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OCTOBER - NOVEMBER<br />

5 | 2010<br />

Training<br />

C TICKER<br />

Benefits of having external<br />

and internal Coaches<br />

CSR in China<br />

More than a disguised<br />

Marketing Initiative<br />

Taiwan<br />

Discover the Northern Part of<br />

this stunning Place<br />

BEIJING | SHANGHAI | SOUTH CHINA<br />

Free Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the<br />

GERMAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN CHINA<br />

<strong>FOOD</strong> <strong>SaFETy</strong><br />

How production, logistics and retail ensure<br />

the quality of our food<br />

2010 October - November 1


montfort advertising – klaus | ruggell | chicago | shanghai<br />

Experience. Erfahrung. ��.<br />

Essential for 2010, in any language.<br />

1, 200,000<br />

Impressive customer magazines,<br />

published in 48 languages<br />

for readers in 60 countries.<br />

860,000<br />

Powerful brochures each year,<br />

printed in 12 languages and<br />

distributed across 60 countries<br />

worldwide.<br />

28<br />

Prestigious industry awards won<br />

for annual reports since 2000,<br />

with 15 first-place accolades.<br />

19,620<br />

Square meters of event presence<br />

in 123 events, trade shows and<br />

open houses, executed in 30<br />

countries worldwide every year.<br />

Klaus (A) | Ruggell (FL) | Chicago (USA) | Shanghai (CHINA)<br />

Room 1101 | 555 Nanjing West Road | 200041 Shanghai | China<br />

Contact: Oliver Lorenz | T +86 (0)21 5213 6600 - 800<br />

B2B@montfortshanghai.com | www.montfortshanghai.com<br />

3,500,000<br />

Superb direct mailings, exact<br />

targeted in 22 languages<br />

and delivered to 60 countries<br />

worldwide annualy.<br />

200<br />

Sophisticated portals and<br />

micro-sites hosting more than<br />

140,000 persuasive pages<br />

built for clients in 66 countries.<br />

2010 October - November 3


C TICKER<br />

Publisher<br />

German Chamber of Commerce in China<br />

Offices and Teams in Mainland China:<br />

GC Ticker Team<br />

Managing Editor (Shanghai) Ms. Selma Koehn<br />

Editor (Guangzhou) Ms. Heidrun Buss<br />

Design (Shanghai) Ms. Ye Li<br />

GCC<br />

0811 Landmark Tower 2, 8 Dongsanhuan (N) Rd.<br />

Chaoyang, Beijing 100004<br />

' 010 6539-6688 6 010 6539-6689<br />

* germanchamber@bj.china.ahk.de<br />

Executive Chamber Manager<br />

Ms. Donna Hannemann<br />

Chamber Affairs Manager<br />

Ms. Wang Miao<br />

010 6539-6661<br />

wang.miao@bj.china.ahk.de<br />

Regional Manager North China<br />

Mr. Christoph Fazakas<br />

010 6539-6662<br />

fazakas.christoph@bj.china.ahk.de<br />

Editor GC Ticker<br />

Ms. Donna Hannemann<br />

l Beijing<br />

GCC<br />

25F China Fortune Tower, 1568 Century Ave.<br />

Pudong, Shanghai 200122<br />

' 021 5081-2266 6 021 5081-2009<br />

* chamber@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Executive Chamber Manager<br />

Ms. Michaela Beck<br />

Ext. 1630<br />

beck.michaela@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Regional Manager Shanghai<br />

Mr. Jan Höpper<br />

Ext. 1656<br />

hoepper.jan@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Regional Manager Zhejiang & Jiangsu Provinces<br />

Mr. Sebastian Wegener<br />

Ext. 1830<br />

wegener.sebastian@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Communications Manager<br />

Ms. Selma Koehn<br />

Ext. 1637<br />

koehn.selma@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Social Events & Marketing Manager<br />

Mr. Sebastian Zettelmeier<br />

Ext. 1605<br />

zettelmeier.sebastian@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Project Manager<br />

Ms. Li Yandi<br />

Ext. 1609<br />

li.yandi@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

Chamber Team Assistant<br />

Ms. Liu Li<br />

Ext. 1650<br />

liu.li@sh.china.ahk.de<br />

l Shanghai<br />

GCC<br />

2915 Metro Plaza, Tianhe (N) Rd.<br />

Guangzhou 510620<br />

' 020 8755-2353 6 020 8755-1889<br />

* chamber@gz.china.ahk.de<br />

Executive Chamber Manager<br />

Ms. Heidrun Buss<br />

020 8755-8203<br />

buss.heidrun@gz.china.ahk.de<br />

Regional Manager<br />

Mr. Max Zenglein<br />

0755 8635-0487<br />

zenglein.max@gz.china.ahk.de<br />

Chamber Affairs Manager<br />

Ms. Esther Hu<br />

020 8755-2353 ext. 217<br />

hu.esther@gz.china.ahk.de<br />

Chengdu Liaison Manager<br />

Ms. Astrid Schröter<br />

1340 2857 262<br />

liaison.manager.chengdu@gmail.com<br />

l South China<br />

Cover images: shutterstock.com<br />

GC Ticker is free of charge. For subscriptions or extra copies please e-mail your<br />

nearest Chamber office. Previous issues of the magazine can be found on our<br />

website www.china.ahk.de/publications.<br />

©2010. German Chamber of Commerce in China. No part of this publication may<br />

be reproduced without the publisher’s prior permission. While every effort has<br />

been made to ensure accuracy, the publisher is not responsible for any errors.<br />

Views expressed are not necessarily those of GIC/GCC<br />

4 October - November 2010<br />

What’s next?<br />

Food safety and risk avoidance<br />

in China.<br />

With the EXPO in Shanghai coming to an end on 31 st October 2010, everybody seems to ask ‘What’s<br />

next?’. China already has an answer: the 16 th Asian Games 2010. It is the second largest multi-sport<br />

event after the Olympic Games, being held in November in Guangzhou. Yet another occasion to<br />

present to the world that China is a land full of opportunities and development.<br />

As often, there are two sides of a story. While some celebrate China’s growth potential and<br />

development others still remain hesitant to fully trust the overall positive post-crisis development.<br />

The risks and challenges for Sino-German businesses and the ‘What’s next?’ question are<br />

thoroughly discussed during the biennial Hamburg Summit in November. Minimizing uncertainty<br />

for investment in an environment with frequently changing conditions is only possible through<br />

exchange of information and experience. Therefore, this issue of the GC Ticker provides you with<br />

information about the status quo of the proudly promoted new development zones and areas in<br />

Chongqing Municipality, about active crisis management in China and how CSR activities enable<br />

your long-term growth.<br />

‘You are what you eat’ is what scientists, coaches or even parents have been saying for many years.<br />

In the West, this proverb usually translates directly into the urge of consuming food with more<br />

nutritional value to fuel our health. In an emerging country like China, however, the main concern is<br />

how to ensure food safety, quality and standards from ‘farm to fork’. Our editorial team is shedding<br />

some light on this comprehensive topic with regards to food safety in production & processing,<br />

transport and food retail in China.<br />

Even with contingency plans and security/safety measures in place, we will always be confronted<br />

with risks and uncertainties. Awareness is the first step towards the right direction.<br />

With this in mind - stay safe, enjoy reading.<br />

Yours sincerely,<br />

Holger Sindemann<br />

GCC All-China Board Members<br />

Mr. Ulrich Walker<br />

Chairman GCC l Beijing<br />

Chairman & CEO of Daimler<br />

Northeast Asia Ltd.<br />

Ms. Jutta Ludwig<br />

Executive Director GCC l Beijing<br />

Holger Sindemann<br />

Chairman of the Board, GCC l South China<br />

President & CEO, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai Co. Ltd.<br />

Mr. Arved von zur Mühlen<br />

Chairman GCC l Shanghai<br />

Managing Director Greater China<br />

Lufthansa German Airlines<br />

Mr. Jan Noether<br />

Executive Director GCC l Shanghai<br />

Mr. Holger Sindemann<br />

Chairman GCC l Shanghai<br />

President & CEO<br />

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai Co. Ltd.<br />

Ms. Alexandra Voss<br />

Executive Director GCC l South China


2010 October - November 5


CONTENTS<br />

Business Focus<br />

8<br />

10<br />

10<br />

12<br />

24<br />

26<br />

26<br />

29<br />

32<br />

34<br />

34<br />

36<br />

38<br />

40<br />

40<br />

41<br />

22<br />

News from Berlin and Brussels<br />

Member News<br />

Beijing<br />

Shanghai<br />

South China<br />

Cover Story: Food Safety<br />

Al Dente? China's Ingredients<br />

for safe Food put on the Menu<br />

Watch What You Eat: The growing<br />

Importance of Food Safety in China<br />

The Journey of the Cod –<br />

How the full Supply Chain is managed<br />

Business Articles:<br />

CSR in China<br />

A Safe Bet<br />

The Hamburg Summit<br />

Regional Spotlight:<br />

East China: Hangzhou<br />

South China: Chongqing<br />

Meet the Member:<br />

Davie Lu: Fox Holdings<br />

6 October - November 2010<br />

40<br />

Chamber News<br />

42<br />

44<br />

46<br />

54<br />

Chamber Notices<br />

48<br />

Beijing<br />

GCC Beijing held a press briefing about<br />

current Sino-German business relations for<br />

foreign correspondents while workshop<br />

attendees learned about the importance of a<br />

company’s reputation and climate protection<br />

Shanghai<br />

Double-Dip recession was topic of Augusts’<br />

Chamber Meeting and latest trends of sectors<br />

like legal, finance and automotive were taught<br />

in workshops<br />

South China<br />

HR and legal issues were the focus of<br />

roundtables around South and West China<br />

Community<br />

58<br />

59<br />

62<br />

64<br />

66<br />

68<br />

69<br />

71<br />

72<br />

74<br />

76<br />

76<br />

78<br />

Training & Education<br />

Cutting through the Coaching Confusion<br />

Environment<br />

Cleaning Up – A Greener Path for the<br />

Photovoltaic Industry<br />

Health<br />

Do you ever think about your breathing?<br />

Sports<br />

China’s Tennis Appeal: Athletics & Apparel<br />

Giving Back<br />

Volunteering – the most direct way to help<br />

your community<br />

Art & Culture<br />

Updating China – Climate and Culture<br />

New Books<br />

Travel<br />

North Taiwan: Stunning Nature and<br />

Culinary Delights<br />

City Tour<br />

Guangzhou: Pearls along the River<br />

This & That<br />

26<br />

Church Calendar<br />

Chamber Events Calendar<br />

66


2010 October - November 7


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

8 October - November 2010<br />

NEWS FROM BERLIN AND BRUSSELS<br />

NEWS FROM<br />

BERLIN AND BRUSSELS<br />

Summit in Brussels: Economy meets Politics<br />

Brussels. After the success of the first<br />

european ‘Companies Parliament’ two<br />

years ago, more than 750 business men and<br />

women coming from different european<br />

countries – 96 of them from Germany<br />

- will debate about eu politics for the<br />

second time on 14 th of October 2010 in<br />

Brussels. In the presence of high ranking<br />

representatives of the eu parliament and<br />

the eu Commission the economy will point<br />

out its opinion on topics such as class-action<br />

Privacy Protection of<br />

employee data<br />

BerlIn. According to the DIHK the<br />

planned law for privacy protection of<br />

employee data should also incorporate<br />

that employees can still control whether<br />

company compliance regulations are met.<br />

During the legislative procedure the DIHK<br />

is pleading for a balanced positioning<br />

between the employers’ requests and the<br />

employees’ interests in protecting their<br />

personal data. In this regard it should be<br />

possible for employers to randomly control<br />

the employees’ usage of e-mail and internet,<br />

even if the latter is allowed to use them<br />

for private purposes. This is the only way<br />

to prevent corruption or to trace it back.<br />

However, the private usage is in the interest<br />

of the employee and without the option of<br />

controlling it randomly most employers<br />

wouldn’t allow it. Additionally the DIHK<br />

claims that the data handling should still be<br />

permitted as long as the employee agrees<br />

with it.<br />

Contact person: karstedt-meierrieks.<br />

annette@dihk.de;Reppelmund.hildegard@<br />

dihk.de<br />

lawsuits, consumer protection, market<br />

entry, education, environment and energy.<br />

Mr. Hans Heinrich Driftmann, Chairman<br />

of the DIHK, states that “the Companies<br />

Parliament offers its participants the<br />

opportunity to explain the economy’s point<br />

of view to the parliamentarians directly.<br />

europe is our home market. Therefore<br />

taking the basis of our prosperity – our<br />

competitiveness - into consideration is<br />

important.”<br />

German funds need individual<br />

temporary solutions<br />

BerlIn. In order to prevent small and<br />

medium-sized companies from making<br />

false decisions the DIHK and other<br />

associations have addressed the importance<br />

of temporary solutions in regards to the<br />

economic fund to Mr. rainer Brüderle,<br />

Federal Minister of economics and<br />

Technology. Mr. Hans Heinrich Driftmann,<br />

Chairman of the DIHK, urges that “many<br />

companies are short of liquidity” and have<br />

to get a capital loan. In this case, offers<br />

like those of the KfW-special Program as<br />

part of the economic fund are a great help.<br />

Furthermore, lack of securities are still<br />

the main loan hinder. This is the reason<br />

why the amplified bond line within the<br />

economic fund should be continued.<br />

The DIHK Chairman also emphasizes<br />

that “the German economic fund was of<br />

great importance to the companies when<br />

overcoming the eco-nomic crisis. But in the<br />

end governmental support can only be a<br />

preliminary solution with an exit scenario.”<br />

Contact person: boehne.alexandra@dihk.de<br />

Major Sporting Events – Good<br />

opportunities for German<br />

Companies<br />

BerlIn. Prior to the preparation of the<br />

World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic<br />

Games in 2016, the Brazilian government<br />

plans to place orders of around eur 45bn<br />

for the construction of sports facilities,<br />

improvement of safety as well as further<br />

development of the transportation and<br />

tourism infrastructure. Due to excellent<br />

references from the World Cups 2006 and<br />

2010 German companies have good chances<br />

of getting large orders from Brazil. Therefore<br />

the DIHK sees orders of around eur 5bn as<br />

realistic. Profitable business opportunities<br />

through rewarding World-Cup-deals are not<br />

only offered to the more than 1.200 German<br />

Companies based in Brazil but also to Brazilnewcomers<br />

such as innovative German<br />

middle-sized companies. However, time is<br />

short - order placing has already started.<br />

Contact person: parche.oliver@dihk.de<br />

Minister von der Leyen’s View<br />

on Corporate Citizenship<br />

BerlIn. According to Mrs. ursula von der<br />

leyen, Federal Minister of labor and social<br />

Affairs, Corporate Citizenship shouldn’t<br />

only be a matter for a director’s level but for<br />

everybody’s personal engagement in general.<br />

Before the summer break she received a<br />

detailed report dealing with recommendations<br />

about how to further corporate citizenships. The<br />

report was elaborated by 44 experts of fields<br />

like economy, labor unions, non governmental<br />

organizations and different ministries. In<br />

their report representatives from several top<br />

economic organizations could successfully<br />

stress the voluntary nature of corporate<br />

citizenship and hold against a legal obligation<br />

and standardization that had been claimed by<br />

labor unions and other organizations. During<br />

the presentation of the report Mr. Achim<br />

Decker, Deputy General Manager of the DIHK,<br />

pointed out that corporate citizenship is already<br />

very common among medium-sized companies<br />

in Germany. Based on the report the Federal<br />

Government will pass a national Csr-strategy.<br />

Contact person: huels.klaudia@dihk.de


2010 October - November 9


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

New Management for<br />

Viessmann<br />

The China and Hong Kong presence of<br />

the German heating systems provider<br />

Viessmann is now under the general<br />

management of Mr. Torsten Dietze.<br />

The mechanical engineer previously<br />

held various multinational executive<br />

positions in the heating technology sector<br />

and is continuing his China path with<br />

Viessmann, to whose Chinese subsidiaries<br />

he also acts as Chairman of the Board.<br />

10 October - November 2010<br />

MEMBER NEWS BEIJING<br />

MEMBER NEWS<br />

BEIJING<br />

German Experts in China<br />

With an increasing number of Western<br />

companies operating in the rapidly<br />

developing Chinese market, there is<br />

a growing need for first-class training<br />

specialised for leaders and managers of<br />

international companies in China. In order to<br />

respond to this need and provide a platform<br />

to exchange ideas and experiences, Asia-<br />

Pacific Management Consulting (APMC)<br />

will be organizing the<br />

GerMAn eXPerT<br />

FOruM for the second<br />

time this year.<br />

From October 15 th to<br />

December 16 th , nine<br />

German experts with<br />

various specializations<br />

in subjects such<br />

as risk Management,<br />

Planning & Budgeting,<br />

International<br />

sales Organization,<br />

Certified Management<br />

systems, leadership<br />

skills, and<br />

much more, will act<br />

as trainers in a series<br />

of seminars in shanghai<br />

and Beijing.<br />

Innovation Award for<br />

Sartorius<br />

On 3 rd June the 2010 edition of the “ringier<br />

Food & Beverage Technology Innovation<br />

Awards” ceremony was hosted by ringier<br />

Industry’s International Food Processing<br />

& Packaging Business, International<br />

Food & Beverage Ingredients, China<br />

Beer Brewing Industry and Food Pacific<br />

Manufacturing Journal at the shanghai<br />

new International expo Centre. It<br />

honored those who have made a<br />

significant technological contribution<br />

to China’s food industry in its annual<br />

technology innovation awards issue.<br />

The sartorius nIr PMD500 process<br />

analyzer received the “Process Analytical<br />

Technology Innovation Award—Food<br />

safety”.<br />

sartorius utilizes its PMD series process<br />

analyzer and control technology to<br />

eliminate hidden quality risks and<br />

completion of quality control during<br />

production process. It also offers<br />

practical solutions for the improvement<br />

of productivity, cost savings and turning<br />

innovations into real competitive<br />

advantages.<br />

APMC launched the GerMAn eXPerT<br />

FORUM for the first time last year. The great<br />

response to this event series convinced Dr.<br />

Kuang-Hua lin, President of APMC, of the<br />

need for personal coaching and training of a<br />

high international standard in China.


New Office for Freudenberg IT<br />

Freudenberg IT China has opened a new<br />

office facility in Beijing. With the newly<br />

equipped office, Freudenberg IT strengthens<br />

its footprint in the north China region. The<br />

new facility is located in Chaoyangmen,<br />

within the business heart of Beijing.<br />

Freudenberg IT China is an IT service provider<br />

for enterprises in the manufacturing and automotive<br />

industry. As an international IT company,<br />

Freudenberg IT implements, optimizes and<br />

operates sAP solutions. Freudenberg IT China<br />

offers consulting services, outsourcing solutions<br />

and application management support for<br />

Team Expansion and new Office for Dezan Shira<br />

Dezan shira & Associates (DsA), the<br />

specialist foreign direct investment practice,<br />

has opened a branch office in Qingdao, to<br />

better service and expand its business in<br />

this region. After ten years servicing clients<br />

there, the relationship with this city has<br />

been cemented in early september. The<br />

firm’s Qingdao office will provide business<br />

advisory, corporate establishment, tax,<br />

accounting and due diligence services to<br />

foreign investors in and around the city.<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

sAP. The adicom software suite is Freudenberg<br />

IT’s own Manufacturing execution system<br />

(Mes) software product.<br />

After one year in temporary facilities, the<br />

new office marks a milestone for established<br />

and growing business in the region. Beside<br />

the headquarters in suzhou, Freudenberg<br />

IT has branches in shanghai, Beijing and<br />

Guangzhou and is established in all regions<br />

throughout China. The regional offices allow<br />

Freudenberg IT China to maintain closer<br />

customer relationships and to have a strong<br />

connection to regional market developments.<br />

In an effort to expand its local operations,<br />

DsA also welcomes Mr. Fabian Knopf as<br />

a new Business Development Associate in<br />

shanghai. recently transferred from the<br />

firm’s Beijing office, Mr. Knopf will be in<br />

charge of further enhancing DsA’s presence<br />

in suzhou by establishing a new branch<br />

office.<br />

2010 October - November 11


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

New President Asia at Brose<br />

12 October - November 2010<br />

MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI<br />

LANXESS Eco-Consciously expands Capacity<br />

lAnXess AG, a German specialty chemicals<br />

company, inaugurated an upgraded<br />

wastewater treatment plant in liyang,<br />

Jiangsu province on 19th July 2010. The new<br />

state-of-the-art facility will help reduce the<br />

plant’s emissions to build an even more<br />

environmentally sustainable production site.<br />

lAnXess applied its advanced production<br />

processes based on German technology<br />

and leading environmental standards to<br />

the project. The wastewater treatment plant<br />

since July 2010,<br />

formerly executive<br />

Vice-President<br />

(Production) at<br />

the Brose Group<br />

Mr. Thomas<br />

spangler has been<br />

responsible for<br />

Brose Asia. His<br />

aim is to grow<br />

the business supported by the regional<br />

presidents in China, Korea and Japan<br />

and to advance market development in<br />

the AseAn nations. As a group board<br />

member, Mr. spangler will also support<br />

the development of electric mobility in<br />

Asia and regional sourcing activities.<br />

MEMBER NEWS<br />

SHANGHAI<br />

in liyang not only complies with all local<br />

and national regulations, but naturally has<br />

been designed to stay consistent with the<br />

company’s global standards.<br />

Additionally, lAnXess announced the<br />

facility in liyang will be upgraded in order<br />

to expand production capacity. The first<br />

phase is scheduled for completion by the<br />

end of 2010 and the second phase by the end<br />

of 2011. The new capacity will be more than<br />

double the current one.<br />

Mr. spangler seeks to expand the<br />

success of Brose China, which has been<br />

recently honored: Three Brose plants in<br />

shanghai and Wuhan have been awarded<br />

in recognition of their outstanding<br />

achievements in regards to technology,<br />

quality, competitiveness, timely delivery<br />

and customer orientation which are<br />

shanghai Brose Automotive Components<br />

Co. ltd. with the “excellent Quality<br />

Performance silver Medal” by shanghai<br />

Volkswagen, shanghai Brose electric<br />

Motors Co. ltd. with the “Top 10 supplier<br />

Award” by Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen<br />

Automobile Company ltd. and Brose<br />

Wuhan Automotive systems Co. ltd. with<br />

the “excellent supplier Award” by Geely<br />

Holding Group.<br />

Food Safety Campaign for<br />

Kids<br />

On 10 th July 2010, MeTrO Cash & Carry<br />

China rolled out a nationwide campaign<br />

for food safety education in major China<br />

cities. It was an initiative to promote food<br />

safety awareness and spread knowledge<br />

to children during their summer vacation.<br />

The campaign, themed ‘safe Food, Happy<br />

life’, spanned across two months, with<br />

attendance of about 1,500 children from 12<br />

cities such as shengyan, Beijing, shanghai,<br />

Hangzhou, and Guangzhou. Children<br />

enjoyed and learned from a vivid cartoon<br />

movie, lectures and interactive games with<br />

food safety experts.<br />

“We are very pleased to share our expertise<br />

with children all over the country and<br />

help them and their parents to understand<br />

the importance of food safety,” said Ms.<br />

Katrin sulzmann, Head of Corporate<br />

Communications, external Affairs & Csr,<br />

MeTrO Cash & Carry China.<br />

New Arbitration Expert at<br />

Salans<br />

Mr. Darren<br />

FitzGerald joined<br />

salans on 7 th June<br />

2010, as the firm's<br />

first international<br />

Arbitration Partner<br />

in Hong Kong. He<br />

has worked in the<br />

Asia-Pacific region<br />

for 15 years and will<br />

focus on international arbitration and crossborder<br />

litigation, with particular emphasis<br />

on Hong Kong and China-related disputes.<br />

Mr. FitzGerald is a fellow of the Chartered<br />

Institute of Arbitrators, shanghai Arbitration<br />

Commission, Hong Kong International<br />

Arbitration Centre and Hong Kong ICC<br />

committee.<br />

Ms. Brenda Horrigan, co-head of salans<br />

International Arbitration Practice Group<br />

who recently relocated from Paris to<br />

shanghai, said, "salans International<br />

Arbitration Practice in Asia is growing<br />

rapidly, and with Mr. FitzGerald’s profound<br />

experience and his knowledge of the region,<br />

he is well-positioned to help us continue to<br />

expand.”<br />

Mr. FitzGerald speaks German, english and<br />

French, and is a member of salans German<br />

International Practice Group that tends to<br />

the particular need for German-language<br />

advice in international markets.


New F&B Director at InterContinental<br />

Pudong<br />

New CEO at Ipsen<br />

New PwC Partner in Shanghai<br />

Mr. emmanuel stavrakakis has<br />

been appointed Director of Food<br />

& Beverage at InterContinental<br />

shanghai Pudong. He will be in<br />

charge of all F&B activities and<br />

contribute his expertise to bring a new<br />

perspective to his role at the hotel.<br />

Mr. stavrakakis is a German national,<br />

with many years of experience<br />

in the F&B field. Having started<br />

his career as an apprentice at the<br />

Crowne Plaza Heidelberg in 1994,<br />

he occupied many F&B positions at<br />

international hotels on his way to<br />

his current standing. Prior to his appointment, Mr. stavrakakis was<br />

executive Assistant Manager-F&B at Crowne Plaza Fudan.<br />

since 1 st June 2010 Mr. Oemer<br />

Akyaziciis is the new CeO at Ipsen<br />

China. His appointment has<br />

been announced by CeO of Ipsen<br />

International Holding, Dr. H. Grobler,<br />

during a welcome ceremony<br />

in shanghai. Mr. Akyazici has a<br />

profound executive background<br />

in an international environment,<br />

especially in the field of supplying<br />

solutions and systems including<br />

services, standardised and specialpurpose<br />

machines, components and<br />

products for different business fields<br />

and industries.<br />

Ipsen, a leading heat treatment equipment and solution provider,<br />

has an exciting and unique business expansion in China since<br />

1994. under leadership of the new management, Ipsen China will<br />

move into the next phase of its development.<br />

Mr. Marc Wintermantel became a<br />

partner in the advisory practice of<br />

PwC in July 2010. He has fourteen<br />

years of experience in transaction<br />

services. He started his career<br />

with PwC in stuttgart, Germany,<br />

where he spent eight years before<br />

transferring to new York, usA,<br />

where he worked for three years.<br />

Mr. Wintermantel came to Asia<br />

two and half years ago, working<br />

at the singapore office as the<br />

valuations leader for Asia Pacific.<br />

Focusing on valuations for financial<br />

reporting under us GAAP and<br />

IFrs and on M&A valuations, he has extensive hands-on experience<br />

in transaction services projects, i.e. financial due diligence, M&A<br />

valuations and Purchase Price Allocations.<br />

A New Beginning<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

The first continuous press production line independently researched<br />

and manufactured by shanghai Wood-based Panel Machinery Co.<br />

ltd. (sWPM) has produced its initial board successfully. After a<br />

smooth beginning of operations on 29 th April 2010, sWPM could<br />

already serve their first customer on 4 th June 2010.<br />

located in Anting Industrial District, sWPM occupies an area of<br />

88,000m 2 . strictly abiding by IsO9001-2000 International Quality<br />

Management system, it exercises quality control throughout the<br />

entire production process. In addition, sWPM’s highly experienced<br />

experts provide each customer a systematic and distinctive solution<br />

to his or her individual project.<br />

2010 October - November 13


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

14 October - November 2010<br />

MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI<br />

Weidmuller cooperates with SJTU and relocates<br />

Headquarter<br />

In late July Weidmuller held a signing<br />

ceremony with the shanghai Jiao Tong<br />

university (sJTu). Mr. Victor Wan, President<br />

Greater China of Weidmuller, and Mr.<br />

Yu Wenxian, the Director of the school of<br />

electronic and electric engineering of sJTu,<br />

presented the grand ceremony.<br />

Weidmuller is the leading manufacturer of<br />

electrical connection technology and electronics<br />

in the world. next to its activities the company<br />

pays also a growing attention to cooperate with<br />

universities in order to contribute to cultivating<br />

talents in the electric disciplines. As one of the<br />

Does your consultant<br />

provide general knowledge?<br />

您的咨询顾问只提供您些常识?<br />

Better yet,<br />

he demonstrates<br />

expertise<br />

他最好能具有<br />

专业知识<br />

Moving Your Enterprise<br />

www.ManagementEngineers.com<br />

best universities in China, sJTu has already<br />

graduated a numerous number of outstanding<br />

students. Having had this signing ceremony<br />

for the strategic cooperation with sJTu,<br />

Weidmuller will further continue to contribute<br />

more in China.<br />

Weidmuller's China Headquarter has moved<br />

into 25F, BM Intercontinental Business Center<br />

100 Yutong road in shanghai. The company<br />

will continue its on-going steps to provide the<br />

China market more prompt services response,<br />

highly-effective industry solutions and<br />

excellent products.<br />

Schaeffler receives<br />

Chang’an Ford Mazda Q1<br />

Award<br />

schaeffler (China) Co. ltd. located in<br />

Taicang, has received the prestigious<br />

Q1 Award from Chang’an Ford Mazda<br />

Automobile Corporation in recognition<br />

of its supplier performance. The award is<br />

testament to the product quality, timely<br />

delivery and customer satisfaction that<br />

schaeffler exerted while manufacturing<br />

and supplying wheel bearings to<br />

Chang’an Ford Mazda.<br />

The Chang’an Ford Mazda Q1 award<br />

was established to encourage suppliers to<br />

constantly provide high-quality products<br />

and has become the benchmark to<br />

evaluate quality performance of suppliers<br />

in the automotive industry. receiving the<br />

Q1 award symbolises exceeding efforts to<br />

deliver quality products and performance.<br />

Once a supplier is granted with this<br />

award, it becomes the qualified supplier<br />

in Chang’an Ford Mazda’s global system.<br />

Taicang Abodes New VAST Plant<br />

Vehicle Access systems Technology Alliance (VAsT Alliance) China<br />

began constructing a third plant in the Taicang Development Zone<br />

of Jiangsu. This new plant will expand their current capabilities<br />

in China by adding injection molding, painting and assembly for<br />

automotive door handles. This enables VAsT Alliance partners to<br />

provide the same level of products and service in China as they do in<br />

their home markets of europe and north America. In addition, the<br />

new facility will also produce lock sets, latches, driver controls and<br />

power access products.<br />

Furthermore the Taicang site encompasses over 35,000m 2 of land that<br />

will also house the VAST China headquarters in an office building<br />

with around 800 employees.


New R&D Center for Bosch<br />

Bosch signed a contract with the local<br />

Changsha government to extend its land<br />

plot for manufacturing and r&D facility<br />

expansion on 16 th August 2010. Covering an<br />

area of 30,000m 2 , the design plan includes<br />

a new production facility, office-laboratory<br />

and auxiliary building. The project’s<br />

total investment reaches CnY 240mn and<br />

construction is expected for completion by<br />

mid 2012. In addition, a new r&D center<br />

Bizerba receives Award<br />

Bizerba China received the Technology<br />

Innovation Award from the Organizer ringier<br />

Media on July 14 th 2010. The Award was<br />

initiated by ringier Media in order to publicly<br />

honour new technological innovations<br />

for electrical drives and starter motors &<br />

generators divisions will be located at the<br />

site. It is Bosch’s fifth local r&D center<br />

for automotive technology in China, after<br />

shanghai, suzhou, Wuxi and Chongqing.<br />

After completing in 2012, the new center<br />

will have another 150 engineers in addition<br />

to the current 200 staff.<br />

which benefit the<br />

industry and the<br />

society in general.<br />

Main concern of<br />

this year’s award<br />

criteria has been<br />

“green technology” –<br />

technology that leads<br />

to lower waste or carbon emission, improving<br />

product safety, achieving sustainable growth.<br />

Bizerba has been given the Award for its<br />

solution that can significantly reduce the<br />

material giveaway and production costs.<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

New CEO at Putzmeister<br />

Shanghai<br />

PM Group has appointed Mr. li Tao as<br />

Chief executive Officer of Putzmeister<br />

shanghai. He has over 20 years experience<br />

within business fields such as sales,<br />

engineering and manufacturing. He<br />

graduated from shanghai Jiao Tong<br />

university and majored in Marine<br />

engineering and got a master degree of<br />

business administration from Wu Han<br />

university.<br />

2010 October - November 15


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

Duisport Packing Logistics -<br />

New Technical Director<br />

since 1 st August<br />

2010, the shanghai<br />

representative<br />

Office of Duisport<br />

Packing logistics<br />

GmbH has a new<br />

Technical Director.<br />

Mr. Hans-Guenter<br />

Mueller comes<br />

to shanghai from<br />

DPl Headquarters<br />

in Duisburg. He brings around 30 years<br />

of professional experience in the field of<br />

export packing. He looks forward to the<br />

upcoming challenges and opportunities that<br />

lay ahead in working with the China market<br />

and servicing a client base with multiple<br />

requirements.<br />

since the opening of DPl shanghai office<br />

in August 2008, the company has grown to<br />

embody ten staff including three Germans,<br />

serving mostly German companies and their<br />

local suppliers with professional packing<br />

solutions directly at their facilities or from<br />

the DPl warehouse in Baoshan.<br />

New Sales Manager at Sofia Group<br />

16 October - November 2010<br />

Ms. Amanda<br />

Zhu was recently<br />

promoted to work<br />

as sales manager<br />

within Sofia Group’s<br />

team of commercial<br />

real estate agents.<br />

she assists Western<br />

multinational<br />

companies with<br />

office rental<br />

MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI<br />

New Hire at Deutsche Bank<br />

Mr. Tilmann Dengler<br />

has relocated<br />

from Germany to<br />

shanghai to join<br />

Deutsche Bank<br />

(China) Co. ltd. As a<br />

senior relationship<br />

Manager, he will<br />

further deepen the<br />

bank’s coverage of<br />

German companies<br />

in the greater shanghai area. He will work<br />

together with Mr. Andreas Odrian, who is<br />

heading the business with multinational<br />

clients. Deutsche Bank is serving corporate<br />

and individual clients out of branches in<br />

shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Tianjin<br />

with around 600 employees.<br />

Mr. Tilmann joined Deutsche Bank in 1998<br />

in Munich. Before his move to shanghai he<br />

looked after clients of German small and<br />

medium-sized companies in Wuerzburg,<br />

the northern part of Bavaria. serving the<br />

subsidiaries of German small and mediumsized<br />

companies will also be a focus during<br />

his work in shanghai. Mr. Tilmann holds<br />

a German law degree and has various<br />

international experience including working<br />

in the legal department of the Indo-German<br />

Chamber of Commerce in Mumbai, India.<br />

research and negotiations. Mrs. Zhu joined<br />

the company only six months ago and is<br />

promoted after strong performance and<br />

excellent customer feedback.<br />

At sofia Group Mrs. Zhu serves as tenant<br />

representative for office tenants, amongst<br />

others providing information on available<br />

offices and discounted lease rates of Grade<br />

A buildings to existing key-accounts and<br />

potential new clients.<br />

Award for Bureau Veritas<br />

Bureau Veritas (China) has been<br />

awarded with major Construction Project<br />

Management and Technical Consultancy<br />

contracts in May 2010. These major deals<br />

include a contract with sogo Properties ltd.<br />

to provide technical consultancy for their<br />

new shopping mall project in shenyang, as<br />

well as a project management contract with<br />

local DIY retailer red star Macalline for<br />

construction in Tianjin.<br />

These two contracts will significantly<br />

reinforce Bureau Veritas’ presence in the<br />

construction market in China. Bureau<br />

Veritas (China) is now building new<br />

facilities from coastal China to Mainland<br />

China and Hong-Kong with major players.<br />

Hilton Worldwide appoints<br />

new General Manager<br />

Hilton Worldwide hired Mr. Brice Péan<br />

as General Manager of its newest hotel<br />

in China, the Hilton shanghai Hongqiao.<br />

Mr. Péan will be responsible for all aspects<br />

pertaining to the success of the hotel from a<br />

commercial, operational and financial point<br />

of view, in line with the Hilton values. Mr.<br />

Péan joins from The Fiji Beach resort & spa<br />

managed by Hilton Worldwide, where he<br />

held the position as General Manager.<br />

He brings to the role more than 20 years of<br />

experience, which spans four continents<br />

and some of the world’s most exclusive<br />

hotels. He has spent the past 11 years with<br />

the Hilton group. He is of French origin and<br />

holds a degree in hotel and tourism from the<br />

Tourism College of Innsbruck, Austria.


Ceremony for Continental<br />

Continental, one of the leading international automotive suppliers<br />

and tire producers worldwide, held the machinery installation<br />

ceremony for its new car tire plant in Hefei on 4 th July 2010.<br />

The ceremony coincided with the visit of a lower saxony state<br />

Government delegation from Germany at Anhui Province. The<br />

delegation, led by Mr. Jörg Bode, the Minister for economics,<br />

labor and Transport and Deputy Prime Minister of lower saxony,<br />

attended the Continental machinery installation ceremony.<br />

The first project phase has been successfully accomplished, with<br />

70,000m 2 of plant constructional area and state of the art machinery<br />

for tire manufacturing. Over eur 185mn of investment has been<br />

poured into Continental’s Passenger and light Truck Tires (PlT)<br />

Division, which is the first manufacturing unit for tires in China and<br />

part of the expansion and growth strategy of Continental in Asia.<br />

ruhlamat relocated Suzhou Factory<br />

Due to the surpassing growth rate of the industrial markets in Asia,<br />

the head office of ruhlamat China moved to a new plant in Suzhou<br />

Industrial Park, expanding the research & design office and the<br />

production facility. now ruhlamat (suzhou) has two buildings and a<br />

total plant area of 6500m 2 with 160 employees.<br />

2010 October - November 17


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

New Branch Managers at Kuehne + Nagel<br />

Kuehne + nagel ltd. is pleased to announce<br />

the appointment of Mr. Gino Marzola as<br />

Branch Manager shanghai since 1 st August<br />

2010.<br />

starting his career in the airfreight division<br />

of Kuehne + nagel Zurich, Mr. Marzola has<br />

been working in the international transport<br />

and logistics industry for more than 25 years.<br />

since 1991 he assumed various managerial<br />

positions in different Asian countries for<br />

Kuehne + nagel until he became Branch<br />

Manager for the Beijing organization in 2003.<br />

Mr. Peer rasmussen has been appointed<br />

as Branch Manager for Kuehne + nagel<br />

Beijing since 15 th July 2010. With vast<br />

industry experience in europe and the usA,<br />

rasmussen joined Kuehne + nagel Malaysia<br />

in 2004. Prior to joining Kuehne + nagel<br />

shanghai as seafreight Manager in 2008, he<br />

was General Manager – seafreight at Kuehne<br />

+ nagel Thailand and Cambodia.<br />

Kuehne + nagel is one of the world’s leading<br />

logistics providers with a presence at 40<br />

locations in China. The company employs<br />

more than 2,600 employees in the country.<br />

18 October - November 2010<br />

MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI<br />

Mr. Gino Marzola<br />

Mr. Peer rasmussen<br />

Niedersachsen Office held<br />

Reception<br />

The niedersachsen representative<br />

Office, together with niedersachsen<br />

Global, the foreign trade and investment<br />

promotion agency of niedersachsen,<br />

held a reception on the occasion of<br />

“transport logistic China” trade fair in<br />

shanghai. More than 100 high ranking<br />

guests, including senior managers from<br />

Cosco and China shipping attended the<br />

event to learn about niedersachsen as the<br />

“Gateway to europe”. The development<br />

of the new deep-water container harbour<br />

“JadeWeserPort” is of great significance<br />

also for China. Most of the guests were<br />

impressed by the presentations about<br />

niedersachsen’s transport connections<br />

as well as the current and future<br />

opportunities in regards to mobility and<br />

logistics.<br />

News from Abendbrot<br />

Mr. Karl Breitenwieser is the newest<br />

addition to the ABenDBrOT-team. In the<br />

course of their expansion Mr. Breitenwieser<br />

will be responsible for website development,<br />

customer care and logistics optimization.<br />

On multiple customer requests<br />

ABenDBrOT added spelt bread (not<br />

containing wheat) to their selection of<br />

professionally produced breads made with<br />

ingredients imported from Germany and<br />

also offers most of their breads in already<br />

cut versions. Furthermore they provide<br />

customers with free delivery without any<br />

minimum order quantity.


New Losberger Branch in Chengdu<br />

Tent specialist losberger recently opened a new branch in Chengdu.<br />

It is the fourth branch after shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou where<br />

losberger will offer a complete range of tent rental, sales services as<br />

well as an independent warehousing facility. Furthermore professional<br />

project managers and setup teams provide their support to customers.<br />

General Manager Christopher Odin and his team are looking forward<br />

to providing losberger’s premium event tents, festive marquees and<br />

temporary warehouses to West China’s finest events, exhibitions and<br />

to the manufacturing industry.<br />

New Marketing & Sales Manager<br />

at Ingenics<br />

Ms. Carolin Frey recently joined<br />

Ingenics Consulting in shanghai.<br />

she will be responsible for<br />

Marketing and sales as well<br />

as the Customer relationship<br />

Management. “China is one of<br />

the most rapidly emerging and<br />

dynamic markets. We always have<br />

to keep our eyes open, be sensitive<br />

about the development and<br />

recognize our customer needs,”<br />

said Ms. Frey.<br />

Prior to coming to China, Ms.<br />

Frey was working in the Ingenics<br />

Headquarters in Germany<br />

since 2005. After graduating<br />

in International Business<br />

Administration, Ms. Frey was active in Marketing for Central and<br />

eastern europe at the BMW Headquarters Munich, before joining<br />

the Marketing and sales Team at BMW in slovenia. Ms. Frey added<br />

that she is very excited about the challenges which lie ahead, as “we<br />

are already on the right course – our current projects all over China<br />

prove that we have made the right decisions in the past”.<br />

2010 October - November 19


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

20 October - November 2010<br />

MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI<br />

Grand Opening of WM Trading in Shanghai<br />

Ms. Michaela Beck, executive Chamber Manager and Mr. edward Hsu, General<br />

Manager of Kirin real estate opening the ceremony.<br />

Ernst & Young moves into Shanghai World Financial Center<br />

Catering for further expansion in China<br />

Ernst & Young has moved into a new office<br />

in China’s tallest building and premier<br />

location - shanghai World Financial Center<br />

(sWFC) in the Pudong District of shanghai.<br />

The new office brings together ernst &<br />

Young’s 2,500 people under one roof<br />

enabling the company to provwide better<br />

services to its clients and catering for its<br />

further expansion in the China market.<br />

Previously with its Shanghai office in three<br />

different locations, ernst & Young now<br />

occupies eight floors at sWFC, equivalent<br />

to approx. 30,000m², helping meet ernst &<br />

Young’s growing demand for office space as<br />

business needs accelerate in China.<br />

The grand opening ceremony in August<br />

2010 was officiated by Mr. Xu lin, Party<br />

secretary of shanghai Pudong new Area<br />

(PDnA) People’s Government, standing<br />

Committee of the CPC shanghai Municipal<br />

Committee, and Mr. Yan Xu, Deputy<br />

Governor of shanghai PDnA, standing<br />

Committee of the CPC shanghai PDnA.<br />

Mr. James Turley, Global Chairman and<br />

CeO of ernst & Young, said, “Our business<br />

in China, which is one of the world’s largest<br />

economies, forms an essential part of our<br />

business globally. Our confidence in the long<br />

term prospects in China is demonstrated<br />

in the investment in our business and<br />

our people. We currently have over 9,000<br />

people in China, and will further grow our<br />

manpower with the business”.<br />

Mr. Albert ng, ernst & Young’s China<br />

Chairman and Greater China Managing<br />

Partner, said, “The move to our new home<br />

at sWFC underscores how committed we<br />

are to expand our business in China. China<br />

offers exciting growth prospects for ernst<br />

& Young, and we are proud to play an<br />

On 28 th July 2010 WM Trading (shanghai) ltd. held an opening<br />

ceremony in the Kirin Plaza, shanghai. The company is a subsidiary<br />

of WM Motors and will offer services for marketing environmental<br />

and green power products, technical support, after sales and<br />

distribution network. Furthermore, WM Trading was established in<br />

order to expand overall business in Asia and to handle local projects<br />

in China.<br />

Mrs. Isabel Wiedenroth, CeO of WM Motors GmbH, said, “In this<br />

way we show our trust in the Chinese market, our confidence in our<br />

cooperation partners and we believe in our China success, due to<br />

experienced intercultural knowledge, intelligent marketing strategy<br />

and sustainable company concept.” The event was supported by<br />

the German Chamber of Commerce � shanghai. During the opening<br />

ceremony Mr. Titus Freiherr von dem Bongart, Board Member<br />

German Chamber of Commerce � shanghai, explained in his speech<br />

that China is still a challenging place to do business, in particular<br />

for small and medium-sized companies. He stated that despite all<br />

circumstances WM Trading has already successfully taken the first<br />

hurdle in upgrading its operational set up from a representative<br />

office to a legal entity and this within only two years.<br />

important role in the development of the<br />

shanghai and national economy”.<br />

ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance,<br />

tax, transaction and advisory services.<br />

Worldwide, our 144,000 people are united<br />

by our shared values and an unwavering<br />

commitment to quality. We make a difference<br />

by helping our people, our clients and our<br />

wider communities achieve their potential.<br />

Mr. Albert ng, China Chairman and Greater China Managing Partner of ernst & Young (left) and<br />

Mr. James Turley, Global Chairman and CeO of ernst & Young


2010 October - November 21


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

Davie Lu<br />

Company: Fox Holdings<br />

Job Title/Position: CEO<br />

Year of Foundation: 2003<br />

HQ (location): Shanghai, China<br />

Main Business: Outlet Shopping Mall<br />

Number of Employees: Above 1,000<br />

22 October - November 2010<br />

MEET THE MEMBER<br />

What is your personal and business<br />

background?<br />

While I was doing my MBA abroad, I recognised<br />

that “outlet” as a business field would<br />

have a potential market in China. Therefore,<br />

I decided to introduce this retail format to<br />

China. luckily, I was the first person with<br />

this idea and in 2003 I established Fox Holdings<br />

in shanghai. up until now, the company<br />

has grown into one of the most popular and<br />

largest discount retail chains in China.<br />

Could you tell us a little bit about your<br />

company and activities in China?<br />

Fox Holdings manages outlet retail chains<br />

as its main business. We own two outlet<br />

brands, Foxcity and Douglas. In addition to<br />

outlet retail chains, we also offer services in<br />

the B2C (business-to-consumer) field. In this<br />

regard we are cooperating with a popular<br />

German duty-free store, Jelmoli, which developed<br />

an entertaining shopping internet<br />

platform named Mysiq.com. It provides<br />

clients with global luxury goods at european<br />

prices, similar to an online shopping centre.<br />

What are your short- and long-term objectives,<br />

especially in China?<br />

Within the next two years we are planning to<br />

open more stores like the Guiyang store and<br />

eerduosi store. Furthermore, Fox Holdings<br />

is introducing the garden-style shopping<br />

village model from europe to the Chinese<br />

market. This model combines travel with<br />

shopping, like our Douglas Brands Village<br />

in suzhou. We feel that this concept is getting<br />

more and more popular. That’s why<br />

we are planning to build more than seven<br />

garden-style shopping villages in the cities<br />

of Beijing, Chengdu, Guangxi, Changzhou,<br />

Wuhan, shenyang and nanjing in the years<br />

2010 to 2012. each village will cover an area<br />

of more than 100,000m 2 .<br />

What is your competitive selling point?<br />

Our business philosophy is “big brands,<br />

small prices”. This basically means that we<br />

always strive to provide high-end brands<br />

at affordable prices. Our goal is to ensure<br />

that customers have the possibility to either<br />

choose their favourite brands or just enjoy a<br />

pleasant shopping experience.<br />

Any top tips for doing business in<br />

China?<br />

since China is so big, its business market is<br />

very complex. There are a lot of opportunities<br />

but also huge challenges. Furthermore, the regional<br />

differences are extreme, e.g. between the<br />

northern and the southern parts of China. And<br />

since people’s lifestyles and habits are very different,<br />

it’s very important to make an analysis<br />

of the market and its environment before you<br />

decide on a special kind of business.


2010 October - November 23


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

24 October - November 2010<br />

MEMBER NEWS SOUTH CHINA<br />

MEMBER NEWS<br />

SOUTH CHINA<br />

The 300t heavy two colour plastic injection machine has arrived at IPTA shenzhen<br />

TDK-EPC Corporate Culture<br />

and Vision Alignment<br />

TDK-ePC Zhuhai FTZ Managers shaping the<br />

visions for 2020.<br />

On 2 nd and 3 rd July 2010, the management<br />

of TDK-ePC Zhuhai FTZ gathered in order<br />

to review the local core ideology of the<br />

company and its vision for 2020. This second<br />

step in their ongoing vision and corporate<br />

culture alignment project gave the managers<br />

a unique opportunity to contribute to the<br />

local culture and to shape the vision for<br />

2020.<br />

On the first day of the workshop, around<br />

forty leaders reviewed the core values and<br />

created the behaviour traits for each value.<br />

On the following day, leaders focused on the<br />

TDK-ePC’s 2020 vision and strategic roles.<br />

In addition to that, they also identified key<br />

leadership competencies and behaviours<br />

necessary to hit their target.<br />

German Industry & Commerce Greater<br />

China | Guangzhou and sino Associates<br />

facilitated the workshop which was held in<br />

Sofitel Royal Lagoon Hotel Dongguan.<br />

Allianz set up Subsidiary in<br />

Guangzhou<br />

With the official approval from the Chinese<br />

Insurance regulatory Commission, Allianz<br />

Insurance Company Guangzhou Branch has<br />

transformed from a branch into a subsidiary.<br />

It has recently completed all legal processes<br />

including business license application<br />

procedures to reconstitute itself as Allianz<br />

China General Insurance Company ltd.<br />

The new subsidiary has offcially commenced<br />

operations on 1 st July 2010 and provides<br />

insurance coverage for large commercial<br />

entities in the fields of property, engineering,<br />

liability and marine. The official ribbon<br />

cutting ceremony took place on 23 rd July<br />

2010.<br />

From left: CeO Mr. K. Voeste und regional Manager<br />

Mr. K-H. Jung cut the ribbon on 23 rd July 2010<br />

Customer Service Award for Linde<br />

On the Ge (China) supplier Day on 22 nd<br />

July 2010, linde (China) received the "2009<br />

Customer service excellence Award". Mr.<br />

sC Tee, strategic Marketing Director of<br />

linde (China), was glad that his company<br />

emerged among the many suppliers who<br />

were invited to the event. As an equipment<br />

manufacturer, it was the only company<br />

of its industry that received this service<br />

excellence award. Ge recognized linde<br />

for being a “responsible company with<br />

high integrity, while also being simple and<br />

efficient in the services provided to Ge<br />

across the various business units.”<br />

State of the Art Machine<br />

arrived at IPTA Shenzhen<br />

The Institute of Plastic Technology<br />

and Application (IPTA) in shenzhen<br />

announced the arrival of its new two<br />

colour plastic injection machine. Built<br />

by one of the leading plastic processing<br />

machine manufacturers, the German<br />

Krauss Maffei, it offers a clamp force<br />

of up to 300t with two injection units<br />

and integrated turn table. Completely<br />

equipped with German Koch drying and<br />

dosing equipment and a closed cooling<br />

system of German single, this state of<br />

the art unit offers high precision plastic<br />

part manufacturing according to German<br />

industry standards. With this IPTA now<br />

has widened its service range of mould<br />

testing and qualification to all its clients,<br />

specifically in the two colour technology.<br />

Having increased the machine capacity<br />

IPTA will now also be able to offer plastic<br />

injection processing workshops to the<br />

public.<br />

Grand Opening for Hella<br />

With successful operations at Hella Beijing<br />

and its Chengdu Representative Office, Hella<br />

Trading (shanghai) Co. ltd. opened the third<br />

Representative Office in Guangzhou in July<br />

2010. Guangzhou is one of the largest spare<br />

parts markets and a strategic focus of Hella<br />

in south China. With the establishment<br />

of the Guangzhou rep. Office, Hella will<br />

provide faster and better sales service as<br />

well as a platform to promote new products<br />

to customers in this region. “Guangzhou<br />

rep. Office has been established to carry<br />

out the ‘4+2' concept and to be closer to<br />

the customers of this region and to offer<br />

them full-service solutions,” said Mr. lionel<br />

Vautrin, General Manager of Hella Trading<br />

(shanghai) Co. ltd.


Opening Party SEC & OYNT<br />

On 16 th June, south east Consulting (seC) and<br />

shenzhen Ou Ya nike Technologies (OYnT)<br />

celebrated their office opening. Members of<br />

the German Community, members of GCC l<br />

south China as well as business partners and<br />

key suppliers of seC and OYnT attended the<br />

opening of the 128m² office. The new office<br />

is located between longHua and Meilin and<br />

will enable six employees to consult German<br />

companies in China as well as to trade “green”<br />

products to europe. Furthermore, the office<br />

improves the cooperation between seC and<br />

OYnT whose CeO is Dr. Martin sonnek.<br />

OYnT is a recently founded company which<br />

produces plastic and metal products at an<br />

own factory. It mainly focuses on professional<br />

technical, automotive and medical goods.<br />

CeO Dr. Martin sonnek has a toast on the new<br />

office<br />

We provide solutions.<br />

Shanghai 2010 EXPO<br />

Shanghai Pavillion<br />

Sweden Pavillion<br />

Bremen Pavillion<br />

New Office Space for Companies in Hong Kong<br />

With the opening of its 12 th business centre<br />

in Hong Kong, the workplace solutions<br />

provider regus offers companies the<br />

space they need to grasp the opportunities<br />

opened up by Asia’s continued economic<br />

recovery. real estate services firm Jones<br />

Lang LaSalle (JLL) expects office rentals in<br />

the city to go up by at least 20-25% in 2010<br />

as a result of lack of supply combined with<br />

growing demand. Grade-A office space in<br />

Hong Kong is particularly scarce in the<br />

central business district where the<br />

regus Hong Kong entertainment<br />

Building centre is situated.<br />

Adding almost 30 muchneeded<br />

offices to the city’s<br />

portfolio, it is located on<br />

the 30 th and 31 st floors<br />

in the highest zone<br />

of the building.<br />

Ambrosius works for EXPO 2010.<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

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130 years experience in Germany make us your best<br />

partner for your next EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS, INTERIORS,<br />

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Road 200051 Shanghai / ph. +86(21)62285533 / m. +86 18601790188<br />

info@ambrosius-china.com<br />

2010 October - November 25


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

26 October - November 2010<br />

COVER STORY<br />

scrutinizing gummy candy at Trolli Guangzhou Confectionary Co. ltd.<br />

Al Dente?<br />

China's Ingredients<br />

for safe Food put on<br />

the Menu<br />

recalling the media hysteria during the recent food scandals in<br />

China, one could easily assume that Chinese food safety legislation<br />

is slack. However, did you know that bakeries need a separate room<br />

in which to process high risk products such as eggs? Or that workers<br />

in a food factory have to get fully changed before going for lunch?<br />

not to mention that water for drinking is only allowed in specially<br />

designated areas outside of the food production line? Or, that you<br />

need four separate locker rooms for workers inside packaging,<br />

outside packaging, warehouse and maintenance as well as kitchen<br />

areas of which each is divided into male and female? Considering<br />

these examples, it is worth taking a closer look at two exemplary<br />

food producers in south China who share their experiences of this<br />

highly complex topic.<br />

let’s get one thing straight right from the beginning: “China has<br />

one of the strictest food safety laws in the world,” reveals Mr. Karl<br />

Inninger, General Manager of the world’s second-largest gummy<br />

candy producer Trolli. “Many links in the production chain are<br />

over-regulated,” he concedes. This observation might be quite<br />

true for a gummy candy factory. From a food safety point of view,<br />

the production of gummy candy involves comparably low risk<br />

because the main ingredients such as sugar and flavours are neither<br />

temperature sensitive, perishable or in any other way perilous.<br />

However, the Chinese food safety law does not distinguish between<br />

high and low risk products and therefore applies the welcomingly<br />

strict regulations for high risk meat or milk to Trolli as well.<br />

According to Mr. Inninger, China’s regulatory food safety system<br />

today very much resembles the one in Western countries 30 years<br />

ago. Germany, for example, experienced and acknowledged that too<br />

detailed and too strict regulations might cause the opposite effect


to what they intended. nowadays, it is more common to introduce<br />

guidelines and reward adherence to voluntary standards, which help<br />

to increase overall food safety, quality and awareness.<br />

As a rule of thumb, Chinese legislation tries to generalise laws<br />

and regulations rather than to specify in regard to products or<br />

regions. new laws passed by the central government in Beijing<br />

are often unfunded mandates which pose an enormous burden on<br />

local officials as they lack the resources and means to carry out the<br />

directives. “The officials in Beijing do have an extensive knowledge<br />

of food safety related issues,” Mr. Inninger notes, “however,<br />

local authorities often lack the full understanding and means for<br />

implementation.” Furthermore, officials in China’s rural areas are<br />

faced with difficult decisions when enforcing new directives. If<br />

they shut down a food processor, not only do much needed jobs get<br />

lost but also rural incomes such as taxes decrease. In its 2008 paper<br />

“Advancing Food safety in China”, the united nations pointed out<br />

that “because of difficulties of coordination within government, there<br />

are corresponding difficulties of coordination between the different<br />

inspection and enforcement authorities at the local level. This gives<br />

rise to duplication in enforcement in some areas and insufficient<br />

enforcement in other areas.”<br />

local authorities face an additional challenge when as yet unknown<br />

production or processing methods are applied by foreign companies.<br />

A good example is provided by the small traditional German bakery<br />

Backstube [the better bakery] in shenzhen. First of all, it is of course<br />

difficult to implement a traditional German production concept in<br />

China that does not fit into the Chinese definition of a bakery. It is<br />

even more difficult to explain why there might not be any need to<br />

build a separate room to process high risk ingredients like eggs.<br />

The ingredients for handmade German bread are flour, water, yeast<br />

and salt – no potentially decaying eggs, no emulsifying, stabilising<br />

and preserving agents and no colours or other critical ingredients<br />

common in industrial bread production. In contrast, a very common<br />

ingredient in German bakeries is the potentially hazardous lye<br />

needed for pretzel or lye bread production. Therefore, its storage and<br />

handling is stated precisely by German ordinances. However, as this<br />

ingredient is not common in China, no such official regulations for<br />

the food industry exist.<br />

Another peculiarity of China’s food production and processing<br />

industry is the dominance of small processors, with almost 80% of<br />

them having less than ten employees. regulating these small and<br />

mobile entities is particularly difficult as they are flexible enough<br />

to move locations or switch products when faced with an adverse<br />

situation. Therefore, the government focuses on imposing food safety<br />

regulations first on bigger companies that export to international<br />

markets. With total food exports of about usD 7.17bn in the first<br />

quarter of 2009, China continues to grow as a major food exporter<br />

and subsequently becomes more and more dependent on trade with<br />

the international community.<br />

Moreover, a food scandal abroad threatens to seriously damage<br />

the reputation of products made in China. As a result, the state<br />

Administration of Quality supervision, Inspection and Quarantine<br />

(AQsIQ) rigorously monitors all food products that leave the country.<br />

As a supplier to the entire Asia-Pacific and American market, Trolli<br />

in Guangzhou exports 75% of its annual gummy candy production<br />

to over 50 countries. every container is checked and released by<br />

AQSIQ officials who take samples. This procedure can take up to ten<br />

working days. The officials also visit Trolli’s production facilities once<br />

a month, checking the flow of materials and finished goods, taking<br />

samples, speaking to the workers and so on.<br />

Testing, analysing and auditing are the key to ensure food quality<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

Apart from adhering to local government controls, Trolli has also<br />

made the effort to transfer German food safety principles to its<br />

China operations. In 2007, the Guangzhou factory was successfully<br />

certified by the German TÜV technical inspection association<br />

according to the International Featured standard Food (IFs),<br />

pioneering this certification in China. The standard was introduced<br />

in 2003 by the German Association of retailers and its counterpart,<br />

the French retailers & Wholesalers Association. Based on the quality<br />

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EWM HIGHTEC WELDING (Kunshan) Ltd.<br />

10 Yuanshan Road,<br />

Kunshan New & High-Tech Industry Development Zone,<br />

Kunshan, Jiangsu, 215300 P.R.China<br />

伊达高科焊接(昆山)有限公司<br />

江苏省昆山市昆山高新技术产业开发区圆山路10号<br />

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Phone: +86(0) 512 57867188<br />

Fax: +86(0)512 57867182<br />

www.ewm.cn · info@ewm.cn<br />

2010 October - November 27


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

28 October - November 2010<br />

COVER STORY<br />

An underestimated challenge: producing traditional German bread in China<br />

management norm IsO 9001:2000, it also includes the principles of<br />

HACCP (Hazards-Analysis Critical Control Point) as defined by the<br />

World Health Organization. The aim of this concept is to minimise<br />

food-related illnesses – such as food poisoning – and thus make food<br />

safer.<br />

In order to achieve this level of compliance, critical points within<br />

the food production chain are precisely monitored and documented,<br />

while the producer must ensure traceability and regular training in<br />

conjunction with self-inspection. A 16 person quality management<br />

team with its own lab handles all the related testing of samples<br />

directly at Trolli China. To ensure objectivity, Trolli sends 25 samples<br />

per month to a third-party lab run by the Global Business Academy<br />

in Berlin and frequently works with international testing centres and<br />

providers like TÜV and sGs.<br />

In addition to testing, the company must ensure proper<br />

documentation and traceability. Trolli produces 8t of gummy candy<br />

per eight-hour shift with production running 24/7. Within the next<br />

six months capacity will even double to over 16t. every sample<br />

of every batch of "mini burger” or “sour gummy worms” has to<br />

be archived for up to 15 months depending on the shelf life of the<br />

product. The bigger the product portfolio the more complicated the<br />

documentation process becomes.<br />

The quality of ingredients can usually only be guaranteed if they<br />

are imported or if they are sourced from international, certified food<br />

producers based in China. The Backstube in shenzhen imports all of<br />

its flour from Germany. Trolli Guangzhou uses the same suppliers<br />

for ingredients and flavours as its German business. All suppliers<br />

have to withstand a thorough annual audit. Furthermore, the<br />

main equipment and production machinery is also imported from<br />

Germany. The German bakery in shenzhen has a proofer in place<br />

that features a cooling function as well. This is very uncommon<br />

for Chinese proofers but comes in handy in south China, where<br />

temperatures often range above 30°C – the optimum condition under<br />

which germs spread.<br />

Another critical element in promoting food safety and the adherence<br />

to obligatory or voluntary standards is education. Trolli’s factory in<br />

Guangzhou might not be the biggest plant in the group but it plays<br />

a crucial role in product innovation. Due to the relatively low cost<br />

of labour in China, the factory is able to produce very innovative<br />

gummy candy in relatively low quantities at a competitive price.<br />

However, this labour intensive and manual production process<br />

poses further challenges to the adherence of food safety standards.<br />

safety and hygiene are considerably dependent on the education,<br />

training, discipline and awareness of the workforce. Food safety can<br />

only be achieved if everyone involved in every step of the process<br />

knows about the risks. According to Mr. Inninger, food scandals are<br />

the most powerful means of increasing public awareness. As China’s<br />

economy continues to develop, Chinese consumers are more and<br />

more taking into account the quality of the food they eat.<br />

The Chinese government understands the importance of food<br />

safety for the health of the country’s population as well as for its<br />

trade economy. Passing new bills and improving existing ones is<br />

the first step to ensuring safe food. It will not be an easy task to<br />

coordinate responsibilities among the many relevant authorities<br />

across the country, but increasing funds will help. As more and more<br />

international companies set up shop in China, they will not only<br />

bring with them new food processing methods but also better food<br />

safety standards. Some of those standards, such as the IFS certificate,<br />

might inspire China in its quest to guarantee safe food. HB/Css<br />

The essentials of gummy candy: mixing flavours at Trolli Guangzhou


Watch What<br />

You Eat:<br />

The Growing Importance<br />

of Food Safety in China<br />

Over the past five years, food product sales in China have recorded<br />

double-digit growth. This reflects the growing spending power of<br />

Chinese consumers, who are earning more and have access to a<br />

wider range of foodstuffs than ever before. At the same time, public<br />

awareness of food safety is rising sharply, as is the demand for better<br />

food safety practices. Today, when consumers dine at a restaurant,<br />

they do not only consider price, taste and dining environment, but they<br />

also evaluate the quality of the ingredients in the food on their plate.<br />

In response to these changing market conditions, the Chinese<br />

government has made food safety a top priority. The Food Safety Law,<br />

which came into force on 1 st June 2010, sets out specific food safety<br />

standards and requirements for the production and sale of food.<br />

The theme of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, “Better City,<br />

Better Life”, has drawn the world’s attention to ensuring a liveable<br />

and sustainable future. To apply this theme to the food industry,<br />

enterprises engaged in the production of food should establish<br />

collaborative efforts along the entire food supply chain to create safe<br />

and sustainable solutions.<br />

At the Duesseldorf Pavilion in the Urban Best Practices Area at the<br />

Expo, the German wholesale giant METRO Cash & Carry has<br />

translated the Expo theme into “Better Food, Better Life” with its<br />

traceability restaurant Good Food Bistro. The bistro provides local<br />

German dishes with ingredients coming from traceable products<br />

grown locally in China. Through information terminals inside the<br />

pavilion, Expo visitors can track the journey of onions, potatoes, sword<br />

beans, pork, beef and other food materials “From Farm to Fork”.<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

产品追溯码 Traceability Code:<br />

09022410001001001<br />

Date: 6 bit<br />

LAC ID: 3 bit<br />

2010 October - November 29<br />

Processing Plant<br />

Code: 1 bit<br />

Tent No.: 2 bit<br />

Farm Base Code: 3 bit<br />

Product Code: 2 bit<br />

A star Farm product with traceability code


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

Understanding the Food Story<br />

According to Mr. Tino Zeiske, President<br />

of MeTrO Cash & Carry China, it is<br />

“prerequisite for best food safety practices<br />

to know the story behind the food.”<br />

MeTrO sets an example with its traceability<br />

restaurant, the only one in the world.<br />

Furthermore, it encourages China’s food<br />

industry to make product information<br />

transparent to their customers.<br />

To be sure, not every supplier can meet these<br />

requirements. leading food production<br />

and supply enterprises often have unique<br />

business models and promote innovative<br />

initiatives. This allows them to develop the<br />

best practises in China’s food industry.<br />

From Farm to Fork<br />

One way of ensuring<br />

food safety is to<br />

establish local<br />

projects in<br />

China based on<br />

international<br />

standards such as<br />

GAP, IFs and IsO<br />

22000. star Farm,<br />

which MeTrO<br />

has established in<br />

2007, provides local<br />

farmers and agricultural<br />

enterprises in China with<br />

training and consultation on<br />

production, processing, packaging and<br />

logistics. A team of trainers visits sites across<br />

China, inspecting farm base management<br />

methods and designing customised<br />

improvement plans for each manufacturer.<br />

The traceability system, invented by MeTrO<br />

China, record every detail in the process of<br />

packaging, storage and transportation, and<br />

deliver all the information to customers<br />

through a unique traceability barcode on the<br />

product package.<br />

This code, whether on a box of apples or<br />

a bag of chicken wings, allows customers<br />

to clearly trace all the production<br />

information (farm location, processing<br />

details, distribution, etc.) of the food on the<br />

terminals provided at a supplier’s stores or<br />

related websites.<br />

While adopting innovative systems might<br />

seem like a logical thing to do, many Chinese<br />

food production companies are still coming<br />

to terms with the changes in the industry.<br />

One such example is Mr. Xu, the Director of<br />

a local food processing plant in Hefei, who<br />

was once indifferent to the need to systemise<br />

his factory’s sanitation procedures said, “It’s<br />

30 October - November 2010<br />

COVER STORY<br />

all about sweeping the floor, isn’t it? Why<br />

should I bother to systemise it?” In reality,<br />

factory sanitation requires much more. One<br />

of the most advanced factory management<br />

techniques is the 5s management mode,<br />

according to which the manufacturing<br />

environment is systematically arranged into<br />

5 areas: sort, set order, sanitise, standardise<br />

and sustain. Take “set order” for example:<br />

the factory is required to put all of its tools in<br />

set places so that it is easy to find them when<br />

they are needed and avoid possible mistakes<br />

from arising if they are stored together.<br />

Meanwhile, all the tools must be categorised<br />

by frequency of use, with different storage<br />

areas distinguished from each other by<br />

different colours. Only in this way can the<br />

factory not only ensure its<br />

sanitary standards<br />

but also enhance<br />

I am an apple, a unique apple,<br />

in that I have an “ID” card of my<br />

own. Through the traceability system,<br />

this 17-digit “ID” card enables you to<br />

immediately check out my life experience.<br />

I was born on a 220-acre farm in Laiyang,<br />

Shandong Province. After tests for diseases,<br />

insects and pesticide residues, I was sent<br />

by a third-party logistics company with<br />

professional certification to the METRO<br />

store on 20 th June 2010. I hope this<br />

information will ensure your trust<br />

in food safety.<br />

production<br />

efficiency. Of<br />

course, factory<br />

sanitation is<br />

just a tiny<br />

part of quality<br />

control, and<br />

more systematic<br />

work has to be<br />

finished so as to<br />

guarantee product<br />

quality. Ignoring<br />

these details can affect<br />

a producer’s sales.<br />

Cold Chain Management<br />

Growing demand for seafood, meat and<br />

other cold foods is forcing suppliers to come<br />

up with better ways of moving goods from<br />

farms to factories and into retail stores. This is<br />

especially necessary in a developing country<br />

One of the farm bases that has accepted star Farm training and guidance<br />

such as China, which lacks an adequate<br />

transport infrastructure, particularly in its<br />

central and western regions.<br />

leading suppliers are developing advanced<br />

cold chain management systems for<br />

sustained safe food supply. Cold chain<br />

management is more than just the transport<br />

route; it includes processing, storage,<br />

transport, distribution and sales. The best<br />

companies working in this field cover the<br />

entire supply chain with a temperature<br />

monitored environment, which safeguards<br />

the freshness and safety of frozen and chilled<br />

food products.<br />

An automatic temperature logger is used<br />

during the distribution of frozen and<br />

chilled foods, ensuring that the temperature<br />

complies with regulations. In order to strictly<br />

monitor the third-party service provider,<br />

suppliers require that each cool truck has<br />

to submit electronic temperature control<br />

records as soon as it arrives at the designated<br />

receiving site. This allows quality control<br />

staff to trace the changes in temperature that<br />

occurred on the road.<br />

In addition, the loading platforms at<br />

distribution centres are pre-cooled when<br />

sending and receiving products. Meat and<br />

aquatic products are strictly measured<br />

to ensure both the interior and exterior<br />

temperatures meet the required standards.<br />

Big companies sell thousands of types of<br />

food every day, each requiring different<br />

temperature control. The best storage<br />

temperature for salmon and fresh pork is<br />

0 - 4℃, 0 - 10℃ for fruit and vegetables and<br />

-18℃ for frozen food. To this end, suppliers<br />

install multi-temperature controls in their<br />

distribution vehicles to effectively maintain<br />

the freshness of all products.


Good Food Bistro: the only traceability restaurant in the world<br />

HACCP - A Hazard-Proof Gate<br />

The Hazard Analysis & Critical Control<br />

Point (HACCP) system ensures that<br />

various hazards in the process of receiving,<br />

processing, storing and selling of goods<br />

can be identified and controlled. It has,<br />

according to the World Health Organization,<br />

become the universally recognised and<br />

accepted method for food safety assurance.<br />

With such a scientific system in place, food<br />

safety or quality problems can be prevented.<br />

At each MeTrO<br />

store for example,<br />

meat, fish, fruit<br />

and vegetables<br />

are marked with<br />

different colours;<br />

corresponding<br />

operating tables,<br />

tools and staff<br />

uniforms share<br />

the same colour<br />

to minimise the<br />

possibility of cross<br />

contamination. All<br />

the semi-finished<br />

and bare products<br />

are put into logistic<br />

boxes and loaded<br />

onto pallets that are kept away from floors<br />

and walls. Pork halves, upon their arrival at<br />

a store, are suspended from special slide rail<br />

devices.<br />

It is not only Chinese consumers and<br />

private enterprises that are becoming more<br />

concerned about food safety; government<br />

and public departments are also taking<br />

extra measures. The Chengdu Jinjiang<br />

District Government wanted to take steps to<br />

guarantee sanitary standards at its affiliated<br />

canteen, but workers there were operating<br />

under outdated sanitation concepts. In<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

addition, there was no systematic plan for<br />

related measures.<br />

To address this issue, workers at the canteen<br />

were enrolled on a training programme and<br />

educated on best practices based on HACCP<br />

ideas and approaches. The canteen director<br />

was very interested in HACCP colour<br />

management. In the past, kitchen tools such<br />

as knives, towels, chopping boards and<br />

mops were not separated, jeopardising food<br />

safety. soon after the programme ended,<br />

employees were trained to strictly separate<br />

different tools and began using HACCP<br />

colour-coded knives.<br />

By improving food safety along the entire<br />

supply chain - and not just focusing on selling<br />

end-products - food suppliers can improve<br />

their business operations and establish a<br />

strong reputation in the Chinese market.<br />

Ms. Katrin Sulzmann is the Head of<br />

Corporate Communications, External Affairs<br />

& CSR, METRO Cash & Carry China.<br />

For further information please contact her at:<br />

* katrin.sulzmann@metro.com.cn<br />

2010 October - November 31


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

Catching the Cod<br />

32 October - November 2010<br />

COVER STORY<br />

The Journey of the Cod<br />

How the full Supply Chain is managed<br />

Seafood is a popular type of food the world over,<br />

especially fish, which is regarded as a good source of<br />

natural high-quality protein. The fresher the better, most<br />

consumers would agree, but that is not always the most<br />

convenient option. Over the years, frozen fish products,<br />

such as fish filets, have proliferated, and can now be<br />

found in grocery stores almost anywhere.<br />

Like almost all other goods, seafood is now a part<br />

of the global trade network, but unlike many other<br />

products, it is much harder to move around. Over the<br />

years, refrigerated transport has become an essential<br />

link in the supply chain for cold food, ensuring that the<br />

customer is supplied with safe and high-quality food.<br />

The north Atlantic is one of the world’s most valuable fishing<br />

grounds. For countries such as norway and Iceland, the seafood<br />

industry is the driving force of their economies - Iceland alone<br />

catches nearly 2.7mn tons of fish per year, including over 200 species.<br />

Historically, the most valuable fish is cod, a popular white fish that<br />

today remains highly sought after by most fishermen. The northeast<br />

Atlantic harbours the world’s largest population of cod, and<br />

is primarily fished by european union member states. The largest<br />

consumer market for this species is europe.<br />

The fish caught in the north Atlantic undertake a long journey to<br />

your local grocery store. After being unloaded, the cod are moved<br />

to a cold storage facility, where they are frozen for transportation.<br />

Frozen goods are transported at a temperature of -18℃ or lower,<br />

while chilled cargo is shipped at a temperature above its freezing<br />

point.<br />

© shutterstock<br />

There are three basic types of transport<br />

available: sea, which includes conventional<br />

ships and container ships, land, primarily<br />

road and rail as well as air. The seafood<br />

supply chain often combines more than one<br />

of these methods of transport; this combination<br />

is known as an intermodal transport system.<br />

The cod are transported to a main shipping port in the<br />

eu, where the container is prepared for export to China -<br />

now the world leader in seafood processing.<br />

China’s Role in the Supply Chain<br />

Qingdao, commonly known for its production of the beer with the<br />

same name, is also the hub of the nation’s seafood reprocessing<br />

industry. In 2009, China exported over 6mn tons of seafood products<br />

and imported nearly 4mn tons. The export value reached usD 16bn,<br />

while the import value topped usD 5.3bn in the same year.<br />

Once the shipment arrives in China, the frozen fish are put into cold<br />

storage or sold directly to local processing plants. They are thawed<br />

so that factory workers can fillet the cod by hand. This makes use of<br />

the cheap local labour force and reduces the cost for both consumers<br />

and food companies.<br />

Processing plants in China have been handling this business for<br />

more than ten years. As a result, they are very aware of the demands<br />

of the european market, and are internationally focused in their<br />

business operations.<br />

For the return trip, the cod are refrozen and then shipped to the eu<br />

or to other markets such as the united states or Australia. Careful


quality control inspections are carried out in cold storage facilities<br />

in the receiving countries. After the stock passes inspection, it is<br />

trucked to a distributor where it is stored, re-packed and branded for<br />

retail markets.<br />

Customers are then able to find their choice of filleted cod in<br />

local grocery stores all over the world, completely unaware of the<br />

extensive journey the fish has taken. In total, this process takes<br />

roughly 80 days.<br />

It is essential to the supply chain that the cod remains cold, but there<br />

are still only a few transport companies that offer full supply chain<br />

support. The refrigerated food market is a growing industry with<br />

many new opportunities and offers a significant rate of return.<br />

Keeping the Food Cool<br />

For the whole supply chain, specialised refrigerated equipment is<br />

required to monitor and control the cargo’s temperature. Besides<br />

their role in transporting cold food, refrigeration systems can be<br />

used to both cool down and heat up goods. This is useful if an order<br />

has specific or changing temperature requirements, and is also<br />

an important property for chilled goods transportation,<br />

especially when the outdoor temperature changes (e.g.<br />

in cold climates).<br />

Depending on the requirements of the commodity<br />

in question, refrigerated systems are used to<br />

maintain a specified temperature at all times.<br />

Therefore, the food should already be precooled<br />

to the required temperature before it is<br />

loaded.<br />

The technical requirements for refrigerated<br />

transport units are more stringent than for<br />

most other applications of refrigeration.<br />

Amongst other things, the equipment in a<br />

refrigerated transport unit has to operate in a<br />

wide range of ambient temperatures and under<br />

extremely variable weather conditions – especially<br />

when it is transported by ship. It has to be able to carry<br />

an array of cargo with different, yet specific, temperature<br />

requirements. Finally, it must be durable and reliable in the<br />

often harsh transport environment.<br />

A low temperature is needed for frozen goods, but in general a<br />

specific temperature range is not a critical requirement. For example,<br />

a cargo with a requested temperature of -18℃ usually has a generous<br />

tolerance level and will not suffer if it cools even further. A reliable<br />

on/off control switch system is used, which begins cooling the cargo<br />

whenever the temperature rises to a set point.<br />

On long journeys however, frozen food shouldn’t be exposed to<br />

big changes in temperature. This can potentially cause moisture<br />

migration and result in a loss in quality. some chilled goods also<br />

require close temperature control, especially where two given limits<br />

are asserted. Too low a temperature will damage them, while too<br />

high a temperature will reduce their shelf life.<br />

Close temperature control systems for chilled goods require<br />

continuous, modulated refrigeration combined with high rates of<br />

air circulation. This inherently requires a greater deal of power and<br />

energy for frozen foods with an on/off control system. The control<br />

of these systems, particularly for long journeys, needs to be rigorous.<br />

The best way of managing temperature conditions is to equip the<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

ships and intermodal container transport units with monitoring<br />

systems. rail and road vehicles have less strict specifications<br />

which are acceptable for shorter journeys, while comparatively lax<br />

temperature control is acceptable for rapid air transport.<br />

Getting Ahead in the Business<br />

success in this trade is built on know-how and connections in the<br />

food industry. A winning business in this field must be able to offer<br />

cutting edge insight. The key priority for a logistics company is the<br />

establishment of a fully integrated service and the ability to supply<br />

the customer with safe and wholesome goods. Compliance with<br />

strict rules governing hygiene is also essential.<br />

More recently, environmental issues have come to play an important<br />

role in the industry. The development of refrigerated transport<br />

systems with high energy-efficiency is a new requirement designed<br />

to cut both costs and energy use. As the next step, end-user<br />

awareness should be raised regarding the long-term environmental<br />

and economic benefits of such energy-efficient equipment.<br />

Mr. Bjoern Traemann is the Ocean Freight Product Manager,<br />

Northern China, at DB Schenker Beijing. Over the past five years,<br />

he has worked in various locations in Northern China. For further<br />

information, please feel free to contact him:<br />

' 010-8042-0426<br />

* bjoern.traemann@dbschenker.com<br />

2010 October - November 33


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

CSR in China<br />

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is concerned with open and responsible practices by businesses in relation to<br />

the environment, communities, consumers, employees and other important business stakeholders. Until recently CSR<br />

was a relatively unknown concept amongst the majority of Chinese companies, often viewed in the very narrow sense<br />

of corporate philanthropy and addressed as a thinly disguised marketing initiative. In the last five years however,<br />

understanding and practice of CSR in China has transformed.<br />

Amongst Chinese companies and the public CSR awareness has grown significantly. After the first major National<br />

CSR Summit took place in the Great Hall of the People in February 2006, there have been a host of conferences and<br />

seminars on the topic. CSR reporting from Chinese companies has become increasingly commonplace. The number<br />

of CSR reports issued by Chinese companies was just 64 in 2007. Now that figure has grown to over 600 (Goldenbee<br />

China CSR Board). Beyond the pace of change, China’s CSR awakening is unique to the extent that it has been<br />

determined by the country’s interaction with the outside world and the determined top-down efforts by the Chinese<br />

government. This sits in stark contrast to the grassroots activism that propelled CSR’s emergence in Europe and the<br />

United States.<br />

Internationally-driven CSR<br />

China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 and rising<br />

level of exports has brought about growing<br />

demand for Csr from overseas business<br />

customers. Business customers have been a<br />

key factor in diffusing Csr practices in China,<br />

through the spread of responsible supply chain<br />

management procedures, responsible sourcing<br />

and procurement policies, as well as promoting<br />

global quality and management standards<br />

(such as sA8000, IsO9001, IsO14000) to Chinese<br />

manufacturers. The role model of MnCs<br />

operating in China has also been a significant<br />

contributor to Csr development. leading<br />

MnCs are increasingly expected to bear responsibility<br />

for their business partners and<br />

suppliers overseas, and as a result, are actively<br />

engaging Chinese companies on Csr.<br />

Government-driven CSR<br />

The desire to improve competitiveness and<br />

boost the ‘China brand’ internationally has<br />

prompted several government-led Csr standards<br />

at the local and provincial level. In 2005,<br />

34 October - November 2010<br />

China Textile and Apparel Council created<br />

CsC9000T, a management system for social<br />

compliance focused on protecting worker’s<br />

rights and promoting Csr in the textile industry.<br />

CsC9000T was one of several initiatives<br />

which have served to highlight the growing<br />

confidence of the Chinese government in setting<br />

the domestic agenda on Csr. The shanghai<br />

Municipal Csr standard, developed by<br />

the shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical<br />

supervision, is another example of an original<br />

government-led Csr initiative. The voluntary<br />

standard, currently covering over 300 companies<br />

in the shanghai Pudong area, gives incentives<br />

to companies to improve their social commitment,<br />

environmental friendliness, product<br />

safety, and so on. Participating companies are<br />

rewarded with preferential policies in securing<br />

government procurement contracts and corporate<br />

tax.<br />

In the last two years the central government<br />

has stepped up as the major force behind Csr<br />

development, mandating Csr legislation at<br />

the national level, such as the Ministry of Commerce<br />

draft guidelines on Csr Compliance for<br />

Foreign Invested enterprises (2008) and Csr<br />

Guidelines for Financial Institutions (2009).<br />

The Chinese government clearly attaches great<br />

importance to Csr, part of its effort to build an<br />

all-round affluent and harmonious society, and<br />

the departure from a growth-centric development<br />

model to one which balances economic<br />

development against pressing social and environmental<br />

challenges. In this sense, Csr is being<br />

mobilized as a policy instrument by which<br />

the state can share some of its heavy burden<br />

for addressing tough issues like environmental<br />

protection, social inequality, and food safety, by<br />

rallying the expertise, resources and creativity<br />

of the private sector.<br />

Another motivation in the government’s push<br />

for Csr is enhancing the competitiveness of<br />

domestic companies. Arguably the most influential<br />

recent Csr legislation, was the Csr<br />

Guidelines for state-owned enterprises (sOes),<br />

enacted by the state-owned Assets supervision<br />

and Administration Commission (sAsAC) on<br />

4 th January 2008. In addition to the strong focus<br />

on conventional CSR issues (energy efficiency,<br />

labor standards, product safety, environmen-


tal protection and philanthropy), there is also<br />

stong emphasis on leveraging Csr to improve<br />

operational efficiency, promote innovation and<br />

advance overall competitiveness and profitability.<br />

This is increasingly relevant as sOes<br />

expand their horizons to overseas markets. Following<br />

the guidelines, there has been a surge<br />

of first time CSR reporting by SOEs (SOEs accounted<br />

for 70% of all reports issued in 2009).<br />

CSR and Food Safety<br />

ensuring an effective food safety regime is<br />

closely linked with the development of Csr<br />

in China. like Csr, the government is the<br />

dominant agent of change. Due to the size and<br />

complexity of China’s food production system<br />

(covering 450,000 food production and processing<br />

enterprises) and weak state inspection and<br />

enforcement capacity, self-regulation and business<br />

ethics in the industry are of great importance.<br />

The basic ‘Food safety law’, implemented<br />

in June of 2009, combined a raft of targeted<br />

measures aimed at rationalizing the food management<br />

and inspection system. With it, the<br />

new law also assigned greater responsibility to<br />

individual companies for implementing food<br />

safety management, control and inspection<br />

systems, and introducing new procedures for<br />

product recall. All these measures are backed<br />

up by tougher penalties for violations.<br />

China’s increasing connectedness with the<br />

world is also a factor in driving improvement<br />

in food safety. China is the world’s largest<br />

food exporter and faces strong pressure from<br />

importers and consumers overseas to ensure<br />

the quality and safety of its products. Food<br />

importers demand that the products they<br />

import are safe, and that the production facilities<br />

from which they were produced comply<br />

with food safety and management standards,<br />

such as HACCP and IsO22000. On a domestic<br />

level, the spread of international food industry<br />

standards is important as it allows even greater<br />

oversight and control over each link in the<br />

food production and delivery chain, from the<br />

farm all the way to the consumer dinner tables.<br />

Through their Csr efforts, multinational companies<br />

have also led to positive spillovers in<br />

China’s food industry.<br />

Rising Consumer Activism<br />

The weakness of civil society and media scrutiny<br />

has been a long-standing obstacle for the<br />

development of Csr in China, creating a large<br />

disconnect between companies and the general<br />

public. For the food industry, the lack of consumer<br />

watchdog groups, combined with local<br />

government protectionism of food companies<br />

has led to many serious food safety scandals,<br />

and has reduced incentives for the industry to<br />

act in an open and responsible manner. As a<br />

result serious food safety scandals that occur<br />

often get repeated, and important lessons for<br />

the industry go unlearned. recent incidents<br />

such as the reemergence of melamine contaminated<br />

milk powder in Qinghai province<br />

(affecting 76t of dairy products), and the growing<br />

nationwide alarm over the use of recycled<br />

waste cooking oil, serve to highlight the scale<br />

task law-makers face.<br />

But today, Chinese consumers are demanding<br />

higher quality and safe products for themselves<br />

and their families. The state Food and<br />

Drug Administration of China published a survey<br />

in 2007 showing 65% of respondents were<br />

concerned about food safety. With the rampant<br />

rise of blogging and social networking among<br />

Chinese, a strong public demand for Csr is<br />

growing, to which many companies seem to be<br />

responding. One example in the food industry<br />

is Beijing sanyuan Group, a large state-owned<br />

food producer and processor, which displays<br />

its strong commitment to ‘win-win development<br />

for customers, employees and shareholders’<br />

and promoting ‘harmony between business<br />

and society’ as a centerpiece of its corporate<br />

website. In fact, across the board, Chinese<br />

companies are waking up to the lofty public<br />

expectation on their shoulders, as evidenced by<br />

the great corporate outpouring in the aftermath<br />

of the sichuan earthquake. looking ahead, the<br />

growing activism and Csr consciousness of<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

Chinese consumers will provide an important<br />

boost for Csr development.<br />

Conclusion<br />

In summary, it seems likely that the current<br />

momentum in Chinese Csr practice will<br />

continue. China's growing visibility on the<br />

world stage post-Olympics, and during the<br />

current World expo in shanghai, is further<br />

pushing the Csr agenda, as the Chinese<br />

government is keen to establish itself as<br />

a conscientious global player, responsive<br />

to widespread concerns from diverse<br />

stakeholders. In 2009, China became the<br />

worlds’ largest exporter. As such it seems likely<br />

that pressure from overseas business customers<br />

and MnCs will continue to push demand<br />

for Csr. However, it seems likely that the<br />

contribution of Chinese companies to domestic<br />

Csr development will be more influential<br />

in the future, especially as many seek to<br />

improve their competitiveness and reputation<br />

internationally. In 2008, China Mobile became<br />

the first Chinese company to be included in the<br />

prestigious Dow Jones sustainability Index,<br />

which tracks the financial performance of the<br />

world’s most sustainable companies.<br />

The rising activism of the Chinese consumer<br />

perhaps represents the last link in the chain.<br />

Combined with the top-down initiatives from<br />

government, pressure from Chinese consumers<br />

will give added impetus for companies to<br />

raise their Csr game. As already evidenced by<br />

the growth of Csr reporting and the spread<br />

standards on Csr, companies in China are already<br />

becoming more open and responsible in<br />

the way they act and communicate with their<br />

stakeholders.<br />

Sam Lee is CEO and co-founder of InnoCSR<br />

strategic consultancy based in Shanghai,<br />

and works in the areas of sustainability and<br />

CSR. To know more contact Sam at:<br />

* sam-lee@innocsr.com<br />

2010 October - November 35


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

Do you know how safe your China activities really are?<br />

entrepreneurs and executives seriously looking into this subject<br />

often come to mixed conclusions. On the one hand, CCTV cameras,<br />

fire extinguishers and other security systems are installed in highly<br />

visible spots, meaning that plant security has a significantly stronger<br />

presence here than in Germany, and so-called emergency response<br />

plans also exist in one form or another.<br />

On the other hand, getting to the more critical and detailed bottom<br />

of the simple question “what if?” can quickly expose quite alarming<br />

prospects. Delegating responsibility for the safety and security for<br />

example of a production facility to one individual or a department<br />

on location in the shape of an additional duty assignment seems like<br />

the easy way out. At the end of the day however, once an incident<br />

occurs - especially when it includes casualties - liability very swiftly<br />

returns to the delegating company or the executive management. In<br />

anticipation of the at times unpleasant consequences of a security<br />

incident, a proactive, strategic approach to safety and security in<br />

your company is most certainly worth it.<br />

36 October - November 2010<br />

Fire Safety<br />

A Safe Bet<br />

Strategies and Solutions<br />

for a secure China Engagement<br />

Particularly in fire safety, German and Chinese systems diverge significantly.<br />

While, for instance, the standards for structural fire prevention<br />

are gradually being adjusted, China still suffers from a noticeable<br />

lack of organisational fire safety. Preventative measures such as routine<br />

employee safety training, fire prevention inspections and regular<br />

evacuation drills remain a rare exception, and when they are ordered<br />

by a company, they happen on voluntary terms.<br />

The fatal factor is that it is organisational fire safety that provides the<br />

most crucial contribution to minimising physical damage in the case of<br />

a fire emergency, as well as saving lives. Specifically when it comes to<br />

sensitive objects, it is not enough to direct and control fire safety in China<br />

from a distance through the responsible department in Germany. This<br />

can hardly ensure the necessary transparency or effective and sustainable<br />

integration of organisational measures. More promising is what you<br />

can do long-term and on site, from the deployment and training of longterm<br />

employees to the local commissioning of an external fire prevention<br />

officer. Both options offer powerful protection for your company in conjunction<br />

with clear and predictable financial and time frames.<br />

The selection criteria for a suitable employee or service provider<br />

should be based on professional qualifications, a pronounced ethic of<br />

foresight and responsibility and a respectable chunk of persistency to<br />

guarantee that the required measures really are implemented.<br />

Emergency and Crisis<br />

Management<br />

setting up a comprehensive and<br />

dependable emergency and crisis<br />

management system that will not<br />

let you down when worse comes<br />

to worst is a challenging mission<br />

for a company in China. It is a job<br />

that should only be entrusted to<br />

a trained specialist. What already<br />

aggravates any planning in this<br />

field back in Germany complicates<br />

matters even more in China,<br />

where there are numerous additional elements of uncertainty that need<br />

to be taken into account. experience shows that any efforts put into an<br />

emergency plan by far outweigh the degree of the material and immaterial<br />

damage one may regularly find oneself faced with even in comparison<br />

to any damage deemed inevitable by a diligent plan. Another<br />

point that has repeatedly proven valid in practice is what an immense<br />

difference it makes for a company whether in the event of personal<br />

damage it can in retrospect certify a proper emergency plan that was<br />

optimally executed. If it can’t then it may subsequently have to justify<br />

an absent or inadequate emergency plan and the resulting operational<br />

errors to family members or even the press.<br />

A striking number of large international companies with a presence<br />

in China still address the issue of emergency and crisis management<br />

with a rather step-motherly treatment. unsuitable or inexperienced<br />

employees are assigned to devise the plans stipulated by the German<br />

insurance company and then integrate them into the respective company<br />

divisions. That these plans are consequentially designed according<br />

to the popular “copy and paste” method and can’t be effectively<br />

applied shouldn’t be a great surprise. For example, incorrect information<br />

or unsuitable partial information that was already passed on to the<br />

media can not be easily revised or even retracted. The planning and integration<br />

of an emergency and crisis management system should always


e preceded by an analysis of the existing situation as well as an evaluation<br />

of the individual risks. Here, a comparison with corresponding reference<br />

values from companies in a similar situation can be of great help –<br />

along with access to a sufficient level of experience and a well developed<br />

professional network. An evaluation of the analysis results maps out<br />

which possible cases and scenarios need to be addressed with an emergency<br />

plan, and to what extent. In the drafting of emergency plans it<br />

is vital that the single process steps are thoroughly examined and the<br />

overall process chain is designed to be as simple and straightforward<br />

as possible. A routine inspection of existing emergency plans still too<br />

frequently highlights the incorrect entry of basic information such as<br />

emergency call numbers. Such a seemingly small but grave flaw in the<br />

emergency plan can interrupt and disable the entire sequence chain.<br />

An easy-to-follow, straightforward structure to your company’s<br />

emergency processes is fundamental. In a crisis situation and under<br />

circumstances that cause extreme stress or distress, people may feel<br />

overwhelmed and helpless with the simplest, most plausible instructions.<br />

Instructions that are too complexly or extensively formulated<br />

can cause mistakes in their execution, or, in the worst case scenario,<br />

lead to non-performance. To ensure a smooth course of action under<br />

the severe conditions of an emergency or crisis situation, all parties<br />

should be walked through the various scenarios and processes in exercises<br />

and drills at regular intervals.<br />

Corporate Security<br />

The significance and relevance of an internal security department<br />

depends greatly on which company values are to be protected from<br />

which events. While the values to be secured are relatively easy to assess<br />

– material assets and employees as well as company continuity,<br />

development and reputation – potential threats and dangers are an en-<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

tirely different ball game. events such as theft, sabotage, fraud, labour<br />

disputes or espionage are widely disregarded.<br />

Of prime importance to corporate security is a company’s management.<br />

With the backing of the management team and in close cooperation<br />

with the executive levels, an experienced security specialist<br />

who comes with the requisite soft skills and intercultural competence<br />

can integrate the necessary security structure into the company’s operational<br />

processes and refine or enhance them accordingly. Quality<br />

service of course has its price: this also includes a qualified security<br />

manager. nevertheless, transferring the additional function of “security<br />

management” to the already busy Hr department for instance<br />

does the company a huge disservice. unrelated departments will most<br />

certainly not be able to conjure up neither the time nor the interest to<br />

meet the company requirements in this field.<br />

Another common practice – simply filling the position with a former<br />

local police or military officer – is not recommended. Although an<br />

expansive government authority network is essential to the position,<br />

the right qualifications, experience in private security and last but not<br />

least compliance competencies are more imperative. Foreign companies<br />

are still only catching up with corporate safety and security in<br />

China, but it’s better to address this topic today rather than tomorrow.<br />

Mr. Armin Liebler is a certified Industrial Master of Protection and<br />

Security and General Manager of the first German security and fire<br />

consulting company in China, GST Security Technique Consulting,<br />

Ltd. Beijing. Mr. Liebler can be contacted under:<br />

' 010-647-1-7120<br />

* armin.liebler@gst-security.com<br />

2010 October - November 37


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

The Hamburg Summit –<br />

Where China meets Europe<br />

Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Dejiang and Former Deputy<br />

Chancellor Frank-Walter steinmeier in a talk with President Horch<br />

economic relations between China and europe<br />

are among the most important in the<br />

world. europe is by far the most important<br />

trading partner for China and China’s growing<br />

importance for the developed regions is<br />

getting more obvious by the hour. In today’s<br />

world nothing can be done without the Chinese.<br />

Vice versa China cannot establish itself<br />

among the world’s great powers without<br />

cooperation with the West. surprisingly the<br />

opportunities for open and fair dialogue between<br />

representatives of east and West are<br />

few. The “Hamburg summit: China meets<br />

europe” has set out to achieve just that: For<br />

leaders from both regions the “Hamburg<br />

summit” will serve as a forum for networking<br />

and the exchange of ideas. An open, fair<br />

and trusting communication can lead to new<br />

ideas how to face common challenges.<br />

since its inception in 2004 the “Hamburg<br />

summit” has grown into one of the most<br />

important sino-european conferences on<br />

economic issues. Already with its second<br />

edition in 2006 the “Hamburg summit”<br />

established itself as a top-level event and<br />

was honored by the presence of Mr. Wen<br />

Jiabao, Prime Minister of the Pr China.<br />

Mr. Wen stressed the importance of the<br />

conference in maintaining and strengthening<br />

the ties between China and europe.<br />

The third edition of the “Hamburg summit”<br />

again saw top-level attendance as shown<br />

by the presence of Deputy Prime Minister<br />

of the Pr China, Mr. Zhang Dejiang and<br />

then-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy<br />

Chancellor of Germany, Mr. Frank-Walter<br />

38 October - November 2010<br />

Former Deputy Chancellor Frank-Walter steinmeier und Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Dejiang sign<br />

the Golden Book of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce<br />

steinmeier. As former German Chancellor<br />

Helmut schmidt remarked in his speech,<br />

the third edition “marked the beginning of a<br />

tradition” which will continue this year with<br />

the fourth event.<br />

The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce is<br />

initiator and organizer of the conference and<br />

will also host the fourth “Hamburg summit”<br />

from november 24 th – 26 th , 2010. As<br />

before, political and economic keynotes on<br />

current economic topics will be held by outstanding<br />

personalities and numerous expert<br />

panels will discuss diverse fields of the Sinoeuropean<br />

relations. For this purpose high<br />

ranking international economic, political and<br />

academic leaders will meet for three days at<br />

the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce.<br />

Two of the most important discussion panels<br />

of this year’s “Hamburg summit: China meets<br />

europe” will focus on issues of the crisis<br />

aftermath and the all important global trade.<br />

On the panel „shaping the post-crisis world:<br />

China and the eu in search for sustainable<br />

Growth” questions will be asked about what<br />

both regions can do to recover in a more<br />

balanced way. When is the right moment to<br />

put an end to governmental financed support<br />

for industries and consumers? How can new<br />

asset bubbles and inflation be avoided? What<br />

are the results of the stimulus packages, the<br />

different exit strategies of China and the eu<br />

countries and the lessons learned from the<br />

crisis? Additionally, the panel will discuss<br />

whether and if so to what extent the crisis has<br />

contributed to an economic power shift from<br />

Western countries to China.<br />

Another panel is titled “China and the eu in the<br />

Global Trading system: Trends and strategies”.<br />

The global financial crisis demonstrated that<br />

outward oriented economies like China or<br />

Germany are not able to decouple from the<br />

economic performance of other large countries.<br />

The strong dependence on foreign trade led<br />

to a vulnerability to external shocks. Given<br />

the fragility of world trade, the development<br />

of sustainable growth depends on a healthy<br />

global trading system with strong enforcement<br />

of existing governance mechanisms. Certain<br />

issues of trade policy such as protectionism,<br />

non-tariff barriers, enforcement of intellectual<br />

property rights, and even the choice of<br />

currency exchange rate regimes need to be<br />

addressed on a global level. Given the fact<br />

that europe is China’s biggest trading partner<br />

this topic is particularly important for bilateral<br />

sino-european relations.<br />

economic leverage is shifting towards Asia,<br />

especially in times of crisis the importance<br />

of partnership and open dialogue can<br />

therefore not be overestimated. As our world<br />

gets smaller, the need for exchange and<br />

cooperation grows. The “Hamburg summit”<br />

will again be an indisputable source of<br />

information and inspiration, thus acting as<br />

an important contributor in improving and<br />

fostering sino-european relations.<br />

Mr. Jonathan Vogelsang, Hamburg Chamber<br />

of Commerce, International Department<br />

* Jonathan.Vogelsang@hk24.de


www.china.ahk.de<br />

2010 October - November 39


BUSINESS FOCUS<br />

Along China’s south-eastern coast lies yet<br />

another city that is becoming more important<br />

for the country’s growth. Hangzhou encompasses<br />

roughly 16,000km 2 of land that lies<br />

192km south of shanghai. As the northerly<br />

capital of Zhejiang Province with about 8mn<br />

inhabitants, the city is the centre of politics,<br />

economics and culture.<br />

It is no wonder that 65 of the world’s top<br />

500 enterprises had invested in 107 projects<br />

in Hangzhou by 2008, considering it was labelled<br />

the no. 1 City in China for business by<br />

Forbes magazine for three consecutive years.<br />

Hangzhou also has the eighth highest per<br />

capita GDP in China and a higher average<br />

sales value for industrial economy than the<br />

entire rest of the province – and revenues are<br />

not going any direction but up.<br />

To facilitate such an economically booming<br />

city, 86km 2 was set aside to construct Hangzhou’s<br />

High and new Technology Industry<br />

Development Zone (Hi-tech Zone). This colossal<br />

district aims to sustain business development<br />

in the high-tech, software, IC, telecom<br />

equipment and ecommerce industries. The<br />

zone is divided into functional sectors including<br />

the Binjiang District, Zhejiang sci-Tech Industrial<br />

Park, Xiasha sci-Tech Industrial Park,<br />

Qianjiang economic Development Zone, Hitech<br />

Pioneering service Centre, Pioneering<br />

Park for returned Overseas Intellectuals,<br />

university science Park and Headquarters<br />

Industrial Park.<br />

Manufacturing<br />

Hangzhou has recently expanded in other industries<br />

such as cotton textiles, iron and steel<br />

products, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals,<br />

cement, rubber, paper and bamboo products,<br />

chemicals, machine tools, electronic equipment,<br />

and processed tea. The city has also<br />

reserved bragging rights as the only overseas<br />

host of a Toshiba production plant for laptop<br />

computers.<br />

Furthermore, as one of China’s most important<br />

manufacturing bases, Hangzhou sustains<br />

a bulk of China’s light industrial business<br />

and is considered an important logistical hub.<br />

As a corporate destination, it contains the<br />

headquarters of Wahaha, the nation’s largest<br />

beverage company.<br />

40 October - November 2010<br />

EAST CHINA<br />

Beautiful Scenery –<br />

Growing Economy<br />

Hangzhou in brief<br />

Culture<br />

Home to the eminent 3.7ha China national<br />

Tea Museum, Hangzhou’s economy and<br />

society is engulfed by a deeply situated tea<br />

culture. The museum is a modern facility for<br />

cultural shows, popular science promotion,<br />

talent training, research, academic exchange,<br />

tea drinking, catering, conferences, recreation<br />

and other services.<br />

Hangzhou is also known for its artistic creations,<br />

such as umbrellas, Chinese hand-held<br />

folding fans and silk. nicknamed the ‘silk<br />

Town’ with the biggest flax textile factory<br />

in China, the city’s silk industry has a long<br />

history and tradition with its internationally<br />

renowned quality production process ranking<br />

top in the nation.<br />

Tourism<br />

Hangzhou is also an attractive tourist destination.<br />

The city is famous for its natural<br />

beauty and historic relics. The main attraction<br />

is the infamous West lake, which is<br />

considered the most beautiful lake in the<br />

country. Over the years it grew from being<br />

an ordinary bay off the Qiangtang river into<br />

a 600ha paradise, surrounded by temples,<br />

pagodas, pavilions and parks.<br />

Infrastructure<br />

equipped with a complete system of land,<br />

water and air transportation, Hangzhou<br />

handles river traffic through its port on<br />

the Fuchun river at the head of Hangzhou<br />

Bay. soaring across the bay, is the longest<br />

trans-oceanic bridge in the world, which<br />

extends its six two-directional lanes across a<br />

35,673km stretch.<br />

The Hangzhou Xiaoshan International<br />

Airport connects the city nationally and<br />

internationally. The Maglev transrapid train<br />

that transports shanghai travellers to and<br />

from its Pudong International Airport is<br />

now undergoing an extension to Hangzhou.<br />

This multibillion dollar railway project<br />

expected to be completed by 2014, boasts a<br />

new travelling time between the two cities<br />

at a brisk 27 minutes while the train reaches<br />

speeds of up to 450km/h.<br />

leifang Pagoda, West lake, Hangzhou<br />

silk Market in Hangzhou © Imagine China<br />

The construction of a subway system has long<br />

been planned for the city, and only recently<br />

received approval from the central government.<br />

The completion of the first two lines<br />

was expected to be this year, but the target<br />

has now been pushed back to China national<br />

Day on 1 st October 2012.<br />

Opportunity<br />

Although the revenue by commodity trading<br />

in Hangzhou shrank 12% in 2009 in comparison<br />

to the year before, the service-outsourcing<br />

sector jumped by an astounding 350% in the<br />

same period. In fact, from January to April<br />

this year, Hangzhou’s executed outsourcing<br />

contracts reached almost us 400mn, of which<br />

off-shore contracts amounted to us 319mn.<br />

This is a 153% expansion from last year.<br />

In interest of German professionals, Hangzhou<br />

became the sole Asian twin city of Dresden<br />

in 2009 and as such is recently stepping<br />

up the active exchange of information regarding<br />

city planning and construction, environmental<br />

protection, cultural affairs and education.<br />

This agreement provides a platform for<br />

open communication between Hangzhou and<br />

German companies, opening the door to a<br />

land of unlimited opportunity. ATD


Chongqing’s<br />

Liangjiang<br />

New Area<br />

Adding Attraction to West China<br />

The time to reconsider their strategies for<br />

market entry and expansion in China has<br />

come for foreign investors. As coastal areas<br />

of south and east China are becoming<br />

increasingly expensive and labour costs<br />

are rising while the pool of available<br />

migrant workers is shrinking a relocation<br />

of businesses might be the right move.<br />

One of the places that so far have been<br />

ignored as a potential investment hub due<br />

to its geographical location is Chongqing.<br />

Therefore the question arises if its liangjiang<br />

new Area, a newly created state-level<br />

industry zone that is going to attract foreign<br />

investors. With a size as big as Austria, the<br />

city of Chongqing is home to 30mn citizens.<br />

some therefore regard it to be the biggest city<br />

of the world. Its rapid progress owes much to<br />

China’s strategy of d e v e l o p i n g western<br />

regions. Ten years ago the government set its<br />

target to achieve a balanced economic growth<br />

between Western and eastern China. During<br />

the past decade, China has therefore invested<br />

usD 100bn in 23 major infrastructure projects<br />

in the western region which has resulted in an<br />

annual economic growth of 11.9%. regarding<br />

the city’s own development agenda, it plans<br />

to quadruple its industrial output to rMB<br />

4trl within the next ten years, driven by pillar<br />

industries like IT, automobile, equipment and<br />

machinery manufacturing.<br />

There are more than<br />

40 industry zones<br />

in Chongqing,<br />

around 20 of<br />

them being<br />

located<br />

within the<br />

boundaries of<br />

the city area.<br />

All of them<br />

offer decent<br />

infrastructure<br />

i n t e r m s<br />

of roads and<br />

buildings. For foreign<br />

investors the creation of<br />

liangjiang new Area - Chongqing’s newest<br />

“achievement” – will add some attraction to<br />

this West China city.<br />

After shanghai Pudong new Area and Tianjin<br />

Binhai new Area, the Central Government<br />

announced liangjiang to be the third<br />

municipal-level new area in China. With an<br />

impressive area of 1.200km² (550km² are usable<br />

land), it combines six industry zones into one<br />

big industrial area. regarding logistics it is<br />

conveniently located just north of Chongqing’s<br />

city centre. At the same time this means<br />

heavy industry is not welcome. The industrial<br />

development mode of liangjiang new Area<br />

will focus on five strategic industries, e.g.<br />

railway transportation, power equipment, new<br />

energy cars, national defense and electronic<br />

information. several companies have already<br />

started operations in the region, including<br />

some multinationals.<br />

Liangjing New Area will profit of the same<br />

benefits which also apply for the shanghai<br />

Pudong new Area and the Tianjin Binhai<br />

new Area. What makes liangjing new<br />

Area so attractive for investors, however,<br />

is that additionally it benefits from the<br />

policies that apply to Chongqing and the<br />

western region. These include the priority<br />

in experimenting with pilot policies on<br />

land, finance, taxation, investment<br />

as well as foreign trade.<br />

Furthermore the region<br />

receives support in testing<br />

certain unprecedented<br />

major reform measures.<br />

Additionally, this area<br />

features China’s first<br />

inland river port plus<br />

airport bonded zone.<br />

But what’s in for foreign<br />

companies? Why choosing<br />

Chongqing’s liangjiang<br />

new Area over well<br />

established investment locations<br />

in southern or eastern China?<br />

WEST CHINA<br />

www.china.ahk.de<br />

One big advantage is surely the preferential<br />

tax and policy treatments for companies<br />

investing in Western China which are<br />

applicable until 2020. For Chongqing these<br />

include a 15% corporate tax (10% for hightech<br />

ventures) instead of the usual 25% as<br />

well as preferential policies on loans and<br />

registered capital for foreign investors.<br />

Companies starting business operations<br />

in 2010 can also benefit of the preferential<br />

rental for leasing periods over two years at<br />

the Chongqing Free Trade Port. The second<br />

advantage is the labour costs in Chongqing<br />

which are more competitive compared to<br />

those of the coastal areas. The minimum<br />

wage is at around 70% of the one paid in<br />

shenzhen (rMB 680 versus ca. rMB 1,100 as<br />

of July 2010). But looking into the numbers<br />

more thoroughly shows that the average<br />

blue collar workers’ salaries amount to<br />

rMB 1,200 per month. Companies are not<br />

depended on migrant labour since workforce<br />

can be supplied locally for the vast suburbs<br />

of the city.<br />

last but not least the transportation to logistic<br />

hubs in south and east China or abroad<br />

will become faster and more cost efficient.<br />

The biggest change regarding logistics<br />

will be introduced by the “Three Gorges<br />

Project” – 300km upstream of the Yangtze<br />

river. The extensively discussed project is<br />

surely controversial, yet brings along many<br />

advantages such as a rise of the water level<br />

thanks to the hydro electric dam. Consequently,<br />

large cargo ships weighing up to 5,000t to<br />

8,000t will soon be able to sail to Chongqing's<br />

harbours throughout the year. As for air<br />

transportation, the city’s major airport, Jiangbei<br />

International Airport, is currently serving<br />

approximately 70 domestic and international<br />

air routes. Taking all these developments<br />

and advantages into account, Chongqing is<br />

definitely about to become a true Metropolis.<br />

For companies considering Western China as<br />

a sales market, liangjiang new Area might be<br />

the place to be. JH<br />

2010 October - November 41

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