FOOD SaFETy - AHK - AHKs
FOOD SaFETy - AHK - AHKs
FOOD SaFETy - AHK - AHKs
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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 />
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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 />
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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 />
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worldwide annualy.<br />
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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 />
More than 5 years experience in Asia and more than<br />
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 />
EWM焊接技术扎根中国<br />
以德国最先进的技术服务于中国和亚洲<br />
EWM WELDING TECHNOLOGY MADE IN CHINA<br />
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手弧焊 钨极氩弧焊 熔化极气体保护焊 等离子焊<br />
MMA welding TIG welding MIG/MAG welding PLASMA welding<br />
伊达高科焊接 (昆山)有限公司 伊达高科焊接德国总部<br />
EWM Kunshan, China<br />
EWM Mündersbach, Germany<br />
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 />
邮编: 215300<br />
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