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

Makings of a great "soft power" - does China have what it takes?

Here is an interesting and I believe accurate perspective on the Chinese government's campaign to increase its global "soft power" with the apparent hope of supporting its increasing superpower status. The very idea that China has a campaign to do so is a bit of an oxymoron given that most free-thinkers believe "soft power" arises out of ones very nature and is not acquired through effective "advertising".

Read Joseph Nye's (professor at Harvard and author of "The Future of Power", PublicAffairs, 2011) take as published in the Wall Street Journal. Remember, the more you understand China and the Chinese, the more effectively will you be able to conduct business here.

Enjoy,

Chris

Phase II of the Chen Guangcheng story

Chen case resolved, maybe, and China wants an apology? Game is still on. Check out WSJ article for more.

Live and learn, always!

Chris

China and U.S. face choices in Chen case, none perfect - latimes.com

There is not rest for China watchers. Just when you thought there couldn't be another major US-China issue (i.e. think China and the Philippines disputing a South China sea rock while the US awaits on the Philippines' flank) enter blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, his escape from Chinese house arrest and apparent asylum in the U.S. Beijing emabassy. It sure will be interesting to see how this one plays out. See the LA times article for the whole story and a few cultural insights therein.

Have a good day,

Chris

From the LA Times - "No resolution of the diplomatic challenges facing the United States and China over what happens to blind dissident Chen Guangcheng is likely to both ease Chinese embarrassment and cast the Obama administration as a staunch defender of human rights, experts say.via latimesblogs.latimes.com"

U.S. exports to China boom, despite trade tensions - The Washington Post

The surge is happening without much change in Chinese government policies and without much specific help from the Obama administration, which has a stated goal of doubling all U.S. exports globally by 2014. Instead, experts say, the main reason for the increase has been a booming China, where wealthier tastes include an increased appetite for meat — and hence for soybeans used as livestock feed.

via www.washingtonpost.com

Export opportunities to China increasing ... ! Time to get onboard.

China’s Xi Should Take a Lesson in U.S. Creativity: Junheng Li - Bloomberg

An executive in the Shanghai office of an American private-equity firm decided to conduct an experiment with two groups of MBA interns. He gave the same project to a team from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and to a team from a leading business school in China (CNGDPYOY).

via www.bloomberg.com

Interesting, something to think about, useful perspective in moving forward as a nation.

Chris

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!

Is China somehow limited by its culture and design?

Explaining the many nuances of China to an uninformed friend is always difficult. There are so many angles on everything China that the "uninformed" cannot begin to comprehend the "expert's" divergent seemingly disconnected explanations. You know that old concept of yin-yang, the one represnting "dark-light", "good-evil", "hard-soft" and a whole slew of other opposing yet intertwined forces in the universe? Originating in China, there is no other place it describes better than China. Even today, China is pulled by many "contradictory" forces, the majority being internal.

 

Read the below referenced article

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

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