China Sales Dog Blog

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

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.

Simple case for maintaining manufacturing capability in USA

I argue it behooves the US Government and US companies to maintain some level of manufacturing in in the USA in as many industries as possible ...

For the Government, it is about national security. Our highly complex national infrastructure and defense machine increasingly depend on materials and components from other countries, countries that are not always friendly. For just one example, think of the monopoly China has established around rare

China wants to your intellectual property and why not

Subtitle: Trains, Planes and Automobiles or Business Suicide 101

How has China come so far so fast on so many fronts? The answer is quite simple: China is not shy about acquiring "your" technology and in fact will go to great efforts to acquire then morph it just enough to call it "homegrown". Recent high profile examples sited by the Wall Street Journal include high-speed trains and Soviet style fighter jets. Automobile technology fits nicely in here as well. Just go back 5, 10 and certainly 15 years and you'll see a China without any real capability to manufacture let alone develop any of these higher-end technology products.

Now it's 2010 and all we've been hearing is the likes of "China develops world's fastest supercomputer", "Chinese developed bullet train sets world record", "China producing and exporting fighter jets", "China leading push for electric automobiles", and so on. Yeah, there's debate about how much China has done on their own but the fact remains: the Chinese have learned a whole lot in a short time and they have developed many of their own capabilities. And, as long as foreign business are willing to "give" the Chinese would be crazy not to accept.

As a company selling in China, what's all this mean to you? Continued ....

Thoughts on Protecting Your Intellectual Property in China

You must always practice caution especially when your company's intellectual property (IP) faces exposure in China. Even when dealing with large Chinese companies, you can never be too careful.  One unfortunate false move might even cost you the market. Following is an email from one of our clients and my response to this issue of safe-guarding IP