China Trading

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – As the Beijing Olympic Games highlight China’s emergence as a world power, the European union is struggling to take a coherent approach to the Asian giant.

 

Depending on whom you talk to in Brussels, China is a trade headache, an economic opportunity, a serial human rights violator, a resource-guzzling menace to the planet, a strategic partner or a geopolitical threat. or all of the above.

 

Typically for the EU, no one is in charge of relations with the world’s most populous nation and fourth biggest economy.

 

“The EU views China still largely through the trade prism,” said an EU official involved in foreign policy. “We call them a strategic partner, but we mostly talk to them about bras and shoes and the exchange rate of the renminbi (currency).”

 

When the 27-nation bloc’s trade deficit with Beijing hit a record 160 billion euros ($247.4 billion) last year, southern member states that make textiles, footwear and furniture pleaded with Brussels for protection against cheap imports.

 

How to respond to the rise of the Asian export powerhouse has pitted pro-free trade countries such as the Nordic states and Britain against those such as Italy and France who say China breaks trade rules in ways that cost European jobs.

 

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has done his best to resist protectionist pressure, arguing that China’s export boom has not reduced European prosperity — far from it.

 

Mandelson, the unofficial relationship manager with Beijing and a frequent visitor to China, is a vocal member of the “economic opportunity” school of thought. 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – As the Beijing Olympic Games highlight China’s emergence as a world power, the European union is struggling to take a coherent approach to the Asian giant.

 

Depending on whom you talk to in Brussels, China is a trade headache, an economic opportunity, a serial human rights violator, a resource-guzzling menace to the planet, a strategic partner or a geopolitical threat. or all of the above.

 

Typically for the EU, no one is in charge of relations with the world’s most populous nation and fourth biggest economy.

 

“The EU views China still largely through the trade prism,” said an EU official involved in foreign policy. “We call them a strategic partner, but we mostly talk to them about bras and shoes and the exchange rate of the renminbi (currency).”

 

When the 27-nation bloc’s trade deficit with Beijing hit a record 160 billion euros ($247.4 billion) last year, southern member states that make textiles, footwear and furniture pleaded with Brussels for protection against cheap imports.

 

How to respond to the rise of the Asian export powerhouse has pitted pro-free trade countries such as the Nordic states and Britain against those such as Italy and France who say China breaks trade rules in ways that cost European jobs.

 

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has done his best to resist protectionist pressure, arguing that China’s export boom has not reduced European prosperity — far from it.

 

Mandelson, the unofficial relationship manager with Beijing and a frequent visitor to China, is a vocal member of the “economic opportunity” school of thought. 

for more information, please visit www.ishoesclub.com

 

China’s trade surplus may hit a new high of between 120 billion and 130 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, Bi Jingquan, the deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has estimated.

Bi was quoted by Monday’s China Securities Journal as saying the huge trade surplus is a direct result of the fiscal and tax policies.

China should improve its policies concerning tax rebates for exports and processing trade, Bi said at an international symposium on the reform of China’s public fiscal policy held in Beijing at the weekend.

According to figures from the General Administration of Customs, China had a record trade surplus of 101.8 billion dollars in 2005, the twelfth consecutive year in which China posted a trade surplus.

The huge trade surplus has led to increased trade disputes between China and its main trade partners and vociferous calls for the appreciation of the Chinese yuan.

A new surplus high in 2006 will bring even greater challenges to the exchange rate of the yuan, the report said.

At the same time, this great trade surplus feature a great time in Chinese economy history, it boasts the great power of china. Because of the great growth of Chinese foreign trade, the china’s economy enjoys a rapid development accordingly, compared to last year. This very fact shows the wise measures of the Chinese government (especially foreign trade) and its flexible control of the Chinese economy.

China economy to grow 10% in 2006

China’s economy will grow by 10.3 percent in the first half of 2006, then slow marginally for a full-year expansion of 10 percent, the central bank said in a new report.

At the same time, inflation will climb slowly, registering 1.3 percent in the first six months of the year and 1.7 percent for the 12 months, according to the report, from the People’s Bank of China’s research bureau.

The forecasts, released over the weekend and published in the Beijing Morning Post on Monday, come despite a stream of government measures aimed at slowing the economy, following growth of 10.3 percent in the first quarter.

China’s economy has showed few signs of responding to the cooling measures, such as an interest rate hike in April and policies targeted at curbing investment in the property sector.

China is the world’s fastest growing major economy, with expansion fueled mainly by investment and exports. It grew 9.9 percent in 2005.

Foreign trade has contributed a lot in the great development of the domestic economy.

International trade with China is an old trend if you remember Marco Polo and the Silk route the Chinese had established. International trade has taken a full circle and is firmly established as an integral for both US and China. US politicians endorse the international trade with China and believe that it could benefit America. Trade with China has earned the distinction of being known as extremely lucrative of international trades.

-International Trade Policy

Without going deeper, China offers an example of the collapse of the Cold War era trade preferences —a rigid and straightforward export control policy. If there are any growls today, it is that the trade policy is tilted in favor of China and that the playing field is uneven. Politicians and trade representatives from both Republicans and Democrats besides Congress are the policy makers, and since US signed the International trade relations agreement with China, it has taken care of most of the complaints. In addition to signing the normal international trade agreement US has helped China move towards personal empowerment rather than concentrate on economic agendas alone through adapting a long-run policy to normalize international trade relations. Plainly speaking, an international trade is and must be driven by market trends and demands, rather than iron frames and policies must only be made to facilitate benefits of consumers and safeguard it.

-International Trade- Internet based product selection

The present system for international trade with a computer and internet requires you to possess an internet connected computer. Importers will visit vendors’ websites; browse specifications for chosen products. Once done, the products of required specifications can be selected and an order form can be generated for just the selected products of the already selected specification. Before you complete the international trade order, the order can be checked and/or corrected for details of product name, quantity, rate and total price. The order can be cancelled if it is unsatisfactory for any reason. Similarly, confirming it requires importers’ information like name, company’s name contact and shipping addresses, insurance, payment details etc.

With the increasing ratio of communication and exchange of technologies between China and other countries, it has now become easy for companies to get access to new technologies. With the changing liberalization policies in the whole world including China, a good number of companies are garnering benefits from international trade and investments. From expansion point of view many multinational companies in China are increasing their level of work so that they can gain maximum share of international trade and investments. These corporations are also busy in increasing the goodwill of their brand name and are continuously striving to make their presence felt in international trade. On account of increasing competitiveness in international market, multinational corporations are paying sufficient heed to provide qualit

Insight

Trade exchange between different cultures and countries has long yielded rich rewards for those who recognize the potential.

After all, as far back as the 1st century BC, merchants and caravans followed the Silk Road – the overland trade route from northern China to the Western World – and brought precious silks, tea and other resources from China to the rest of the world. Not only did linking different countries and cultures prove profitable, but new and greater products and ideas flowed between the countries.

The Silk Road of the 21st century is technology driven. This trade exchange, built on fiber-optic cable, sprang from the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Now, it is the R&D departments of companies from the United States and other countries that benefit from the resources and opportunity found in China.

Today’s China, the fastest growing country in the world, offers the:

• Biggest engineering talent pool

• Biggest emerging market

• World’s number one manufacturing industry

Strengthening ties, country-to-country, people-to-people, has shown time and time again that remarkable achievements, that otherwise would have been impossible, can come to fruition.

Long Circle urges you to explore the opportunities that exist in China today, especially if your business focus is embedded systems technologies for software and hardware.

With our global reach, we could see the importance of China, and we have grown significantly in the past five years in this critical market. Today, we have $5 billion in revenues and 12,000 employees.

GE 2005 Annual Report/

Letter to Stakeholders

Biggest Engineering Resource Pool

The last few years have convinced Fortune 100 companies and start-ups alike that China, home of the fastest growing economy in the world, is key to achieving their strategic plans, as well as the business objectives of their R&D departments. GE, Microsoft, Motorola, Intel, Nokia, Oracle, and SAP are just a few of the multinational companies with R&D operations in China, and for some important business drivers:

o Lower costs

o Lower wages

o Expanded productivity

o Reduced time-to-market

o Strengthened R&D embedded technology engineering resources

Wages are lower offshore, there’s no question about it, but the experience the workforce has must be in product research and development, not IT. With China’s deep pool of engineering talent, especially R&D embedded technology engineers, companies can expand and strengthen their R&D resources.

For example, the Microsoft Research (MSR) Asia lab has engineers working on a wide range of advanced technologies – from spoken-language technologies such as automatic speech recognition to face detection and tracking, face modeling and recognition, cartoon generation, image and video retrieval for MSN, and Xbox camera-based game interfaces. According to Forbes, Microsoft’s investment in all China-related R&D activities is approximately $100 million US dollars annually. In addition, with currently more than 800 employees in China, Microsoft is predicted to grow that number substantially over the next three to five years.

Biggest engineering talent pool; most engineering graduates each year

Engineering Graduates China India United States

Source: Duke University*352,000 112,000 137,000

Source: Unknown ** 600,000 350,000 70,000

*Source: A study released in December, 2005 by Duke University (and also widely quoted in the media, including The Christian Science Monitor) citing the number of engineering graduates in each country yearly.

* Note: Statistics widely quoted, from Fortune Magazine to Senator Ted Kennedy’s speeches. However according to the Wall Street Journal online, these figures are misleading and no one can track down a concrete and reliable original source.

Biggest Emerging Market

How could any organization that wants to be successful in the global arena ignore China today?

China is the world’s most populous country – 1,313,973,713 (2006 est.) – and organizations like the Finnish mobile telecommunications giant Nokia expect China to be a key growth driver for their global operations. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations’ mobile phones and network equipment.

According to Infoworld’s online Web site:

“China has 400 million mobile users and its 3G (third generation) networks are not yet switched on, providing a future avenue for further growth. “ According to a study done by Norson (Hong Kong) Information Technology , “. . . after three years of 3G availability, more than 84 million Chinese will use 3G services.”

Consequently, construction is underway on Nokia’s new and expanded China headquarters, scheduled to open in 2007, that will host over 1500 of Nokia’s R&D, sales and marketing operations, pre-production, logistics, sourcing and manufacturing operations.

During China’s President Hu Jintao’s recent visit to the United States, he attended a dinner at the home of Microsoft’s Bill Gates and called for broadening the relationship between the United States and China.

“Today, many cargo ships are very busy crossing the Pacific Ocean, laden with the rich fruit of our strong trade ties and friendship between our two peoples,” Hu said. “I am sure that with the further deepening of China’s reform and opening up, we are going to see an even broader prospect for the economic cooperation and trade between China and Washington State and China and the United States as a whole.” Source: Reuters

According to the US-China Business Council:

• China’s economy grew 10.2 % in the first quarter of 2006.

• The government’s new focus on balanced growth and its attempt to shift from an investment- and export-driven economy to a consumption-driven one will mean more policies to promote consumption.

• GDP (purchasing power parity): $8.158 trillion (2005 est.)

• GDP – per capita: purchasing power parity – $6,200 (2005 est.)

• GDP – real growth rate: 9.2% (official data) (2005 est.)

• GDP – composition by sector:

Agriculture: 14.4%

Industry and construction: 53.1%

Services: 32.5% (2005 est.) Source: [www.uschina.org]

World’s #1 Manufacturing Industry

China is “the world’s factory” and produces $60 billion worth of consumer electronic goods a year. The “Made in China” label is found everywhere.

When China became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it agreed to abide by WTO standards and regulations, along with the rest of the WTO countries. And this opened up one of the world’s largest economies to the rest of the world. Forward-thinking organizations did not hesitate to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunity.

For example, GE has long regarded China as an essential piece in the company’s strategic plan. According to Jeff Immelt., “We have been there for 15 – 20 years, so we know how to do business. We have been on the ground. We have 12,000 employees. And I think at the end of the day, China is trending towards being a great global competitor and following the rules. And that is important to us and it’s a way that we can be successful as well.”

Today, companies doing business in China find tax incentives, excellent civic infrastructure, government support, a political environment that encourages foreign business, rapid economic growth, a deep pool of engineering talent and college graduates, and improving legal, banking and financial systems.

China Strategy: Choose the Right Road to China

There are basically three paths an organization’s R&D department can follow to successfully gain entry into China. Take time to consider the best route for your company, especially if your focus is in R&D embedded technology.

? Single, Independent Project

Beginning by outsourcing a single, independent project is an excellent way to start on the path to China. Typically, these projects involve software and hardware development, testing, maintenance, or product enhancement. This transaction type outsourcing is turn-key, straightforward, and has a quick ramp up time. An R&D department can:

o Capture an opportunity within a short time frame.

o Boost bandwidth to meet short-term demand.

o Outsource clearly defined short-term projects.

Companies going this route find cost savings through transaction-type outsourcing and capitalize on short-term cost savings.

? Partner Program

A long term, relationship-based service program is another excellent way to leverage China’s technology resources. A dedicated team within the China outsourcing vendor’s R&D department can be created, trained, hosted, and managed exclusively for your embedded systems R&D technology projects. Clients take advantage of lower wages, while benefiting from a team educated on the Client’s corporate values and culture, providing a true business level alignment. A China R&D department can:

o Offload non-core functions.

o Fill in needed skills.

o Increase engineering efficiency.

o Increase return on R&D.

? Offshore R&D Center

Many companies find they benefit most from a one-of-a-kind incubation center that is an extension of their R&D department back home. Building a R&D facility from the beginning and introducing best practices provides the optimal solution to meet your company’s strategic goals.

Your company takes advantage of China’s low cost workforce, manufacturing capacity, and emerging markets and there are no intermediaries or third party costs.

A China R&D Center can:

• Provide confidence and security to handle sensitive data and intellectual property inhouse offshore.

• Train talent according to your company’s unique standards and values.

• Increase talent retention by providing attractive culture and a sense of belonging.

• Share services with other functions of the company.

• Engage in long term innovation-driven research that does not usually generate immediate profits.

• Access the China labor market directly.

Turn to China

Throughout history, new products, new ideas, and new opportunities have come about by crossing borders. The global exchange of trade, expertise, and capabilities means exciting ideas and innovations which benefit everyone.

China today is a country with unlimited opportunity. However, personal connections and relationships are essential to any successful business in China. Would your company like to expand into China, but is unsure about potential roadblocks such as regulations, recruiting, and setup? The right vendor can smooth your way.

In addition to entry into China, a potential vendor’s technology expertise must not be overlooked. For example, does the potential vendor focus on embedded technology? Do they have experience with manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original design manufacturers (ODMs), independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators (SI), and value added service providers (VASPs) who rely on embedded hardware and software technologies?

Intellectual property is a concern everywhere, but especially in a new environment. What are a potential vendor’s procedures for protecting your intellectual property?

Remember, when searching for the best route to leverage China’s vast resources and opportunities, it pays to make certain you have the best vendor as your guide.

A journey of a thousand miles

Begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu (604 BC – 531 BC)

Chinese philosopher

About Long Circle

Long Circle provides outsourced engineering services to companies whose products and services rely on embedded software and hardware technology. Long Circle and the Long Circle China Center of Excellence enables U.S. companies to reduce costs, increase engineering bandwidth, and broaden market reach by providing low-risk, strategic access to China’s engineering talent, manufacturing industry, and emerging markets. To learn more about Long Circle, visit http://www.longcircle.com.

From:http://www.chinatopsupplier.com/
Tag:China,WTO,trade talks,compromise on a proposal restricting

  China was included in a group of seven key WTO members who attempted to reach a compromise on the talks seeking a breakthrough in the WTO’s Doha round, reflecting China’s growing importance in the world economy.
  The “tragic failure” of global trade talks is a serious setback to the troubled world economy, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said.
  “In the face of a world economic downturn, serious inflation and imminent financial risks, the failure will have a major impact on the fragile multilateral trading system,” Chen told fellow ministers at the trade talks.
  Chen expressed his regret that the talks had broken down over differences between two countries — a reference to the United States and India — over a proposal to help poor farmers cope with import surges, despite flexibility by China on a range of trade areas, according to a statement.
  China had shown willingness to compromise on a proposal restricting developing countries’ ability to shield entire industrial sectors from lower tariff cuts. It had indicated its willingess to liberalise some services sectors, he said.
  China was ready to intensify its bilateral links with other World Trade Organisation (WTO) members, especially developing countries, he said.
  China was included in a group of seven key WTO members who attempted to reach a compromise on the talks seeking a breakthrough in the WTO’s Doha round, reflecting China’s growing importance in the world economy.

 

 

From:http://www.chinatopsupplier.com/
Tag:China,WTO,trade talks,compromise on a proposal restricting

  China was included in a group of seven key WTO members who attempted to reach a compromise on the talks seeking a breakthrough in the WTO’s Doha round, reflecting China’s growing importance in the world economy.
  The “tragic failure” of global trade talks is a serious setback to the troubled world economy, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said.
  “In the face of a world economic downturn, serious inflation and imminent financial risks, the failure will have a major impact on the fragile multilateral trading system,” Chen told fellow ministers at the trade talks.
  Chen expressed his regret that the talks had broken down over differences between two countries — a reference to the United States and India — over a proposal to help poor farmers cope with import surges, despite flexibility by China on a range of trade areas, according to a statement.
  China had shown willingness to compromise on a proposal restricting developing countries’ ability to shield entire industrial sectors from lower tariff cuts. It had indicated its willingess to liberalise some services sectors, he said.
  China was ready to intensify its bilateral links with other World Trade Organisation (WTO) members, especially developing countries, he said.
  China was included in a group of seven key WTO members who attempted to reach a compromise on the talks seeking a breakthrough in the WTO’s Doha round, reflecting China’s growing importance in the world economy.