I posted recently about Wal-Mart’s union woes (see here). China Daily has today reported that staff at Wal-Mart’s branch in Jinjiang, Quangzhou (Fujian province) have set up a union – the only one (so far) in Wal-Mart’s 59 stores in China. A representative of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) said the move was [...]

Further to news (from China Daily) that the economy grew by 11.3 percent in the second quarter, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has released some estimates for the economy for the year to September (reported by Forbes). They include: • GDP growth: Up 10.8% • Trade surplus: US$100 billion • Retail sales: Up [...]

Since China’s “opening up” changes to regulations for foreign investors have usually meant that the regulations have been relaxed. However, more “restrictions” are popping up in relation to regulations at the moment, and foreign investors are not always seen as a positive influence. We have already had property investment restrictions (see here and here), but [...]

The “Made in China” tag has been undergoing something of a re-branding recently, with China’s moves to make its leading companies globally competitive, invest in R&D, and move up the value chain. However, the job is not yet complete, according to a report carried by Reuters (quoting officials from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, [...]

Apple has had a PR battle on it hands since news of factory conditions at its China contractor were recently reported in the British newspaper (see here), but now McDonalds is also facing problems. This time an actual battle is involved. According to a report in Forbes, over a thousand workers at a toy-making contractor [...]

With the economy continuing to heat, and with more new records for foreign currency reserves and the trade surplus, Beijing is making renewed efforts to bring the economy under control. Perhaps they are aiming for the “bumpy landing” referred to in a recent post. New measures include the end to tax rebates on exports and [...]

The last post looked at China’s “Hunger for Resources”. This one focuses on its thirst – for oil (water will get its very own post later). China’s net imports of crude oil were up 17.6 percent in the first six months of the year, to 70.33 million tons (according to People’s Daily).It is also suggested [...]

China’s demand for resources (including copper) has been news around the world for some time…and will be having an impact on everyone for a long time to come if the latest news is anything to go by: Iron ore imports to China rose by 22.9 percent to 161.36 million tons in the six months to [...]

Unilever China boss, Alan Brown, on the question of whether to have a joint venture (JV) or not: “If you are working in a highly regulated industry, then JV partners are almost essential…If you are working in a highly deregulated industry, they can be a damn nuisance”. As seen in “China CEO”. Update 28/7: China [...]

China Business Services is pleased to announce that we will be partnering with the WTM-ChinaContact conference ‘China – the Future of Travel’. Date: 6 November 2006 , 09:00-18:00; Venue: World Travel Market, Excel, London; Website: www.future-of-travel.org The event will be the first pan-industry event on bilateral tourism relations between China and Europe. Held in partnership [...]