China | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

27/02/2013

* IKEA Meatball Scandal in China: It’s Not What You Think

WSJ: “At the risk of beating a dead horse, China Real Time feels compelled to update readers on the latest flare-up in the global meat contamination scandal from the Chinese point of view.

According to a report in the state-run China Daily on Wednesday, the Swedish meatballs that furniture retailer IKEA sells in China have stirred controversy– not because they were found to contain equine DNA like some of the company’s meatballs in Europe, but because it turns out they’re made in China.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

This picture taken on Feb. 25, 2013 shows meatballs at IKEA department store in Brno, the Czech Republic.

“I thought the meatballs were imported from Sweden,” the China Daily quoted Jiang Tong, an IT worker in Beijing, as saying. “I don’t think I will order such meatballs in the future.”

IKEA’s spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. China Daily said the meatballs at IKEA’s China outlets do not contain horsemeat, as the company gets its meatballs, made with beef and pork, from a manufacturer based in China’s coastal Fujian province.

News of horsemeat turning up in beef products sourced in Europe has spread across the globe in recent weeks, hurting the reputations of some of Europe’s biggest food producers. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that IKEA has removed meatballs from many of its cafeterias after traces of horsemeat were found in a batch in the Czech Republic.”

via IKEA Meatball Scandal in China: It’s Not What You Think – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

Horsemeat Discovered In Ikea Meatballs (news.sky.com)
Ikea withdraws hot dogs in Europe after horsemeat detected (cbc.ca)
Ikea insists its Chinese meatballs are horsemeat-free (blogs.ft.com)

Posted in China alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Food, Ikea, Meatball, restaurants, retailer ikea, Sweden

25/02/2013

* Pfizer Seeks Alliances in China

WSJ: “New York-based Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug company, plans to forge more alliances in China as pharmaceutical companies combat shrinking margins in one of the world’s fastest-growing health-care markets.

“We’re open for collaboration,” said Wu Xiaobing, Pfizer’s country manager for China, noting that he is looking for partnerships in the research, manufacturing and marketing of drugs. “If we were alone, it would take such a long time to make our drugs accessible to patients.”

Foreign drug makers are increasingly turning to local partners to expand their access in China, among Asia’s most promising pharmaceutical markets. They are also facing a big wave of patent expirations globally.

Pfizer already has a joint venture in the world’s second-largest economy with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals to develop generic drugs, which dominate China’s pharmaceutical sales. Pfizer also has a minority investment in Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co.,one of China’s largest drug distributors, and its animal health division has a JV with China’s Jilin Guoyuan Animal Health Co. for animal vaccines.

Meanwhile, Merck & Co , the world’s second-largest drug company, recently formed a joint venture with China’s Simcere Pharmaceutical Group to develop and sell drugs.

“You can expect to see more momentum going forward,” said Jin Wang, a Shanghai-based partner at McKinsey & Co. “Both multinationals and locals are excited by the growth potential in this market, and they are all facing limitations in terms of their portfolio and capabilities, so they’re teaming up.”

via Pfizer Seeks Alliances in China – WSJ.com.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co., Inc. Ready to Buy Again; $10 Billion Deals Seen Returning in 2013 (biospace.com)
Pharma Showdown: Johnson & Johnson Vs. Pfizer (seekingalpha.com)

Posted in China alert, Economics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Merck KGaA, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical industry

25/02/2013

* Measures curb illegal ivory trade in China

Today the elephant, tomorrow the rhino and the day after sharks (fin).

China Daily: “China’s strict registration and management system can effectively keep illegal ivory from entering the domestic market, experts say.

According to Jin Yu, a researcher at Northeast Forestry University, China has launched an information control system stricter than the standards of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as CITES.

Seized elephant tusks are displayed by customs authorities in Hong Kong in October. Ivory smuggling has fallen due to strict law enforcement in China in recent years. [Provided to China Daily]

CITES is an international convention that regulates the ivory trade, and monitors ivory stockpiles, consumption and products.

“On every finished product, there is an ID card with information regarding the product’s appearance, size and digital code, which can be used to obtain further information, including its original material, from an online database,” she said.

“It’s the only way to prove an ivory product is legal and should always be carried when selling or transporting ivory.

“Any trade without such a certificate can be identified as illegal.”

However, lack of expertise and experience may cause inaccurate surveys and reports that lead to allegations that the market has ivory products from illegal sources, Jin said.”

via Measures curb illegal ivory trade in China[1]|chinadaily.com.cn.

Illegal Ivory Trade Surged To Highest Level Ever In 2011 (gadling.com)
Elephants are not Diamonds (theecologist.org)
Four Chinese men in Kenyan court over ivory smuggling (capitalfm.co.ke)
All eyes on countries fuelling illegal ivory trade (yubanet.com)
Stop Stimulating the Ivory Trade; Just Stop Trade (newswatch.nationalgeographic.com)

Posted in China alert, Culture, Economics, Good news, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, CITES, Elephant, Ivory, IvoryTrade

25/02/2013

As China matures and its labour policies and pay improves, it will become less competitive for low-cost production. The question is: can China move up the manufacturing value chain fast enough to avoid the predictable problems it will face?

See also:

China approaching the turning point (economist.com)
Foxconn plans Chinese union vote (edition.cnn.com)

Posted in China alert, Economics, labour shortage, Manufacturing, Migrant workers | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Labour, politics

24/02/2013

* Migrant workers invited to prominent holiday gala

Xinhua: “Four migrant workers were invited to a high profile gala on Saturday evening, which was once mainly reserved for distinguished intellectuals.

Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli were present at the event organized by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee to mark the upcoming Lantern Festival.

New guests to this year’s show also include representatives from different sectors and model workers.

Liu Yunshan hosted the gala and in his speech highlighted the contribution of intellectuals and ordinary workers to the country’s achievements and called for joint efforts from ordinary workers in all walks of life to contribute to the nation’s great rejuvenation.

China has 260 million migrant workers by 2012. They usually leave their hometown to seek employments in urban areas.

The Lantern Festival falls on Sunday this year and traditionally marks the end of the Spring Festival season.”

via Migrant workers invited to prominent holiday gala – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

* Reform plans published for migrants’ education (chindia-alert.org)
* China to help migrant workers in urbanization (chindia-alert.org)
You: Different dreams of ‘post-1990s’ migrant workers (english.people.com.cn)
Group of migrant workers protest in Beijing for unpaid wages (fmnnow.com)
* Wealth gap to be cut, Han Changfu tells Central Rural Work Conference (chindia-alert.org)
Boosting migrants’ education (chinawatch.washingtonpost.com)

Posted in China alert, Economics, Migrant workers, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: China, communist party of china, Lantern Festival, migrantworker, Xi JinPing

24/02/2013

* Railway linking China, ASEAN becomes operational

New Orient Express slowly taking shape.

Xinhua: “A railway that links southwest China’s Yunnan Province with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries became operational on Saturday after seven years of construction, local railway authorities said.

The railway between Yuxi and Mengzi is part of the eastern line of the planned Pan-Asia Railway network.

The 141-km railway has a designed maximum speed of 120 km per hour. It passes through 35 tunnels and crosses 61 bridges, which together account for 54.95 percent of the eastern line’s total length.

The eastern line also consists of Kunming-Yuxi Railway, which had been in operation, and the Mengzi-Hekou Railway that is under construction and scheduled to be operational end of next year.

Upon the full completion of the eastern line, it will further open up China’s southwest, improve transportation and boost economic development along the line, experts said.

The Pan-Asia Railway network also consists of central and western lines and is an international railway project that will bring China closer with southeast Asia.”

via Railway linking China, ASEAN becomes operational – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

see also:

Emergence of ASEAN impacts both China, Taiwan (wantchinatimes.com)
Singapore, Malaysia agree to build high-speed rail link (thenewstribe.com)

Posted in China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Good news, Transport | 2 Comments »

Tags: ASEAN, Asia, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, politics, Southeast Asia, Southwest China, transportation, Yunnan

24/02/2013

* Will China Ever Be No. 1?

Foreign Policy: “Will China continue to grow three times faster than the United States to become the No. 1 economy in the world in the decade ahead? Does China aspire to be the No. 1 power in Asia and ultimately the world? As it becomes a great power, will China follow the path taken by Japan in becoming an honorary member of the West?

Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Despite current punditry to the contrary, the surest answer to these questions is: No one knows. But statesmen, investors, and citizens in the region and beyond are placing their bets. And U.S. policymakers, as they shape the Obama administration’s pivot to Asia, are making these judgments too. In formulating answers to these questions, if you could consult just one person in the world today, who would it be? Henry Kissinger, the American who has spent by far the most time with China’s leaders since Mao, has an answer: Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee is the founding father of modern Singapore and was its prime minister from 1959 to 1990. He has honed his wisdom over more than a half century on the world stage, serving as advisor to Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping and American presidents from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. This gives him a uniquely authoritative perspective on the geopolitics and geoeconomics of East and West.

Lee Kuan Yew’s answers to the questions above are: yes, yes, and no. Yes, China will continue growing several times faster than the United States and other Western competitors for the next decade, and probably for several more. Yes, China’s leaders are serious about becoming the top power in Asia and on the globe. As he says: “Why not? Their reawakened sense of destiny is an overpowering force.” No, China will not simply take its seat within the postwar order created by the United States. Rather, “it is China’s intention to become the greatest power in the world — and to be accepted as China, not as an honorary member of the west,” he said in a 2009 speech.

Western governments repeatedly appeal to China to prove its sense of international responsibility by being a good citizen in the global order set up by Western leaders in the aftermath of World War II. But as Kissinger observes, these appeals are “grating to a country that regards itself as adjusting to membership in an international system designed in its absence on the basis of programs it did not participate in developing.”

via Will China Ever Be No. 1? – By Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill | Foreign Policy.

China will never match US in innovation: Lee Kuan Yew (wantchinatimes.com)
“The Future of U.S.-China Relations,” a Belfer Center Director’s Seminar with Ambassador Robert Blackwill (belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu)

Posted in Affluence, China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics, Uncategorized | 11 Comments »

Tags: China, Deng Xiaoping, Henry Kissinger, Lee Kuan Yew, United States, Xi JinPing

24/02/2013

* China commercializes 3D printing in aviation

ZDNet: “China looks to lower the cost of 3D printing and make large titanium components to build the next-gen fighter jet and self-developed passenger plane.

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By using laser additive manufactured titanium parts in its aviation industry, China is looking to become a global leader in commercializing 3D printing technology.

The laser additive manufacturing technology not only lowers the cost of titanium parts to only 5 percent of the original, it also reduces the weight of the components and enhances the strength of complicated parts.

As much as 40 percent of the weight can be reduced if the forged titanium parts on an American F-22 were made using the Chinese 3D printing technology, according to a a report on Chinese Web site, Guancha Zhe.

With funding from the government, especially from the military, the Chinese aviation laser technology team is making headways in making titanium parts for the country’s fifth generation of fighter jets, the J-20 and J-31, by lowering the cost and raising the jets’ thrust-weight ratio.

The Northwestern Polytechnical University of China is also making five meter-long titanium wing beams for the C919 passenger plane, which is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in 2016.

“As the aviation technology develops, the components are also getting lighter, more complicated, and also need to have better mechanical properties,” said Huang Weidong, director of the university’s laboratory, to a local newspaper. “It is very hard to use traditional technologies to make such parts, but 3D printing could just meet such demands.”

via China commercializes 3D printing in aviation | ZDNet.

3D Printing, China and Jobs – It’s Not What It Seems (solidsmack.com)

Posted in 3d printing, Aerospace, China alert, Economics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: 3D printing, aviation, China, cost of titanium, Fighter aircraft, polytechnical university, Titanium, titanium components

24/02/2013

* China to push compulsory insurance for polluting industries

Reuters: “China will force heavily polluting industries to participate in a compulsory insurance program to ensure they can adequately provide compensation for damage, the government said on Thursday.

Steam billows from a chimney of a heating plant near the World Trade Centre Tower III, a 330-meter-tall (1,083 feet) skyscraper, in central Beijing February 4, 2013. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic Pollution has become a core concern for the stability-obsessed ruling Communist Party because of the public anger and protests it generates and because the issue cannot easily be hidden from view.

Companies that must participate in the scheme include mining and smelting industries, lead battery manufacturers, leather goods firms and chemical factories, the Environment Ministry and China Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a joint statement.

Petrochemical companies and firms that make hazardous chemicals and hazardous waste would also be encouraged to participate, it added.

Special environmental protection funds would be allocated to companies taking out the insurance, and they would be given priority for bank lending, the statement said.

Companies which don’t apply for the insurance may face negative environmental impact assessments and credit downgrades, which could hamper their development, it added.

A pilot insurance program currently covered more than 2,000 companies across a dozen provinces and had underwritten some 20 billion yuan ($3.21 billion) in risk, the government departments said.

“Using the tool of insurance … is conducive towards pushing companies to raise their environmental risk management and reduce incidents of polluting accidents,” it added.

The insurance scheme follows a spate of rules aimed at cleaning up the country’s notoriously filthy environment.

via China to push compulsory insurance for polluting industries | Reuters.

Posted in carbon emission, China alert, Economics, Environment, Green, greenhouse gas, Pollution | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, China Insurance Regulatory Commission, climate, environment, Environmental impact assessment, environmental impact assessments, pollution, Risk management

18/02/2013

* Outsourcers turn to China to plug India’s skills gap

The Times: “India is running out of the skilled engineers needed to man its giant software industry, forcing companies to hire staff overseas, especially from China, one of the industry’s pioneers has warned.

An Indian employee at a call centre provides service support to international customers

Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder and executive chairman of Infosys, said that the outsourcing sector was facing a manpower shortage. India, he said, was not producing enough properly trained engineering graduates to meet expanding global demand for its services.

The country may have a population of more than 1.2 billion people, but the dearth of trained graduates is driving up salaries in its IT industry by 15 per cent a year. That, in turn, is eroding the sub-continent’s global competitiveness and forcing companies such as Infosys, Tata Consulting Services and Wipro to invest in finding foreign workers.

“A lot of the tertiary education in India is done by private colleges and there are significant quality issues there,” Mr Gopalakrishnan said.

India produces about 700,000 engineering graduates every year, but of these only about 25 per cent are sufficiently well trained to be considered for a job in IT, Mr Gopalakrishnan said.

Infosys — whose customers include BP, GlaxoSmithKline and Tesco — was planning to treble its workforce in China from 3,500 to more than 10,000 to help cope with constraints at home, where most of its 155,000 staff work.

“Apart from China, there are not many countries in the world where we can recruit large enough numbers,” Mr Gopalakrishnan added. Infosys, which generated revenues of $7 billion last year, already operates large software development and outsourcing operations in Shanghai, Dalian, Beijing, Hangzhou and Jiaxing. The wages in China are higher than in India but are rising at a more modest pace of about 10 per cent annually.

Infosys has also been expanding its overseas presence in other low-cost countries, such as the Philippines, and has explored opportunities in Egypt.

In expanding fields such as data analytics, there are only about 50,000 engineers in India with the right programming skills. Demand is at least five times that number, according to Heidrick & Struggles, a recruitment company.

India’s software and outsourcing industry employs about three million people directly, an increase of 188,000 from a year ago. It generated $75.8 billion in exports in 2012-13, making it India’s largest single export industry, and is continuing to grow at more than 10 per cent a year even as India’s overall rate of economic growth has nearly halved over the past three years, to just over 5 per cent.

Mr Gopalakrishnan said that as well as hiring overseas, Infosys was trying to improve the quality of education in India by funding teacher training programmes at 350 engineering colleges. The group has also built a private campus in the southern city of Mysore capable of training 14,000 students.

“We will have to continue to invest heavily in education and training,” he said.”

via Outsourcers turn to China to plug India’s skills gap | The Times.

India’s Infosys to fire up to 5,000 workers: media (scooprocket.com)
Wipro More Cautious on 2013 Than TCS and Infosys (beta.fool.com)
2013 to be a better year for IT sector: Infosys (rediff.com)
Infosys Profit Beats Estimates on Bank, Manufacturer Outsourcing – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
Infosys denies report of plans to fire 5,000 underperforming staff (itpro.co.uk)
More IT jobs in 2013: Infosys (news.in.msn.com)

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Digital communications, economic inter-dependence, Economics, higher education, India alert, IT, labour shortage, Outsourcing | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Business, China, economy, GlaxoSmithKline, global competitiveness, Gopalakrishnan, India, Information technology, Infosys, Kris Gopalakrishnan, manpower shortage, software, technology, Wipro

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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* IKEA Meatball Scandal in China: It’s Not What You Think

* Pfizer Seeks Alliances in China

* Migrant workers invited to prominent holiday gala

* Railway linking China, ASEAN becomes operational

* Will China Ever Be No. 1?

* China commercializes 3D printing in aviation

* China to push compulsory insurance for polluting industries

* Outsourcers turn to China to plug India’s skills gap

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