China Sales Dog Blog

Old habits die hard - control, control, control

Seems the Chinese government wants foreigners out of the internal financial information loop. The apparent fear is that foreign institutions such as the U.S. SEC might gain access to sensitive financial information, maybe irregularities, associated with Chinese company audits conducted by the Big Four accounting firms. Such information could hurt the credibility of Chinese companies seeking to raise funding on Wall Street. In other words, it's best to keep the cap on bad information and paint a prettier picture. Good strategy but unfortunately Wall Street is niether that hungry nor that dumb, at least I hope this to be true. Investors won't bite on a Chinese company if its financial reports are good but suspect due to lack of transparency. See article in Chicago Tribune highlighting new requirement for that the Big Four firms in China kick out the expatriates and transition over to Chinese senior partners.

So much happening, it's hard to keep up with the news!

Have a good day,

Chris

Just can't find the right person to fill that position in China

You've been pushing your China team for over a year now to hire that new salesperson (or production manager, or purchasing employee, or ...) to help grow your China operation but they just keep coming up empty. The reasons they provide run the gamut from "too good", "too expensive" and "not good enough" to "nobody is interested". Not only is it beginning to drive you crazy but it's holding back your business in China. What gives?

Remember, China is not America or the country you might happen to be reading this in. China - and the Chinese will tell you this every time - is different. So to understand what's happening, you need to both understand and think like the Chinese. Yeah, it's not so easy to do if you haven't been hanging out in China, let's say for ... years! Fortunately, we have been and herein provide you a few possible reasons for your lack of recruiting success, reasons you should keep in mind as you continue your personnel search in China.

Labor, your other competition in China

Assume you manufacture and sell "cherry picker" and other types of lifts used for maintenance work on buildings and structures. You've done well in the US but it's a mature market and you need to grow. There's a lot of buzz about China so why not try there. Not a bad idea but before you jump in, you'd better put on your Chinese thinking hat and size up the situation, from a Chinese persepective that is. Specifically, you must decide whether you can compete effectively with the local "competitors".

China's Top 10 Business Stories In 2011 - Forbes

As the year comes to a close, and we look forward to 2012, I continue the tradition I started last year and offer a brief look at the top stories that shaped China’s business and economic climate in 2011:

via www.forbes.com

Good summary of what was important in China in 2011 and still is as we move into 2012.

Enjoy!

Time for China to pay the piper? Maybe ...

I've seen it coming for some time now. China's increasing PDC or "public display of confidence" that's been building for over ten years could come back to haunt it. According to China, China is always faster, smarter, "right-er" and better than the rest of the world. Problem is the rest of rest of the world has worked hard to develop and played to a certain set of rules for a long time now, rules that newcomer China seems intent on disrupting.

Chinese usually consider it "clever" (聪明 - tsong ming) to bypass the system to achieve ones ends. But as dumb as the rest of the world seems, the rest of the world may not be that dumb after all. What did George Bush say "fool me once ... uh, shame, shame on you. If you FOOL me you can't get fooled again ... !" Translating for our dear Mr. Bush, we can let infractions slide a few times but we do have our limits. Increasingly it seems it's China against the world, a world that when pushed can become a united and formidable opponent.

Read this WSJ article (link below) discussing an emerging reality for China, one sure to put limits on just how much it can continue, as Obama has been saying, gaming the system.

Live and learn,

Chris

China Might Have Over-Reached Itself

By IRWIN STELZER

Analysis of why passers-by ignored 2-year Chinese girl dying in street

Based on her many years of absorption in China, the author's analysis and commentary on how passers-by could allow a 2-year hit-and-run victim to lie in the road dying is right-on. Her article provides a deep and accurate insight into the present day Chinese psyche. Though many exceptions to "the rule" exist in China, regrettably too many Chinese do fit the profile, maybe upwards of 40% based on my own experienced based gut feel. To be fair, maybe up to 10 or 15% of Americans share similar attributes ... also, far too many. Anyway, reading the article about this poor little girl is worthwhile and and lends insight into Chinese thinking.

God help us ... please,

Chris

How can I be proud of my China if we are a nation of 1.4bn cold hearts? | Lijia Zhang | Comment is free | The Observer

Shame on us Chinese! Last Thursday a two-year-old girl was run over twice, about 100 metres from her home in a hardware market district of Foshan, a prosperous city in southern China. As she lay on the ground, writhing in pain, before being hit by the second vehicle, 18 people, on their bicycles, in cars or on foot, passed by but chose to ignore her. Among them a young woman with her own child.via

www.guardian.co.uk

www.ChinaSageConsultants.com

Apple criticized for using environmentally unfriendly suppliers in China

Today several online publications including ZDnet and Reuters carried stories related to Apple's supplier network in China. Specifically, a Chinese environmental group energetically criticized Apple for exploiting developing countries to gain "super profits". Among the online community, doubt over the validity of the complaints was obvious. I too smell something fishy but for slightly different reasons. Here's my take.

China’s denials about cyberattacks undermined by video clip

From the Washington Post Online

By Ellen Nakashima and William Wan, Published: August 25

Viewers of China Central Television got an unusual glimpse last month of that nation’s cyber-weaponry: A video clip showed a military computer program on which an unseen user selects a “target” — in this case, a Falun Gong Web site based in Alabama — and hits a button labeled “attack.”

The video amounted to just six seconds in a state media documentary called “The Cyber Storm Has Arrived!” But it offered an uncommonly candid depiction of offensive cyber-capabilities developed by a country that is routinely accused of mounting attacks and just as routinely issues denials.

View full article.

Slap in the "Face" ... China's high-speed rail debacle

From the Wall Street Journal Online .... here is what I consider a good account and analysis of China's recent high-speed train wreck. As the accident unfolded, the government responded in classic expected ways ...

Doesn't Add Up: US export price vs. Chinese end-user price

Any company selling in China knows that "price" is always an issue; even when it's not really an issue, it's still an issue! That's just cultural and, hey, why not. Even the worst negotiation training courses in the west teach "always flinch at the seller's price". What we learn in school, the Chinese do very naturally.  The main point is price is an issue in China and so why do many US exporters overlook the fact their export price and Chinese end-user price are two very different things in China.