Last week I posted about Android in China. I explained that I’m interested in mobile technology, and when that coincides with topics about China business, I get really excited. So… along these lines, I read articles in Engadget and GSMArena about HTC’s decision to sell phones in China under its own brand name. Then I read this post in WSJ China Realtime Reports about this news article.. The article has several areas of ambiguity which should have been made more clear, so that readers can understand the significance of this business development. Just a sample… Luckily for the Taiwanese company, Apple has been slow to launch its hot new products here, and has a relatively small presence with a 7.1% share of smartphone sales in the second quarter, according to Analysys International. Only a non-Wi-Fi version of the iPhone 3GS is officially available in China so far, and Apple hasn’t [Read more...]

The headline is “Summer Intern is the Latest to Fall out“. I don’t need to go into details about what company’s dormitory the intern fell out off. Noted in the article was that the worker didn’t show up for work, was then fired, and the company was trying to arrange transport to the interns home town. I have said this before on my blog and several others: if a young person decides to extinguish his light that shine for just a small moment in time in the void which is this universe, then the fault of the tragedy lies with himself. I’m not defending a really stupid company BTW. I just think that if we MUST place blame somewhere (and I don’t think this type of thing needs blame placement), then it must be with the individual who did this to himself. In the Shanghaiist post, they point out to [Read more...]

Not only interested in “China Business”, I am also interested in mobile technology. Before I moved to China, I was a Product Manager in charge of some mobile software solutions for “PDAs”. However, my interest in mobile technology is not an extension of my previous career choices, but rather an expectation of the day when petaflop-speed computing becomes a permanent augmentation of to my central nervous system. Until that day comes, I’ll settle for the coolest greatest smartphone on the market. So, this article in TechCrunch by Mr. Richard Yu about the future Android Market in China is really something for me to get excited about. (h/t Shanghaiist) Richard’s main points are: 1. There are a lot of mobile internet users in China 2. In spite of the Google-China thang, which should have killed Android in China, Android – [actually OPhone] – is being adopted by the Chinese carriers 3. [Read more...]

Over time, I have learned to channel my frequently occuring negative emotions from my “issues” into areas that can give me strength in my professional and personal life. But, I’m still a fairly unstable person. I have a big ego and I have big mood swings. Also, I can be extremely insecure and I am constantly worried that something bad is going to happen to my children. Although I have “issues”, I feel that I should never take “medicine” for my problems, in part because doing so would reinforce the concept that I am a pre-programed biological robot living in a highly mechanical universe. Some of my friends say “of course you are a robot! We all are! Your often depressed because you don’t want to face reality, but you can still see what’s in front of you!”. Anyway, I prefer to have the illusion that I have free will, [Read more...]

My favorite online columnist Andrew Leonard wrote a post about GM selling their steering unit Nexteer Automotive to a Chinese SOE Pacific Century Motors, right after GM worked out a salary reduction deal with the union for this plant. One commenter on the article noted her fury for all the management waste, greed, and incompetence which led to the fall of Nexter, which (from the commenter) used to be a Delphi company. Now I wonder, what will the new company be like with a Chinese SOE owner? Here are my predictions: 1. As the management team of Nexter will not change, they will be just as improperly mismanaged as before, only now the workers will make less money and be more pissed-off. PCM said it planned to leave intact Nexteer’s management team, led by Bob Remenar, its president, and respect the company’s five-year labour agreement with the United Auto Workers [Read more...]

I’m extremely happy today to come across a blog I should have been watching all along. Again, h/t to China Challenges, I have come accross Bill Dodson’s blog “This is China!“. Bill is extremely knowledgeable, experienced consultant who, like me, lives in Suzhou. Unlike me, he actually knows how to write with proper English. (Actually, I know Bill, I just…you know…never got around to his blog. Hi Bill!) Bill posted today on a topic I have been following: current developments in China’s labor force. His post has two links to Financial Times articles about labor issues, but with focus in Suzhou compared to the situation in Guangdong. 1 The article has the usual obvious points about technology enabling workers to organize (Wow…they can use text messages!). It also too-briefly mentions some more complicated issues without giving proper background, which would probably be to much information for FT’s readers. For example, [Read more...]

The following is all based on meta-research, not first hand study. I will freely add my opinion on this, based on my “expert” opinion. I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t. It is my blog, after all. And more and more, I feel that the “official” experts (ie. those quoted in the news) get it wrong. So… what are people saying about what’s happening with Chinese labor, and what is actually happening? 1. Wages in primary manufacturing areas are rising. Yadda yadda yadda. 2. Wage rises are caused by labor shortages, which are in – part caused by… a) Workers unwilling to work for the wages which manufacturers are forced to provide by their customers. b) Workers finding work in the more Western areas, which are in part because of the stimulus money. c) Government promotion of higher wages d) External inflation in housing and food prices causing higher [Read more...]

Earlier this week I posted about the NYT article about a “labor leader” at the Honda Strike. Today I read another article, this time from Wall Street Journal (h/t China Challenges). The article is about the issue of Honda using “trainees” in order to reduce labor costs. The WSJ also quotes the new hero Mr. Tan Guoqing, who’s claim-to-fame is that he pushed the STOP button on the Honda production line. In Guangdong province, China’s main manufacturing hub where the Honda transmission factory is located, local law caps the use of student trainees at 30% of a factory’s overall labor force, according to Baker & McKenzie. Mr. Tan said the ratio of trainees at the transmission factory “definitely exceeds 30%.” Trainees usually come to factories under an internship program, which Baker & McKenzie says isn’t covered by China’s employment law system but under separate, much vaguer sets of national and [Read more...]

OK. I’m making an excuse now; I have not posted in two weeks… life sort of ran ahead of me for a while. Now on “vacation”, I can try to keep up with my online commitments. There have been many interesting things going on in the “China blogs” (suicides at Foxconn, labor unrest, etc), which everyone is already focusing on. I want to try to post about somethings a little bit different this week. But then I saw this article in the NYT, “In China’s Honda Factory, Two Unlikely Labor Leaders”. Why is another article about the Honda strike interesting? I look at it this way…what was NOT said in the article I find very very interesting: [Tan Quoqing, a "labor leader" in the Honda strike] He moved in 2006. After high school, he had studied at a vocational school in Changsha, Hunan’s capital city. A job placement agency allied [Read more...]

I have subscribed to LinkedIn groups about Chinese branding for a while now; like many “China observers”, I have discussed this in detail with many people for a long time. Its a topic that sometimes generates controversy. Since I love controversy (its good for search hits), I’m going to comment on today’s Washington Post article, “Beijing tries to push beyond ‘Made in China’ status to find name-brand innovation“.1 I found this to be a great article, but not because it is well written. Actually, the article jumps around and fails to make much of a coherent point. But it has lots of great quotes which could be used to talk about cross-cultural business, as well as quotes about how stupid situations. Last year, China overtook Germany to become the world’s largest exporter, and this year it could surpass Japan as the world’s No. 2 economy. But as China gains international [Read more...]

Again lately, there has been a lot of blogging about China’s new “economic nationalism”. Two days ago, there was a NYT article about how foreign businesses are getting shafted in China as China clearly no longer needs FDI.1 (h/t to China Law Blog). In my (as usual) not-so-coherent comments I left at China Law Blog, I noted that this “glass half empty” picture is way to simplistic. It really depends on what sector of the economy. I also noted that, as China does not have international advantages in the front-end value-stream (aka, marketing and brands), and in general Chinese industries use previous generation technologies, China is essentially pursuing a “lagging leader” strategy. Yesterday, in the Washington Post, another article about how China is beating the US and the rest of the world in the Green Technology race by investing millions of dollars (with the help of Goldman Sacks) in new [Read more...]

I learned something early on when “studying China”; There is no such thing as ONE CHINA.1 Please note that I’m not advocating the independence – de-facto or otherwise – of any province or autonomous regions. I’m simply saying that when you want to understand “China”, you got to think of it as several different countries which occupy the same space and time. People sometimes say the same about other countries. There are the “Red states” and the “Blue states” of America, for example. But the differences in America are minor when one considers that the income level differential, average education level, and most other demographic elements differ less than 50%…and Americans (with the exception of recent immigrants) all speak the same mother language. Most importantly, there are no real barriers between Red States and Blue States. You can find both nearly everywhere in America. The differences between China’s internal “countries” [Read more...]

Ive been reading a lot of negative things about business in China lately. Supposedly, things are getting bad here. American Chamber of Commerce has come out with a survey saying that now 38% of businesses surveyed say they feel unwelcome in China, up from 26% last quarter. (BBC link) . AmCham-China found that inconsistent regulation and judicial treatment were the top concerns. I have read various posts and articles from several sources that claim that China feels it “no longer needs” the West. Furthermore, they say government has given preferential treatment to local competitors in government purchasing contracts. Well. Duh! When has Chinese regulation been consistant? When have the judicial system of China worked well? Right now, Chinese law system is more advanced than ever in China’s history. As fair and effective as in the United States? Does that question have to be asked? The barriers have always been here [Read more...]

I’m looking at NYT article China Issues Warning to Google’s Partners – NYTimes.com.   It looks like the fallout from Google’s decision is starting land.  I believe there are going to be a lot more articles like this in the next coming weeks as Google extricates itself from the China market. I have said on other forums that I do not agree with Google’s decision. I do not believe it was the best moral decision for them to make (and it was a crappy business decision, but that’s another topic).  By leaving China, they are running away and ceding the market to Chinese competitors, who will have no problem aligning themselves with the government’s policy.    It’s a temporary PR victory… but not something that makes the world a better place.  And is that not what “good” people and companies are supposed to do? Other issues: I believe this has long-term implications to [Read more...]