From Beijing, an unfiltered view on business and economy.
Bencham: the Benelux Chamber of Commerce.
This time the Dutch embassy was so kind to open its doors for the drink, 24 January 14.
The event was sponsored, among others, by Chimay (Vandergeeten), with a generous flow of Belgian beer.
See here some pics, thanks to Bencham. I was too lazy to take pictures and too busy with the conversation and beer. Picured are the ambassadors of Belgium and The Netherlands.
Yes. That is the Chinese New Year (CNY) period when Chinese try to be with their family to celebrate Spring Festival/CNY. With the hundreds of million of Chinese working outside of their home town, it is an annual suffering for them to secure a ticket to go home (and return), to face crowds and long queuing to buy tickets, board the trains (or buses) and survive the trip. The system is not yet able to cope with the demand and I sympathize with the migrants who go through the yearly ordeal. With the unfriendly holiday system in China, even worse.
To have an idea:
The 2014 Spring Festival travel period starts on 16 January and lasts for 40 days. CNY is on 31 January.
Presently the rail system counts 100,000 Km (with 10% being high speed), to be 120,000 Km by 2015.
Trips expected in that period:
As for me, well I stay put in Beijing, it is quiet and in any other location (including Thailand, …) you find Chinese all over. That is, if you get there.
Bon voyage!
If anybody still has “questions” on China’s lousy GPA (Government Procurement Agreement – under WTO) proposals, see the article of China Daily. (Good luck to download it as China Daily website is hopelessly messed up).
So, we have the “new” figure for Government Procurement in China:
“China’s government procurement amounted to 1.4 trillion yuan ($230 billion) in 2012, an increase of 23.3% from 2011.”
And let’s all be happy because, hey, the EU companies might even sell some cars:
“The Chinese government procurement list shows it has been buying from joint ventures and foreign-invested enterprises. Government procurement goods include Buick, Passat and Santana vehicles.”
Which proves our point better than ever: China wants to give foreigners a piece of the 10% of the Public Procurement market in exchange for access to 100% of the public procurement in the EU and other regions. According to the European Chamber, China’s total public procurement market in 2012 is estimated to be like 10.386 trillion yuan. And that is the market foreign companies are interested in. Not to be surprised, other GPA members are not happy with China’s proposals.
Talking about “reciprocity”!
In the same context, see what FOSUN is up to:
“Fosun International is buying an 80% stake in the insurance arm of Portuguese state bank Caixa Geral de Depositos for €1 billion. The Portuguese government choose Fosun over a unit of U.S. investment fund Apollo Global Management. The insurer has a domestic market share of 26%. Fosun is also bidding to acquire French resort company Club Méditerranée and last year bought One Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York”. (Source: FCCC)
Now, do you think any Western group could do this in China? In insurance? In tourism? In real estate?
11 January 2014 – China aims to open up procurement market
By Yao Jing – China Daily
China continues to revise its offers to join a global pact on government purchases with its bid to further open the government market as well as push more Chinese companies to go global.
On Jan 6, China submitted a new revised Government Procurement Agreement offer – its fourth since it tabled its initial offer in 2007 – to the World Trade Organization, according to 21cbn.com.
The details of the commitment have not been disclosed. China is still awaiting a response from current Government Procurement Agreement parties.
When contacted by China Daily on Friday, the Ministry of Commerce was unable to respond immediately.
“Once China joins the Government Procurement Agreement, the vast Chinese government market will give impetus to foreign companies, and some Chinese providers will also show an interest,” said Zhou Fangsheng, a senior researcher with the Fiscal Science Institute of the Ministry of Finance.
China’s government procurement amounted to 1.4 trillion yuan ($230 billion) in 2012, an increase of 23.3% from 2011. Purchases from the service sector were popular, witnessing a year-on-year increase of 36.6%, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance.
Small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for nearly 80% of the total government purchase contracts.
“Of course, less competitive companies will lose out,” said Zhou. “The government should consider emerging industries in the commitment.”
Further, Chinese government’s improvements in the latest Government Procurement Agreement offer are also showing some of the industries in China are ready to compete with global rivals, while China is walking toward a more open economy, experts said.
“Because most of the Government Procurement Agreement parties are based in developed economies, China will benefit in both exports and outward direct investment, especially in terms of infrastructure,” said Song Hong, an economist at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“I think the challenge may exist in the high-end service sector because it is just emerging in China,” said Song.
The Chinese government procurement list shows it has been buying from joint ventures and foreign-invested enterprises. Government procurement goods include Buick, Passat and Santana vehicles.
Although Chinese bidding companies will go through a period of adjusting to a new environment as more foreign businesses enter the bidding process, they will be forced to improve their quality and management on the global stage, according to He Weiwen, co-director at the China US/EU Study Center.
Still, when it comes to going global, He warned that some of the Chinese companies are not familiar with international business or legal rules and government procurement procedures in different countries.
“Chinese companies that expect to enter into the broad government procurement market should prepare for the change as early as possible. They should begin to understand about destination countries’ consultant companies and accountancy firms,” said He.
The revised offer is fulfilling the commitment that China made during the annual US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Beijing in December. China promised that it will submit another offer in 2014 that would be “on the whole commensurate with the coverage of Government Procurement Agreement parties”.
Since 2001, China has made offers that have been judged by the US and European Union as inadequate.
As I have been fighting a vicious cough since the middle of December, I delved a bit deeper into what is called “Beijing Cough”.
So, I created a new page, see on the right side: Beijing Cough: a myth?
Feel free to comment (directly to me). I will keep the page updated to clarify some of the misgivings around that issue that makes our life in Beijing, at times, miserable.
With the pollution, my American family has cancelled the idea of visiting us here in Beijing. The risk of getting adverse reactions for their family (including two young kids) is unfortunately too real – they have some issues with allergies and asthma.
On 11 January I joined a seminar to give a short speech on the state of tourism in China.
The International Leisure Industry Forum 2014 was held at the Beijing International Hotel on January 11. The forum was co-hosted by the International Leisure Industry Association and the Leisure Economy Research Center of Renmin University. The forum featured the latest leisure trends and people behind its development under the influence of the third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.
“The leisure association hopes to promote the development of the leisure industry by strengthening international cooperation, including resources integration and comprehensive deepening of the reform” said Wang Jun, president of the International Leisure Industry Association.
