increasingly proactive public diplomacy is widespread, and there appears to be a relative degree of consistency in messaging, there is a diversity in method that ranges from low key (Latvia or Romania) to charm offensive (Poland, Portugal, Italy or Spain) to provocative or aggressive (Sweden, Germany or France),” the report said.
It examined China’s much-touted medical aid and “mask diplomacy” and found “a correlation between Chinese companies with commercial interests in the country and donations from these companies” in countries including Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Boxes of medical supplies from China in Rome. Some European nations are growing wary about China’s diplomatic overreach and apparent willingness to alter the coronavirus narrative. Photo: Xinhua
Many countries have pushed back against China’s diplomatic overreach and its preferred narrative that has served to “[underline] the apparent successes of its autocratic governance model, ignoring its clear downfalls in managing the crisis initially, while sowing doubt on the effectiveness of liberal democracies”, according to Seaman.
While the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned of Beijing’s geopolitical game to expand its influence through spinning and “politics of generosity”, countries such as Germany and Sweden have moved to tighten investment screening, 5G and industrial policies targeting Chinese firms.
Zhang Ming, China’s top envoy to the EU, last week dismissed the concerns about China’s alleged ploy to use the vulnerabilities of other countries to advance China’s geopolitical interests, such as with the country’s embattled tech giant Huawei and the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
“Disinformation is our common enemy and we need to make joint efforts to eradicate it,” Zhang said, claiming China had been a victim of unspecified disinformation campaigns.
The report also noted that China’s actions towards Europe in times of crisis looked set to amplify the fractures across the continent and prompt further debates about the need for a coherent EU strategy on China.
A poll of more than 12,000 people across the 28 EU member countries by German think tank Bertelsmann Stiftung in September last year showed 45 per cent of Europeans saw China as a competitor while only 9 per cent believed their countries shared the same political interests or values with China.
Another survey of 16 European countries released by the Pew Research Centre in December also showed the continent remained deeply divided over how to approach China.
While people in most of western Europe and some of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Slovak and Czech, saw China negatively, 51 per cent in Greece had a positive view of China and those in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and Lithuania tended to see China more favourably.
Source: SCMP
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26/04/2020
Photo taken with a mobile phone on April 24, 2020 shows a handover ceremony of medical equipment donated by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. in Berlin, Germany. China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world’s largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus. Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks. (CRRC ZELC/Handout via Xinhua)
BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) — China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world’s largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, donated a shipment of medical equipment to Germany via the German Red Cross on Friday to help the country fight the coronavirus.
Responding to the call from the German government and the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and in accordance with an arrangement between CRRC and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), the company donated 1,000 protective suits, 20,000 FFP2 masks and 80,000 surgical masks.
CRRC ZELC said that the donated materials will be distributed to medical staff and volunteers who are fighting the pandemic on the frontlines.
Cheng Jian, general manager of CRRC ZELC Verkehrstechnik GmbH, said that the only way to overcome the crisis is to unite strengths and meet the challenges together.
“We wish to undertake our social responsibility as part of the community. We firmly believe that with joint efforts of the international community, Germany will quickly overcome the crisis, and production and life will return to normal soon,” Cheng said.
According to Jens Quade, president of the Mueggelspree regional branch of the German Red Cross, the risk of new coronavirus infections could be reduced through the generous donation from CRRC ZELC.
“The donated material will be distributed to the Berlin Red Cross, Berlin hospitals and/or medical institutions. We will do our best to provide the necessary assistance to the people who are most in need,” Quade said.
Source: Xinhua
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23/04/2020
SHENYANG, April 23 (Xinhua) — With trucks standing bumper to bumper and large cranes loading containers on the train, work returned to normal at a logistics base in northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
The base, where the China-Europe freight trains are set to depart in Shenyang, the provincial capital, has seen stable departures since early April as the novel coronavirus epidemic ebbs away.
With the global supply chain being affected by restrictions in air, land, and port travel due to the global pandemic, China-Europe railway has been playing a more important role, experts say.
“The train was operated by staff in different sections, which means it does not require cross-border personnel health inspections, giving it advantages during the pandemic,” said Shan Jing, an industry insider who wrote a book on China-Europe freight trains.
In March, a total of 809 China-Europe freight trains carrying 73,000 containers were sent across China. Both numbers hit a monthly record.
At the Shenyang logistics base, trains depart to travel through Russia, Belarus, Poland and finally reach Germany in around 18 days. As of April 13, a total of 130 trains carrying 11,200 standard containers had departed from the base.
“The province sends a stable number of five trains each week,” said He Ruofan, a business manager with the Shenyang branch of China Railway Container Transport Corp., Ltd, operator of the trains.
The stable operation has made the route a top choice for many Chinese enterprises, said Yao Xiang, a manager with logistics group Sinotrans’s northeast company.
“Many shipping routes have been canceled, and the rest are more and more expensive amid the epidemic,” said Yao, noting the price for air cargo surged 5 to 10 times the normal price as flights decreased from China to Europe.
With increasing departing trains, returning trains on the route have also been increasing, Yao said.
Among the 130 trains that have been sent from the Shenyang base so far this year, 33 returned, carrying construction materials, car parts, mechanical equipment, and daily products.
“These goods provide supplies to large companies like BMW and Michelin’s Shenyang factories,” Yao said.
Medical supplies have also been sent to hard-hit Europe to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
As of April 18, a total of 448,000 pieces of medical supplies weighing 1,440 tonnes had been sent to European countries via the route, according to China State Railway Group Company, Ltd.
“China-Europe freight trains have shown great service capabilities during the epidemic,” said Shan, the industry insider. “It serves as a new choice for European enterprises, and I believe more people will come to realize the importance of the route.”
Source: Xinhua
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23/04/2020
(Reuters) – Consumer goods giant Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) (UNA.AS) withdrew its full-year forecast on Thursday, saying the hit from lockdowns in China and India, as well as lower ice cream sales, offset strong U.S. and European sales of cleaning items, sending its shares down 5%.
Underlying sales across Asia, the Middle East and Russia, fell 3.7%, as lockdowns in the quarter restricted restaurant visits and shopping in China and led to factory shutdowns that halted production in India.
In Europe, Turkey and Latin America, Unilever’s 3 billion euro ice cream business was hit by national efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, deterring distributors in holiday destinations from buying stock.
“Many of our classic out-of-home retailers like leisure sites, travel hubs, beaches and tourist destinations were closed,” Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly said on a call.
These factors countered increased sales in the United States and Europe, where consumers stocked up on laundry detergents, Domestos bleach, Cif cleaning products and personal hygiene items, as the virus spread to those regions.
Overall, first-quarter turnover rose 0.2% to 12.40 billion euros ($13.42 billion), slightly missing the estimate of 12.77 billion euros based on analysts polled by Factset.
The company withdrew its sales performance targets for the year, which forecast growth at the lower end of a 3%-5% range, saying it could not “reliably assess the impact” of the virus, , although it said it would still pay its interim dividend.
Jefferies analysts said investors would be asking why Unilever “has apparently been hit so badly, and early, by the negative impacts of COVID-19 without seeing much of the positives. We expect a difficult day for the shares.”
Shares in Unilever, which joins spirits maker Diageo (DGE.L) and other consumer goods companies in withdrawing guidance, was down 5.5% at 4,008 pence in early trading.
The Anglo-Dutch company’s report follows results from larger U.S. rival Procter & Gamble (PG.N), which last week said its U.S. sales had seen their biggest rise in decades.
Unilever also said underlying sales grew strongly in North America, rising 4.8% as shoppers stocked up on personal hygiene products, Knorr soups and Hellmann’s dressings.
In Europe, sales growth was led by Germany and Britain, although prices across the region fell.
“We are adapting to new demand patterns and are preparing for lasting changes in consumer behaviour, in each country, as we move out of the crisis and into recovery,” Unilever Chief Executive Alan Jope said in a statement.
The company said it was directing a chunk of its 500 million euro package to support suppliers towards its ice cream distribution partners, which Pitkethly called the “jewel” in its supplier relationships.
Source: Reuters
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CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 