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8 October - November 2009 BUSINESS FOCUS BERLIN/BRUSSELS. The European Value Added Tax system is looking to become more complicated for enterprises. Although Brussels will admittedly simplify the loca- tion determination of taxation as of 1 st Janu- ary 2010, Berlin will at the same time tighten the rules of evidence. Henceforth, German entrepreneurs will have to prove the cor- porate status of their business partners in a time-consuming procedure with the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). The DIHK op- poses such additional operational headaches BERLIN. The pact has proven itself dur- ing the crisis – therein the partners of the national education pact agreed during their last summit on 19 th June in Berlin. DIHK President Hans Heinrich Driftmann rein- forced: “I am confident that this year every young person, who can and wants, will get an offer for an apprenticeship.” The IHK organisation in particular worked towards achieving that goal and joined forces with the Chamber of Crafts in developing a five point action plan. Despite the unanimous commitment to continue the cooperation however, there has also been a public dis- agreement for the first time. Prior to the summit, Federal Minister of Labour Olaf BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND BRUSSELS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND BRUSSELS VAT: Why so Complicated if it Could be so Simple! Number Dispute Overshadows Education Pact Meeting Soil Protection Directive Fails BRUSSELS. Shortly before the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Environmen- tal Affairs on 25 th July in Luxemburg, the presidency of the Czech EU council decided not to bring the Soil Protection Framework Directive to vote. The meagre result of the foregoing efforts concerning the controver- sial issue is just a progress report. The reason for the decision was the pressure, amongst other member states also from Germany, which has vehemently opposed the planned directive since 2006. The scheduled regula- tions would lead to high costs and difficul- ties in the transfer and trade of real property. Due to the tough negotiations expected, the Swedish EU council will also avoid the topic in the upcoming half year of its presidency. The DIHK thus pleads that the European Commission withdraws its directive pro- posal altogether. Contact: [email protected] Banks Call for Higher Securities BERLIN. According to information that the DIHK had gathered, the main reason for the generally worsened credit conditions are significantly increased requirements on behalf of the banks. Not only do credit in- stitutes require higher securities but at the same time they tend to rate existing securi- ties much lower. This makes it even harder for many companies to meet the criteria for receiving loans. DIHK President Driftmann warned that this situation could choke off a quick recovery. He therefore appealed to the responsibility of the banks: “You are best helped yourself if the economy gets back on track quickly.” Contact: [email protected] DIHK Outlines Basics of Efficient Climate Policy BERLIN. Climate protection in Germany is bought at an inflated price, stifled by high bureaucracy and little use of international efficiency potential. Companies thus get burdened every year with additional costs in the range of billions. This is the result of a survey of the Institute of the German Economy, carried out on behalf of the DIHK. Commenting on the survey results, DIHK Managing Director Martin Wansleben called for an exclusion of the whole industry from the auction sale of certificates in the emission trade. In addition, it should be made pos- sible for companies to reduce or offset their CO 2 emissions, wherever it is most cost- effective for them. The course for this would have to be set at the next UN World Climate Conference in Copenhagen this December. Contact: [email protected] Scholz (SPD) called upon the business com- munity to provide at least 600,000 appren- ticeship placements also in the crisis year 2009. With this demand he stood alone, as the other pact partners dismissed such an additional obligation as unrealistic. Due to demographic reasons alone – 2009 will see almost 40,000 school graduates less than the previous year – this target can not be reached. DIHK President Driftmann emphasised that concrete actions like the placement of insolvency trainees in other companies, are a more helpful means than politically motivated targets. Contact: [email protected] and asks for simplified proof obligations. DIHK tax expert Alfons Kühn remarked that “it cannot be the case that European efforts towards simplification are counteracted by excessive bureaucracy measures in Germany. A general overhaul of the value added tax system is badly needed.” This has already been recognised in Brussels, where efforts in the VAT system are now made to return to the country of origin. Thus, processes prone to fraud and red tape will be circumvented. Contact: [email protected] Federal Minister of Labour Olaf Scholz ©Deutscher Bundestag/Thomas Imo/photo thek.net
Transcript
Page 1: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

8 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS

Berlin/Brussels. The european Value Added Tax system is looking to become more complicated for enterprises. Although Brussels will admittedly simplify the loca-tion determination of taxation as of 1st Janu-ary 2010, Berlin will at the same time tighten the rules of evidence. Henceforth, German entrepreneurs will have to prove the cor-porate status of their business partners in a time-consuming procedure with the Federal Central Tax Office (BZst). The DiHK op-poses such additional operational headaches

Berlin. The pact has proven itself dur-ing the crisis – therein the partners of the national education pact agreed during their last summit on 19th June in Berlin. DiHK President Hans Heinrich Driftmann rein-forced: “I am confident that this year every young person, who can and wants, will get an offer for an apprenticeship.” The iHK organisation in particular worked towards achieving that goal and joined forces with the Chamber of Crafts in developing a five point action plan. Despite the unanimous commitment to continue the cooperation however, there has also been a public dis-agreement for the first time. Prior to the summit, Federal Minister of labour Olaf

BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND BRUSSELS

NEWS FROM BERLIN AND BRUSSELS

VAT: Why so Complicated if it Could be so Simple!

Number Dispute Overshadows Education Pact Meeting

Soil Protection Directive Fails Brussels. shortly before the meeting of the Council of Ministers of environmen-tal Affairs on 25th July in luxemburg, the presidency of the Czech eu council decided not to bring the soil Protection Framework Directive to vote. The meagre result of the foregoing efforts concerning the controver-sial issue is just a progress report. The reason for the decision was the pressure, amongst other member states also from Germany, which has vehemently opposed the planned directive since 2006. The scheduled regula-tions would lead to high costs and difficul-ties in the transfer and trade of real property. Due to the tough negotiations expected, the swedish eu council will also avoid the topic in the upcoming half year of its presidency. The DiHK thus pleads that the european Commission withdraws its directive pro-posal altogether.Contact: [email protected]

Banks Call for Higher SecuritiesBerlin. According to information that the DiHK had gathered, the main reason for the generally worsened credit conditions are significantly increased requirements on behalf of the banks. not only do credit in-stitutes require higher securities but at the same time they tend to rate existing securi-ties much lower. This makes it even harder for many companies to meet the criteria for receiving loans. DiHK President Driftmann warned that this situation could choke off a quick recovery. He therefore appealed to the responsibility of the banks: “You are best helped yourself if the economy gets back on track quickly.”Contact: [email protected]

DIHK Outlines Basics of Efficient Climate PolicyBerlin. Climate protection in Germany is bought at an inflated price, stifled by high bureaucracy and little use of international efficiency potential. Companies thus get burdened every year with additional costs in the range of billions. This is the result of a survey of the institute of the German economy, carried out on behalf of the DiHK. Commenting on the survey results, DiHK Managing Director Martin Wansleben called for an exclusion of the whole industry from the auction sale of certificates in the emission trade. in addition, it should be made pos-sible for companies to reduce or offset their CO2 emissions, wherever it is most cost-effective for them. The course for this would have to be set at the next un World Climate Conference in Copenhagen this December.Contact: [email protected]

scholz (sPD) called upon the business com-munity to provide at least 600,000 appren-ticeship placements also in the crisis year 2009. With this demand he stood alone, as the other pact partners dismissed such an additional obligation as unrealistic. Due to demographic reasons alone – 2009 will see almost 40,000 school graduates less than the previous year – this target can not be reached. DiHK President Driftmann emphasised that concrete actions like the placement of insolvency trainees in other companies, are a more helpful means than politically motivated targets.Contact: [email protected]

and asks for simplified proof obligations. DiHK tax expert Alfons Kühn remarked that “it cannot be the case that european efforts towards simplification are counteracted by excessive bureaucracy measures in Germany. A general overhaul of the value added tax system is badly needed.” This has already been recognised in Brussels, where efforts in the VAT system are now made to return to the country of origin. Thus, processes prone to fraud and red tape will be circumvented.Contact: [email protected]

Federal Minister of labour Olaf scholz

©Deutscher Bundestag/Thom

as imo/photo thek.net

Page 2: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

2009 October - November 9

AD Binhai Huinang

Page 3: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

10 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS BEIJING

MEMBER NEWSBEIJING

Schaeffler Supplies Bearings for Beijing Wheel

MAN and Sinotruk Enter Strategic Partnership

HALFEN Wins Contract for Curtain Wall Project

schaeffler Group has produced two giant-sized spherical bearings to be installed in the world’s tallest observation wheel: China’s Beijing Wheel. in total, around 22 tons of steel have gone into producing the two hub bearings. each bearing has an outside diameter of 3,200mm, an inner ring bore of 2,600mm and a ring width of 630mm. each bearing incorporates 118 rollers, each of which weighs around 20kg.

The hub bearings for the brand new Beijing Wheel will operate 108 metres above the ground. The Beijing Wheel will rise 208 me-tres into the air and will accommodate 1,920 passengers. One revolution of the wheel will take 20 minutes to complete and will pro-vide guests with a stunning view of Beijing unlike any other.

MAn se and sinotruk (Hong Kong) limited announced in July the signing of long-term strategic partnership agreements under which MAn will become a strategic shareholder in sinotruk, owning 25% plus one share of its capital.

The total equity investment in sinotruk, which is publicly listed on the HKse, amounts to eur 560mn and is to be realised by purchas-ing sinotruk’s ordinary stock as well as by a capital increase.

The partnership brings together advanced technologies and engineering know-how de-veloped by MAn in europe and sinotruk’s existing manufacturing platform, local exper-tise and extensive sales network in China. As part of this high-powered cooperation, MAn will license its TGA truck, engine, chassis and axle technologies as a basis for the production of a new truck series at sinotruk’s existing plants in China. This series will be superior to existing products in the marketplace in quality and environmental compatibility, but competi-tively priced.

The parent company of sinotruk, China na-tional Heavy Duty Truck Corp, built China’s first heavy truck in 1960 and purchased the truck technology of MAn’s subsidiary steyr in 1984. At present, sinotruk is the leading producer of heavy trucks in China, holding approximately 20% of the market with over 100,000 heavy trucks sold in 2008.

HAlFen and Josef Gartner Curtain Wall shanghai Co. ltd. - the curtain wall con-tractor in charge of the ruiMinG project - have signed a contract to provide C-shaped HAlFen cast-in channels for this large-scale project.

The ruiMinG project – invested by CiTiC Pacific and Ruiming Property Co. Ltd, a sub-sidiary of China state shipbuilding Corpora-tion – is divided into three phases covering a construction area of 847,000m² with a total cost of more than rMB 20bn. located in lu-jiazui, Shanghai, the project comprises office buildings, shopping malls, hotels, serviced

apartments and residential properties with the anticipated completion of Phase i in 2010.

The exterior wall system, which will wrap the buildings and transmit gravity, wind and seismic loads to the structure, required quality engineering facade fixings. The use of embedded cast-in channels is a successful at-tachment concept due to the ease of erection, compensation of construction tolerances and lack of welding or drilling required. HAl-Fen and Josef Gartner continue their suc-cessful long-term cooperation from numer-ous projects in the u.K, Germany and China.

Page 4: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

2009 October - November 11

www.china.ahk.deMEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI

MEMBER NEWSSHANGHAI

Roder Debuts New Productin the sixth year after its entry into China, roder still keeps its strategy of being aggressive and innovative. Following the introduction of a 40m-span big tent and a two-storey tent, it developed a new roder dome at the beginning of 2009. The dome’s debut at the snieC exhibition received fa-vourable feedback from the industry.

The two sizes of the roder dome are both suited for use at exhibitions, product presentations, conferences, caterings and other events. roder plans to keep up its fast development based on the concept of continuous innovation. Furthermore, with the success at opening ceremonies for the Dutch, Japanese and Australian pavilions at the World expo 2010 in shanghai, roder will introduce even more outdoor tent prod-ucts to China and the rest of the world. This includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall.

Portman Ritz-Carlton Appoints New GM

New Head of Sulzer Metco Surface Technology

New Director of Sales at SheratonMark DeCocinis, regional Vice President

of The ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Asia, announced Manfred Weber as the new Gen-eral Manager of The Portman ritz-Carlton, shanghai. in his new role, Mr. Weber will be responsible for all operations of this flagship ritz-Carlton hotel in China.

“i am delighted to be back in shanghai. i have seen lots of changes and growth in the city and the upcoming World expo next year will really showcase shanghai to the world. The Portman ritz-Carlton, shanghai will continue to provide first class service to our guests and maintain our position as the premier luxury hotel brand in China” said Weber.

Mr. Weber was most recently the General

Mr. Bruno Tanner, who was responsible for starting up sulzer Metco surface Technol-ogy (shanghai) Co. ltd, lead operations in shanghai since 2005. He will now return to europe to take up a new position within

Ms. Grace liu was appointed Director of sales - MiCe of sheraton shanghai Hotel & residences, Pudong and Four Points by sheraton shanghai, Pudong. Prior to joining the starwood Hotels & resorts Worldwide in June 2009, she held the position of Direc-tor of sales at shanghai Marriott Hongqiao and new World Mayfair Hotel. Ms. liu brings with her nine years of experience in the Hospitality industry.

Helping guests make connections at more than 400 hotels in 75 countries around the world, sheraton is revitalising its brand while continuing its aggressive international expansion by adding 54 hotels and 20,000 guestrooms in 2009.

Manager at The ritz-Carlton, Beijing, where he successfully opened the hotel in Decem-ber 2006. Prior to this, he was resident Man-ager at The Portman ritz-Carlton, shanghai.

sulzer Friction systems as Business Devel-opment Manager with special focus on the Asian market.

Mr. Tanner’s successor will be Anthony Her-bert who has assumed his new position on 1st July 2009. Anthony, who holds a degree in mathematics, electronics and economics, joined sulzer Metco in 1985. He has held various positions in service, sales and man-agement in the uK, europe and America. His main task in China will be to further strengthen sulzer Metco’s position in this important market for all its products and services.

Mr. Manfred Weber

Ms. Grace liuMr. Anthony Herbert (l.) and Mr. Bruno Tanner (r.)

Page 5: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

12 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI

ebm-papst Receives Green Award

Companies Explore Potential in Kuala Lumpur

10-Year Anniversary of Nabertherm Shanghai

in June, ebm-papst Ventilator (shanghai) Co. ltd. was awarded an eco-prize at shanghai Energy Efficient Center. The award was for its outstanding ventilation products such as its energy-saving eC fan and motor tech-nology, which it has strongly promoted in China for many years. it is a special recog-nition by shanghai Foreign economic and Trade Commission to encourage enterprises to research and develop energy-saving pro-ducts. The ceremony took place during the fourth shanghai international energy-saving and emission reduction expo, organised by shanghai economy Committee, Municipal Construction, Communication Commis-sion and environment Protection Bureau. it gathered over 50 attendees from local and foreign companies.

Shanghai’s target energy efficiency, a reduc-tion of 25% per unit of GDP, was presented in the 2008 annual plan. Departments and bureaus of shanghai government will orga-nise public activities and market campaigns to ensure the plan is achieved properly and on schedule.

90 companies from the construction sec-tor in europe, China and Malaysia met in Kuala lumpur on 18th June to explore the potential of collaboration. under the Asia-invest Programme established and funded by the european union, the companies from the sectors of energy efficient, general and environmentally friendly construction, re-newable energies, architecture, landscape gardening, interior work and design a t tended one- to -one meetings with potential business partners.

T h e A s i a - i n v e s t Project brought to-gether companies f r o m G e r m a n y,

23rd May 2009 was a special date for nab-ertherm shanghai as it had been serving China for ten years. in light of the anni-versary the company held a celebration attended by over 100 customers and staff members. The event was opened by Mr. Wentrot, the Manag-ing Director of nab-ertherm GmbH, who came to China from the German headquarters specifically for the event. His encouraging speech expressed his confidence in the Chinese market and gave a prospect of the future global market.

nabertherm has produced industrial furnac-es and kilns for over 60 years. its products are used in various fields, including Arts & Crafts, Ceramics, laboratory & Dental, Heating Treatment, Foundry and Glass.

Hungary, spain, Czech republic, China and Malaysia. Prior to arriving in Kuala lumpur, the european companies along with ten Malaysian companies were in Xi’an, for the first part of the match-making event with approximately 70 Chinese companies. The primary organiser of the Asia-invest Project in Malaysia is the Malaysian-German Cham-ber of Commerce and industry (MGCC).

Control Risks Appoints New Head of InvestigationsControl risks China is pleased to announce the new head of its corporate investigations: Ben Wootliff. Ben leads a team of 25 investi-

gation and business intelligence consultants based in shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. They advise clients on reputation and com-mercial due diligence and offer fraud and litigation support.

The move is part of Control risks’ contin-ued growth in the region. “China is a very complex and opaque environment for doing business and it is very exciting to help our clients negotiate the challenges they face here. Businesses increasingly recognise the crucial need to understand the background and to track record of their business part-ners,” commented Mr. Wootliff upon his ap-pointment. Prior to his move to shanghai, he led Control Risks’ financial services practice in london.

GoldWind and Rittal Sign GPAGoldWind, a leading brand of the wind power industry in China, signed a GPA with rittal on 14th Aug 2009 in Beijing. The agree-ment was for the procurement of enclosure systems during 2009-2010 and shows coop-eration between the two companies rising to a new level.

under the agreement, rittal will supply GoldWind the enclosure systems for turbines including capacity level, 750KW, 1.5M and other series. Meanwhile, rittal will develop enclosure solution for the turbines of 2.5MW and 3MW with GoldWind. Mr. Cao Zhigang, Vice-president of GoldWind, and Dr. Zheng Qinghao, President of rittal, participated in the signing ceremony and expressed their confidence in future cooperation.Mr. Ben Wootliff

Page 6: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

2009 October - November 13

Page 7: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

14 October - November 2009

adpl-solutions operates for a b o u t 2 5 0 c l ients f rom different eco-nomic sectors. With a record t u r n o v e r o f eur 26.3mn in 2008 , the adpl-solutions group denoted the most successful year in company history. Further information is available at the com-pany website.

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI

Bachmann electronic at Wind Power Asia 2009

The internationally active, high-tech auto-mation company Bachmann electronic con-tinues its course of expansion in China. At Wind Power Asia, one of the most important wind fairs in China, Bachmann electronic had exhibits focusing on safety control, MATlAB®/simulink® and condition moni-toring to inspire their visitors.

Wi t h i t s a p p e a r-ance at the fair, the company was able to promote its pres-ence on the Chinese market and boost i t s i n t e r n a t i o n a l networking. “China is a country with an enormous potential for growth in wind energy,” reported Gabriel schwanzer,

Director of sales and Automation at Bach-mann electronic. in addition to the success-ful fair participations in China, Bachmann electronic also succeeded in its focus on in-ternational customer support by establishing a new office in Beijing in June 2009. Further offices and activities in China are planned for 2010.

New Continental Manufacturing Plant in Shanghai

MRI Moves to New Office in Shanghai

New Appointments at Renaissance Yangtze

in July 2009, Continental held the ground-breaking ceremony for a new plant holding its three Automotive Divisions Chassis & safety, Powertrain and interior in Jiading, shanghai. it mainly produces electronic control units and hydraulic electronic con-trol units, body electronic modules, instru-mentation components as well as thick film

The Shanghai office of the MRI China Group relocated its premises in August. The new of-fice is at Shui On Plaza on Huai Hai Middle road in shanghai’s central business district. it houses over 50 experienced executive search consultants. “Our investment in the office illustrates our long-term commitment to our international and domestic clients and candidates in China. since 2000, our business has grown steadily and we will continue to expand our business here, strengthening our industrial, Chemical, Consumer, Pharma-ceutical, retail, Banking and iT practices,” remarked sophie Wong, General Manager of the MRI Shanghai Office.

The Mri China Group has won the coveted CCH/ChinasTAFF ‘recruitment Firm of the Year, China’ award four times over the last six years. Besides Shanghai, the firm has also offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taiwan, singapore and seoul as well as a re-search centre in Chengdu.

renaissance Yangtze shanghai Hotel is pleased to announce the appointments of its new General Manager, Mr. Gary Fung, and its new resident Manager, Mr. uwe Guemmer.

O r i g i n a l l y f r o m H o n g K o n g , M r. Fung has worked with Marriott for 18 years in the areas of Human resources and operation disci-plines. He worked for various famous Mar-riott properties in different locations, includ-ing JW Marriott Hong Kong, China Hotel by Marriott Guangzhou and JW Marriott Hotel shanghai. Prior to his arrival in shanghai, Mr. Fung was the General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong.

Originally from Germany, Mr. Guemmer has over 25 years of international experience in Vietnam, Korea, Dubai, Philippines, eng-land, Germany and China. During this time, he has worked exclusively for the Marriott and renaissance brand for 13 years. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Guemmer was the Di-rector of Food & Beverage of the renaissance Tianjin Teda Hotel and Convention Center.

substrates. even in the midst of the ongoing crisis in the automotive sector, Continental continues its investment, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to the Chinese market.

Together with its partner Jiading industrial Zone, Continental invested rMB 160mn in the new plant, which will be operational in

2010. its production capacity will ramp up to 7.5mn units of hydraulic and elec-tronic control units, 3mn units of printed circuit boards for clusters, 5mn units of door control mo-dules and gateways and 2mn units of thick film substrates by 2015.

adpl-solutions Opens Shanghai BranchThe Austrian company adpl-solutions (advertising-production-logistics) is one of the leading producers of advertising media and providers of services in the advertising industry, specialising in tailor-made mod-ules and services. since the beginning of August 2008, the company has also offered its services in shanghai and now operates in 6 locations around the world with a total of 90 employees. The shanghai branch focuses on servicing companies from europe and the usA that are active in China. adpl-solutions already benefits from longstanding experi-ence in the Far east through its office in Hong Kong that was founded in 2003.

Mr. Gary Fung

Mr. Danny stötzer, Head of adpl shanghai

Page 8: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

2009 October - November 15

www.china.ahk.de

Siemens Enters China’s Wind Energy Market

siemens continued the expansion of its global wind turbine manu-facturing network with the construction of a new production facility in lingang new City of shanghai that started in May. This marked the company’s entry into China’s wind energy market. siemens Wind Power Blades (shanghai) Co. ltd. is initially investing rMB 581mn. When operations begin during the second half of 2010, the plant will be able to more effectively meet the strong demand for wind turbine equipment in China and the export market.

siemens will initially produce blades for 2.3 and 3.6 MW wind tur-bine plants, which will be produced without any glued joints that are susceptible to damage. The production capacity for the new facil-ity is initially planned at 500 MW annually. The first wind turbine blades and nacelles are scheduled to leave the plant during the expo 2010 in shanghai.

Further Step in Regional ExpansioninTerPOlYMer (shanghai) Co. ltd. celebrated its Grand Opening Ceremony for the new polymer manufacturing site in nanjing. Ger-man Consul General Dr. Albrecht von der Heyden and inTerPOlY-Mer Group Chairman norwin W. Wolff attended the ceremony along with 150 guests and employees. The plant was constructed on a greenfield site at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park with a ca-pacity of 40,000 metric tons annually with room for expansion.

“This modern manufacturing site will further strengthen our posi-tion as a global supplier of specialty acrylic polymers,” stated Gen-eral Manager siegfried J. Gillich. Mr. Wolff added that the company still sees significant demand for tailor-made polymers by individual customers, but must be close to their regional plants to be successful. The plant has been designed with the capabilities to manufacture en-vironmentally friendly polymers and additives for specialty paints, inks and coatings, personal care products, detergents and cleaners, as well as for tailor-made polymers.

Page 9: BUSINESS FOCUS NEWS FROM BERLIN AND … · includes the roder big tent solution with sides of up to six meters tall. Portman Ritz-Carlton ... President Sheraton of The ritz-Carlton

16 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI

Germanischer Lloyd Consults Sinopec in PuguangGermanischer lloyd (Gl) will provide com-missioning consultancy services regarding gathering and purification for the Puguang gas field plant in China. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (sinopec) awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) contract to Gl. Puguang is the biggest Chi-nese gas field with high content of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. in order to avoid any hazard during the start-up and the operation, the commissioning activities have to be planned and executed with great care.

The operating centres of Germanischer lloyd’s industrial services in Kuala lumpur, Malaysia and shanghai will jointly execute the project. The contract is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009.

Weidmuller Receives Eltek Valere AwardWeidmuller was honoured ‘eltek Valere excellent supplier of the Year’ at the recent suppliers’ convention of eltek energy Tech-nology (Dongguan) ltd. The Vice-president of eltek Valere and President of eltek Valere (China), Mr. Bengt lundberg, spoke highly of Weidmuller as a partner at the convention.

eltek Valere was founded in 1971 and is a professional communication DC power sup-ply manufacturer with 21 branches around the world. As its key partner, Weidmuller not only supplies high-quality products and services, but also provides high efficiency industry solu-tions to eltek Valere and other customers.

New CFO at Demag As a leading manu-facturer of material handling, Demag Cranes & Compo-nents shanghai is pleased to announce t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of Mr. rainer Herr-mann as the com-

pany’s new CFO as of 1st July. in his role, Mr. Herrmann will be responsible for all finance, accounting, controlling and iT operations. Mr. Herrmann started his career in the logis-tics department of siemens in Germany. He has since held several positions in finance, accounting and controlling in various coun-tries. Drawing on this broad experience, he will contribute to the development of Demag in China.

sim Opens Berlin Liaison Office

LANXESS young.euro.classic China Festival 2009

sim (selective international management) shanghai is happy to announce the open-ing of its new liaison office in Berlin, Germany. The office is lead by Dr. Klaus-Dieter neubert.

Dr. neubert can look back on 35 years of professional experience, from which he has gained a strong management background and expertise in an international environment. Business developments, launch of subsidiar-ies abroad, corporate policies and identity of global operating companies were all major topics of his career as well as planning and controlling procedures. sim is happy to wel-come Dr. neubert to the team to serve its Ger-man customers even closer.

For the third consecutive year, German specialty chemicals group lAnXess AG, brought one of the world’s finest youth or-chestras to China. some of the most talented young musicians from China and Ger-many performed in Beijing in August at the ‘lAnXess young.euro.classic China Festival 2009.’ This year, the programme combined classical compositions with works written by young composers. under the leadership of Maestro Tang Muhai, one of China’s most famous conductors, the musicians gave an exceptional performance at the ullens Center for Contemporary Art, located in 798 Art Cen-ter District in Beijing.

Seidenschwarz Releases Quality Survey The international management consulting firm Seidenschwarz & Comp. published the results of its survey on Quality Made in Chi-na. in recent years, products made in China have reached competitive price-performance levels and gained a good reputation in the world market. in terms of quality however, products made in China are still not widely seen to be world class by industrial custom-ers as well as consumers.

How good is quality made in China today? Which barriers exist for achieving world class quality? What impact do local suppli-ers have on quality and how can they be managed? These and other questions were subject of the seidenschwarz survey ‘Quality Made in China: status, expectations, poten-tials.’ Further information on the survey can be found on the company’s website.

New Director at Psyma ChinaPsyma China has ap-pointed Mr. Zhang Jun as the new di-rector for its Beijing office. Mr. Zhang previously worked as an account di-re c t o r a t B e i j i n g Delphys Hakuhodo Advertising, where he successfully directed projects with clients in the automotive and consumer goods area. At Psyma, Mr. Zhang will be responsible for heading the firm’s Beijing office and oversee-ing projects for international clients.Psyma China is one of the leading market re-search firms in China with offices in Shang-hai and Beijing. The Psyma Group has 17 offices on four Continents.

ContiTech Starts Production in ChangshuVibration Control, one of the seven busi-ness units of ContiTech China rubber & Plastics Technology ltd, started operations of its brand new workshop in Changshu in September. Vibration Control is the first seg-ment that began operations in the new plant in Changshu. Focusing on vibration control rubber technologies, the company’s main products in Changshu will be engine mounts

for the automotive industry.

ContiTech China rubber & Plastics Technol-ogy is a wholly-owned foreign invested en-terprise of ContiTech in China. The segments Airspring systems and Fluid Technology will move into their new factories (currently under construction) at the beginning of 2010 also in Changshu, Jiangsu Province.

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2009 October - November 17

www.china.ahk.de

New Management at KELLER LufttechnikKeller lufttechnik specialises in the cap-turing and collection of air polluting mat-ter and on the limitation of emissions for industrial applications. The company offers a complete range of services in the field of filtration technology. On 1st June, Mr. Matthias Kramer took over the management of Keller’s representa-tive office in Shanghai. The former manager Mr. uhrmann, is leaving the company for retirement. For his 40 years of commitment to Keller lufttechnik, six years thereof

in China, the management thanks him and wishes him all the best for his well de-served retirement.

To better consult customers, Keller has strengthened the team by adding Mr. sun Wei. Mr. Kramer and Mr. sun Wei are both contacts for all questions and plans regard-ing extraction and filtration systems. They are happy to consult customers in a personal meeting about the products and discuss ex-amples of already implemented solutions.

Asian Express Now Speaks GermanTo better accommo-date the needs of the German community in shanghai, Asian e x p re s s i n t e r n a -tional Movers has recently enlarged its team of reloca-tion consultants. Mr. Thomas Walser from Austria will be in charge of German com-pany accounts and facilitate communication with valued German speaking customers. With four years of China market experi-ence and his european background in sales, Thomas can satisfy every individual need and guide customers through a hassle-free moving experience.

in addition, Asian express international Movers is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. established in 1979 in Hong Kong and with offices in Beijing, shanghai and Guangzhou, the company is proud to count many leading MnCs around Asia among its loyal customers. With high standards of ser-vice acclaimed by industry certificates, Asian express is setting benchmarks in the moving industry.Mr. sun Wei. and Mr. Matthias Kramer

Mr. Thomas Walser

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18 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI

Burkhardt Leitner constructiv Holds WorkshopOn 6th August, Burkhardt leitner constructiv shanghai held its ‘Workshop 08/2009,’ the second one after the successful launch of this event. Bl organises its Workshop twice a year with the aim of introducing the wide range of Bl applications in temporary con-struction, including the fields of trade fair, exhibition, museum, showroom, office and public space. since 1993, Burkhardt leitner constructiv from stuttgart has been develop-ing and producing modular architectural systems of high flexibility and mobility.

At the Workshop, the Bl shanghai team explained corporate philosophy, product information and shared project experience with attendees from 10 different exhibition and event organising companies. The work-shop was also comprised of showroom vis-its, outdoor displays of the latest Bl systems and a dinner at shanghai shintori Collection restaurant.

Losberger Celebrates 90 Years of Tent History

i n 1 9 1 9 , n o b o d y could have ever imag-i n e d t h a t n i n e d e -cades later losberger w o u l d become a major in -ternational m a n u -f a c t u r e r , seller and

hirer of mobile tents and halls. located in Bad rappenau, losberger took the lead role in the development of new systems and succeeded: introducing the world’s first alu-minium tent. since then, the company’s his-tory includes many innovations in the field of temporary structures, such as glass-walls, double-storeys, balconies and many other sophisticated features.

Today the group has around 700,000m² for hire, subsidiaries and agents all over the world and – since 1999 – also in China. With manufacturing facilities in shanghai and ex-tensive rental stock in shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, losberger has continued the success story of selling and renting sophis-ticated tents for premium events, large scale exhibitions and flexible warehouses.

Report from Wuhan’s 2009 IPR Training

From 11th to 27th July 2009, Zhongnan univer-sity of economics and law implemented iPr training for 170 doctoral students, graduate students and university professors through-out China. The training aimed to educate students and scholars of science, technology, law and art about basic iPr concepts, law and public policy. Many renowned Chinese and international iPr experts conducted the training, such as Prof. Wu Handong, President of Zhong-nan university and Prof. li Mingde of the Chinese Academy of social sciences.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusamenarbeit (GTZ) supported the train-ing by sending Dr. Oliver Maaz, a German Attorney-at-law and Associate Partner at rödl & Partner shanghai Office. Dr. Maaz gave an introduction to european and Ger-man iPr, comparing it with the Chinese legal system. senior officials from China’s state intellectual Property Office and state Administration for industry and Commerce presented an administrative perspective on iPr and managers rounded out the training with their practical perspective.

Mr. Frank Gaenzle, VP of losberger shanghai

From left to right: Prof. Huang Yuye (Dean Assistant), Dr. Oliver Maaz (Associate Partner), Prof. Cao Xinming (executive Director) and Ms. li Bei (legal Counsel).

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2009 October - November 19

Schueco Promoting Energy Saving AwarenessAmong the existing 40bn m2 of buildings in China, 95% are high en-ergy consumption buildings. statistics show that of the total energy consumption, 30% occur from 2bn m2 of newly constructed buildings each year.

On 26th June 2008 the Chinese Government published an announce-ment on ‘energy saving information Publishing for residential Buildings’, of which ‘Fenestration energy efficiency Performance label’ is a major part. schueco China started to work with the gov-ernment bureau on this label in late 2008 in order to promote energy saving knowledge among developers and architects. The goal of this is to help schueco’s local fabricators improve design and fabrication quality. schueco also aims to increase awareness in energy saving from windows and doors among end users and to lead the fenestra-tion market to higher environmental friendliness.

Kuehne + Nagel Opens in ChongqingKuehne + Nagel opened a new branch office in Chongqing in early July, its 39th location in China. With the opening of the new location, the company is following the market trend of exploring opportuni-ties made possible by moving inland.

The largest and most populated municipality in China, Chongqing enjoys continuous investment, leading to increasing demand for quality logistics services. From the new premises, Kuehne + nagel will focus on providing international sea and air logistics services. in addition, it will offer specialised solutions to support the automotive and industrial goods and chemicals sectors. “The new development strategically supports our expansion plan in China. staying close to our customers allows us to strengthen our offerings and enhance our market position,” commented Jens Drewes, Country Manager of Kuehne + nagel in Central and northern China.

10 Years of SurTec in ChinasurTec Hangzhou was established in 1999, located in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. As the member of surTec international GmbH, surTec Hangzhou is proud to provide innovative electroplating processes for the Chinese, Korean and indian plating industries. The com-pany’s mission is to provide quality products and processes for cleaning, pre-treatment, plating and post treatment for the surface finishing industry.surTec has been serving the Chinese electroplating industry for 10 years. During this time it has developed, manufactured and mar-keted high value-added products and processes, while providing comprehensive technical services. With great pleasure surTec will hold a big celebration for its birthday in november.

HOERBIGER Changzhou ExpansionWith the kick-off of its serial production of relief valves in March 2009 in Changzhou, HOerBiGer Valves continued its successful commitment in Asia. Changzhou is the fourth location of the com-pany in China and the second site after shanghai using strategic Business unit Compression Technology.

HOerBiGer Valves (Changzhou) Co. ltd. is a wholly foreign owned enterprise funded by HOerBiGer KT Asia Holding PTe. ltd. Besides providing technical consultation services the company has also produced explosion relief Valves for 2- and 4-stroke Marine Diesel engines since the beginning of 2009. The new Changzhou branch is another key factor in the business development of the HOERBIGER Group in China and the entire Asia/Pacific region.

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20 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS SHANGHAI

Dimo’s Helps Fundraising for Taicang RoundtableWith over 100 guests from the shanghai area, the first ox barbecue was held by Di-mo’s on 21st August in Taicang. Dimo’s Food Taicang is well-known in the foreign com-munity for its German sausages and meat products. General Manager nadine Hilling-lin welcomed the guests and stressed that despite of the financial crisis, the interest in Dimo’s products continued to be strong. “We would like to thank our customers and

Leschaco Opens Offices in Nanjing and Qingdao

Siemens Busbar Supports Wind Energy in China

in the ‘new energy industry Development Plan’ to be published by the Chinese gov-ernment this year, wind energy will be a key focus within the Clean Development Mechanism. China now ranks fourth in total installed capacity of wind power units after a continuous double digit increase over the past three years.

To answer the Chinese market demand, Zhenjiang siemens Busbar Co. (ZsB) intro-duced the latest busbar solution for wind towers since last year. in July 2009, new orders were awarded to ZsB by several key wind turbine suppliers in China to supply its latest lDA busbar products for about 200 wind towers. Thus, siemens Busbar has been utilised in almost all the major wind yards in China, located in Hebei, inner Mongolia, Gansu and Jilin provinces, which are the 10,000 MW wind energy bases specified by the government.

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Güntner Shanghai EstablishedGüntner is pleased to announce the official establishment of Güntner (shanghai) Trad-ing Co., ltd.

Based on the former Güntner AG & Co. KG, shanghai representative Office, the new trading company aims to bring the Güntner global strategy to a Chinese local perspec-tive. The set up of the local warehouse, as well as the availability of rMB quotation and payment, will bring the company’s China sales operation to a new stage of ef-ficiency and reliability.

supporters for their loyalty. since the occa-sions are rare that we are gathered together, we would like to offer you a unique tasting sensation – a barbecued ox.”simultaneously, a sum of rMB 5,200 was raised for supporting projects of the Tai-cang roundtable. This project was initiated to rebuild a primary school in Qingchuan, which was destroyed by the earthquake in sichuan in May 2008.

leschaco China ltd, founded in 2007, is stra-tegically located in shanghai. Despite the dif-ficult worldwide economic situation, growth in emerging markets is one of the overall tar-gets of the intercontinental logistics provider and China is a market with high potential. “The new Nanjing and Qingdao branch offic-es they strengthen our coverage in the Yang-tze and the Manchuria areas,” said managing director Ted lee.

leschaco China, the Chinese subsidiary of Germany-based Anker leschaco Group is fur-ther expanding its network. On 1st July 2009, the company opened two new offices. The of-fice in Nanjing will be headed by Mr. Florian Fritz (28). Ms. Heidi liu (35) is the Branch Manger of the new office in Qingdao.

since the early nineties, Anker leschaco Group has been covering the Asian market.

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2009 October - November 21

www.china.ahk.de

Salans Reinforces Shanghai Officeupon regulatory approval, Brenda Horrigan, co-head of salans’ international Global Arbitration Practice Group, will relocate to the firm’s shanghai Office to reinforce the presence in Greater China. There, she will expand and lead the Asian Dispute resolution Prac-tice in shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. she will continue to divide her time between the Paris and Shanghai offices of the firm. salans’ arbitration practice has over 50 legal professionals and is recognised as one of the leading international arbitration practices amongst law firms. Salans has been serving clients for over 30 years and is renowned for its pioneering work in the emerging markets of Central and eastern europe, the Cis and China. Brenda specialises on international arbitration with a special focus on commercial and treaty disputes involving emerging markets. she has acted as a counsel in arbitrations conducted under various arbitration rules such as iCC, sCC, CieTAC, iCAC, iCsiD and un-CiTrAl as well as an arbitrator under the iCC rules.

MANAGEMENT ENGINEERS one of Top 10 Management Consultants in GermanyMAnAGeMenT enGineers (Me) climbed to the Top 10 of the most important consultants for German companies with their busi-ness model of implementation, as Professor Fink reports in his 2009 survey. The findings of the study were published in the August issue of Manager Magazin, Germany’s leading economic magazine.This consulting concept fits perfectly in these difficult times: practi-tioners with long term industrial and professional experience, who implement ideas quickly and efficiently, Fink said in the article. For restructuring projects, supply chain management and production processes as well as operations management Me was even ranked among the Top 5 of the big international players.The company with its headquarters in Dusseldorf has a total of 175 consultants around the world, including shanghai. Me follows the same concept worldwide and advises companies in the automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical, mechanical engineering, electronics and utility industry.

Head of Balancity Project AppointedMs. sonja Holstein has been ap-pointed by the German Centre shang-hai as Head of Project Team (service Department), effective since July. she is responsible for the German Centre’s project ‘balancity – experi-ence the quality of life,’ staged in the context of eXPO 2010. The project will be focused on three core topics: future, health, and energy-awareness. Highlights include the solar-powered charging station and two pavilions

showcasing high-technology. The German Centre is partner of ‘balancity’, the German Pavilion at the eXPO 2010 shanghai.

Ms. Holstein is a well-known member of the German community in shanghai. This is owed to her commitment to the German Club shanghai and the German Chamber of Commerce in various func-tions and projects. Prior to her arrival to shanghai in March 2007, Ms. Holstein was self-employed in the financial services industry. she holds an MBA in Human resources and Adult education from Cologne university of Applied sciences.

Ms. sonja Holstein

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22 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS MEMBER NEWS SOUTH CHINA

MEMBER NEWSSOUTH CHINA

OSRAM Expands Green Lighting Production in China

OsrAM, a wholly-owned company of sie-mens, inaugurated two new buildings at its Foshan plant on 3rd July. The plant extension will scale up production capacity and r&D for highly energy-efficient and environmen-tal lighting products in order to meet the growing demand in Asia-Pacific, especially China. With a total investment of rMB 400mn until 2010, the new facilities will

help make Foshan one of the largest global sites of OsrAM. The plant extension further underlines the company’s strong confidence in China’s continued economic growth even under the current global economic reces-sion. The move also shows OsrAM’s firm commitment to support the Chinese govern-ment’s appeal to promote a national Green lighting Campaign.

Conexus Trains Young Football Talentsponsored by lufthansa German Airlines, China Hotel – A Marriott Hotel and Trolli Confectionery, with the support of the Ger-man and Chinese Football Associations (DFB and CFA), Conexus Hong Kong ltd. organised the first Guangzhou Football Training Camp. Former German Bundes-liga trainer Mr. eckhard Krautzun, German cup winner with the 1 FC Kaiserslautern in 1996, trained the most talented young foot-ball players in Guangzhou for one week as

the start of a long-term project to transfer knowledge and experience of German ex-perts to south China. Mr. Michael Blohm, Director of Conexus, and Mr. Krautzun, who has consulted the CFA since 2003, aim to improve structures in terms of talent search and training of players and trainers. The company’s activities cover football training camps and football schools supported by DFB, sport management, events and market-ing, as well as transfers of players.

Mr. Michael Blohm (Conexus, middle) with trainer Mr. Eckhard Krautzun (right) and Mr. Nico Beilharz (Lufthansa, left)

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2009 October - November 23

www.china.ahk.de

Kempinski Road Show encouraged by the fast-growing prosperity in the China market, Kempinski Hotels Man-agement Company launched its Great China road show Plan in July - almost 20 years after the company made its first announce-ment in China.

CeO Mr. reto Witter and company vice-presidents from headquarters and regional offices had travelled across China and Mongolia to meet with local partners and to further explore ties for joint business op-portunities. The representatives arrived in shenzhen on 25th July and brought in the road show, which showcased the company’s luxury properties around the world. The forum also provided an overview of trade partners, Kempinski’s future corporate strat-egy, as well as its employee welfare, training and career development initiatives.

TÜV Rheinland Expands Automotive EMC

New GM at Ritz-Carlton Guangzhou

in view of new Automotive eMC (electro-magnetic Compatibility) requirements, TÜV rheinland has expanded the automotive eMC testing capabilities of its eMC labora-tory in Guangzhou. it is now offering all of the mandatory automotive eMC tests to sup-port the product designs of vehicle and esA manufacturers.The eCe regulation r10.03 has become man-datory since 12th July 2009. The amendment 2009/19/eC to Directive 72/245/eeC, which relates to the electromagnetic compatibility

The ritz-Carlton Guangzhou has a new Gen-eral Manager. As of mid-July 2009, Michelle Caporicci is in charge of the 351-room hotel in Pearl river new City, Tianhe District. Ms. Caporicci has 13 years of experience with the luxury hotel chain. she has held leading positions in the company’s us-based head-quarters, as well as at ritz-Carlton hotels in California and shanghai. Ms. Caporicci majored in Finance and real estate law at the California Polytechnic Pomona university in the united states. “Guangzhou is one of the most dynamic and promising cities in the region with a rich culture and heritage. With the coming Asian

Games and further development of Pearl river new City, we will continue to lead the luxury hotel market in Guangzhou,” said Ms. Caporicci upon her appointment.

Michelle Caporicci and her predecessor Francois Cnockaert celebrating the key handover

of vehicles, was released in March 2009. The eMC requirements for vehicles and their electrical and electronic sub-assembly (esA) included in the eC Directive (e-mark) and eCe regulation (e-mark) are technically equivalent again. The updated mandatory eMC tests according to eCe regulation r10.03 and 2009/19/eC include broadband radiated emission, narrowband radiated emission, immunity to electromagnetic radia-tion, immunity to transient disturbances and emission of conducted disturbances.

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24 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS COVER STORY

60/60

The People’s republic of China (PrC) and the Federal republic of Germany (FrG) are celebrating a “Double Anniversary” this year. Both were founded in 1949. Both countries can look back on major achievements over the past 60 years; in Germany there are but three very important examples: the so-called “economic Miracle” after World War ii, the building of our stable democracy as well as the Reunification in 1989. China in particular capitalised on its success-ful process of Opening and Reform since 1978 and the Reunification with Hong Kong and Macau in the late 1990s. irrespective of our very different history, culture and political system, these were im-portant highlights illustrating how much we have in common.

After a period of focusing on domestic policies, the PrC and the FrG established diplomatic relations in 1972. since then mutual visits of the Heads of states have become a reliable pillar of the close and friendly relations between our two countries. Over the past 35 years, our countries have become the most important economic partners in Asia and europe.

Yet, our partnership has developed far beyond strong economic ties. We have developed a broad network of dialogue, cooperation and partnerships in a variety of fields. The “Sino-German Rule of Law Dialogue” and “sino-German Dialogue on Human rights” have contributed substantially to exchange in legal matters. Moreover, the “Chinese-German Forum for economic and Technological Coopera-tion”, the “Hamburg summit” or the “German-Chinese Year of sci-ence and education” have provided great opportunities for dialogue across governmental, economic and scientific fields. “Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together (德中同行)” has become a major platform for sustainable urbanisation, extending our bilateral ties to new regions in China.

Over the years, a framework of close partnerships has also been developed on a municipal level, for example the numerous partner-ships between Chinese and German provinces and cities: the first partnership of this kind was established between Duisburg and Wuhan in 1982. since then, many other cities followed suit, such as Aachen and ningbo (since 1986), Cologne and Beijing (since 1987), shenzhen and nuremberg (since 1997) or regensburg and Qingdao (2009), to name but a few.

Geographically, China appears rather remote to most Germans. We are successfully making great efforts to bridge this distance. A very important project in this context is the German-Chinese school Part-nership Program (PAsCH), which includes some 35 Chinese middle schools linked to partners in Germany. More and more German schools have started to promote in-depth knowledge about China and its language. education and knowledge about each other en-hances understanding and fosters the basis for sustainable relations. After focusing successfully on economic, governmental and scientific cooperation within the Chinese-German relations on a professional level during the past decades, it will be up to the younger genera-tions to bring our two countries even closer together in the course of the 21st century.

i would like to congratulate the two countries on their “60 Years Double Anniversary”. i am looking forward to ever closer relations. Happy Birthday China and Germany!

“120 Years” of Friendship

Dr. Michael SchaeferAmbassador of Germany in China

The People’s Republic of China celebrates six decades since its foundation on 1st October and proudly looks back at a long list of achievements as it has risen to one of the world’s leading powers. Earlier this May, the Federal Republic of Germany also celebrated its 60th anniversary. What started off as two divided nations in post-war shambles, grew with unprecedented speed, later uniting into one of the world’s largest economies.

Both of these special occasions warrant a review of the highlights and joint milestones of "120 years" of cooperation. First hand accounts of some personalities, whose lives and careers have been bridging both countries, reassure us that the cooperation between Germany and China – in a cultural, economic or personal context – is a solid one. In spite of their different cultures and values, the two countries have learned to respect each other and closely work together on a partnership that has helped them both get to where they are today.

Happy Birthday to China and Germany!

1st Five-Year Plan (1953-57) focusing on Soviet-style development of heavy industries

Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward" as part of the 2nd Five-Year Plan. Farming is collectivised and labour-intensive industry is introduced.

Readjustment and recovery after widespread famine. "Agr icu l tu re F i rs t " pol icy improves food s i t ua t ion improves.

n 1966-76 - Mao introduces "Cultural Revolution", a 10-year political and ideological campaign aimed at reviving revolutionary spirit.n 3rd Five-Year Plan (1966-70)

Start of rapid economic growth in West Germany - ‘Wirtschaftswunder’

Wes t Germany jo ins Nato; East Germany joins the Warsaw Pact.

Wes t Germany jo ins the European Economic Community.

Construction of the Berlin Wall. Ludwig Erhard follows Adenauer as Chancellor of the FRG.

27th October -Recognition between the PRC and the GDR

June - First German-Chinese friendship week

Trade agreement between "Ostausschuss der Deutschen Wi r t s c ha f t " a nd Ch i na Committee for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) signed

A divided Germany:n 23rd May - Foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with Konrad Adenauer as its Chancellor.n 7th October - Foundation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), headed by Walter Ulbricht.

1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983

1st October - Chairman Mao Zedong declares foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Agrarian Reform Law: Land of landlords and wealthy farmers is re-distributed to millions of peasants.

ChinaSino-GermanGermany

24 October - November 2009

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2009 October - November 25

www.china.ahk.de

The Middle Kingdom does not only provide vast geography but experience as well; al-though our personal China stories are sure to encounter parallels, no one personal his-tory with China – be it long or short-term – resembles another.

Michael Kahn-Ackermann’s China story be-gan with the switch of university majors from sociology to sinology – at that time esteemed an “orchid subject” in Germany, named after the exotic plant that is lovely to look at but bears no fruit. nobody could imagine at that time – the seventies – that thirty years later the children of ambitious global parents around the world would become little sinologists al-ready in kindergarten and primary school.

Ackermann saw a China of a different time. The country opened for foreign exchange students in 1974, and he was among the first “Outside-Country-People” to experience life in the lecture halls and dormitories of Beijing university , in the countryside and the facto-ries the students were sent to on assignment. He remembers the strong sense of commu-nity among the members of the individual units, and the camel caravans transiting through the suburbs. After his return home, he joined the Goethe-institut – with the seem-ingly impossible vision of one day opening a branch in China, a country still void of any foreign educational or cultural establishment whatsoever.

The opening of the first Goethe-institut in China by secretary of state Hans-Dietrich Genscher in 1988 was not only a personal dream come true for Ackermann – but a groundbreaking sensation on all levels of

Chinese-German relations that was credited to a bold, brave and visionary move by Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

since its opening, the Goethe-institut in Chi-na has lived through turmoil and turbulenc-es, ups and downs through political culture and cultural politics, from common interest to interest clashes – and as it taught about German language and thought, its relation-ship to its host country likewise matured.

“in the beginning we provided a window to the West”, Ackermann illustrates. “To many, we were the only information source about a world outside the country borders. now, our students and partners are visiting Germany as tourists to see it for themselves. We see ourselves primarily as a workshop that pro-vides an open meeting and exchange space for community, cooperation and education. Germany is not a lifestyle paradigm to the Chinese as the us, or a cultural exchange model as France, so ‘The Goethe’ still is on a mission to educate about our country – that it is not only about the old philosophers and baroque castles, for example, but also has a pretty hip music scene.”

“in the past, China has viewed Germany through a romanticised lens as a kind of Cockaigne while the Germans approached China with the goodwill attitude of a mentor showing the way. But the unbalanced plat-forms of exchange have adjusted and aligned themselves to a common ground; the dia-logue now is happening on eye level – this requires a whole new need for clarity and detail. Business between each other is not as

When an Orchid Bears Fruit…

An Interview with Michael Kahn-Ackerman, Regional Manager of the Goethe-Institut in China

easy anymore; it has intensified on a level of more material interest and so has the need for more astute understanding.”

As other fields and industries, the cultural and educational cooperation has become more focused, specific and purposeful – and finds itself faced with the tendency of commercialisa-tion. Yet especially in the arts, he still perceives a great need for not-for-profit work ahead. Though contemporary Chinese art is flood-ing the large auction houses of the world with record prices and Chinese directors are churn-ing out epic motion pictures for a new global mainstream, individual, smaller artists are still awaiting a chance to share and exchange their unique voices with fellow artists in Germany.

in their history, the two nations were always able to renew their convergence points wher-eever necessary, and an inherent insistent re-spect of one another always propelled them through any time of discord.

“The Germans are naturally blessed with a good reputation in China, known for quality engineering and reliability, but we are not

Happy Birthday to China and Germany!

n 1966-76 - Mao introduces "Cultural Revolution", a 10-year political and ideological campaign aimed at reviving revolutionary spirit.n 3rd Five-Year Plan (1966-70) 4th Five-Year Plan (1971-75)

US President Richard Nixon visits China.

Deng Xiaoping leads economic reforms.

China intro-duces one-child policy.

F i r s t S p e c i a l Economic Zone is established in Shenzhen.

6th Five-Year Plan (1981-85)

D e n g X i a o p i n g introduces "The Four Modernisations" that liberalise foreign trade and direct investment.

n Chai rman Mao dies. "Gang of Four" jockey for power, but are arrested.n Hua Guofeng becomes the next Chairman of the Commu-nist Party and brings Cultural Revolution to an end. n 5th Five-Year Plan (1976-80)

East German constitution declares uni f icat ion impossible until the West becomes socialist.

Social Democrat (SPD) Willy Brandt becomes Chancellor in the West.

Walter Ulbricht is suc-ceeded in the East by Erich Honecker.

West Germany hosts the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

B rand t r e s i gn s . New Chancellor Helmut Schmidt continues Brandt's "Ostpoli-tik" (eastern policies).

Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl becomes chancellor.

East and West Germany join the UN.

June - First German-Chinese friendship week

The FRG and PRC establish d i p l oma t i c relations.

Foundation of the Society for German-Chinese Friendship.

The first student exchanges between China and Germany.

State visit of German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to China.

First visit of German For-eign Minister Genscher to China.

The EC and China sign their first trade agreement in Brussels.

The first representative exhibition of German books is opened in Beijing

1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983

2009 October - November 25

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26 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS COVER STORY

A certain fascination with China’s potential and the chance to flourish in a fast-changing environment has drawn armies of foreign pro-fessionals to the country. Few of them came as early and stayed as long as Dr. Bernd-uwe stucken. The head of the Greater China prac-tice of international law firm salans shares a personal anniversary with the festivities this year - his first 20 years in China.

necessarily known for our ability to laugh about ourselves”, he hints with a grin, “this is a characteristic still missed in one or another German contemporary by the Chinese.”

Kahn-Ackerman’s personal story in China is closely linked to that of his institute, but whether we look at our diverging and mutual past on a small or the grand scale, whether it’s a personal or national history, he wishes the following from us on this shared anniversary: a move away from the still very prominent labels “typical German” or “typical Chinese” to a more curious, introspective, informed but fearless “typical us together!” Jns

“China is not a Revolutionary Country”

Eye-witness of the boom years and legal expert Dr. Bernd-Uwe Stucken reflects on the changing environment since the country’s opening and reform process.

Having freshly earned his doctorate of law in 1989, Dr. stucken was asked by his Professor at Goettingen university to build up the alma mater’s German-Chinese institute for Com-mercial law at nanjing university. After the initial four year academic posting, Dr. stuck-en has since been working as a corporate law-yer in shanghai, earning respect as an expert in the legal and corporate field in China.

“Moving to China back in those days was not regarded a smart career planning move”, he remembers with a smile. But stucken had already inhaled the dynamism of the country while backpacking through China’s south during an earlier traineeship in Hong Kong – and was intrigued enough to return. His Chinese girlfriend and later wife certainly supported this decision

stucken’s professional history in China is closely intertwined with the legal reform process that the country has undergone since the end of the Cultural revolution. not many people are aware of the fact that the legal systems of China and Germany have a lot in common. The re-establishment of a legal sys-tem and lawmaking went hand in hand with a codification process that is in many ways based on continental european law.

Pinning down the most significant economic milestones during recent Chinese history is more difficult for Stucken, simply due to the nature of progress. Rather than taking specific leaps in its development – with the exception of the Mao era - China has chosen the path of a continuous reform and lawmaking process, guided by pragmatism in the form of “making two steps ahead and one step back to test the ground. China in fact is not a revolutionary country,” he concludes. The Chinese govern-ment realised early that foreign investment would be needed for China to successfully master its economic reforms, but that inves-tors would not come without legal certainty being provided. The Joint Venture laws in 1979 and the Chinese Foreign Trade law in 1986 laid the ground for foreign business in China. The next steps were the WTO acces-sion in 2001 and - more recently – the adop-tion of a competition law.

The changes in legal framework also triggered

the “trend waves” of German and foreign corporate presence in China - from licence agreements over JVs to WFOes and later also to FiCes (Foreign invested Commercial enterprises) with local trading and distribu-tion rights. At the same time however, since around 2000, many realised that Greenfield investments and organic growth were often too slow in China, “where it is more crucial to be fast than big,” comments stucken. Thus, buying existing companies often became the more attractive option. Though he considers the Merger and Acquisition wave as currently phasing out in the production sector, M&A deals involving distribution networks are likely to continue.

On what these trends imply for future bi-lateral business relations, stucken remains confident that Germany will always remain an important partner to China, as the two countries get along well in their business con-duct and have less natural tensions than other countries. “China and Germany have comple-mentary qualities”. The nature of bilateral business however, will undergo changes as China is no longer a cheap production hub. A sobering mood is looming among machin-ery manufacturers about profitability and competition in China. “some will ultimately abandon production in China, but selling and servicing will continue, and other industries are on the move in,” he adds, pointing to industries such as retail and hotel chains. He sees additional room for growth for logistic-related companies and luxury brands, selling to the Chinese consumer. Conversely, Chinese businesses will increasingly go abroad and gain footholds in new areas.

On the brink of the anniversary, Dr. stucken spontaneously wishes China continued growth and development of the kind it has seen over the past two decades. He admits in the same sentence though that the country’s established export driven growth model is about to expire as manufacturers are strug-gling with rising cost structures. A big transi-tion, especially in terms of productivity and the development of the domestic markets, would be needed, yet it is not quite clear how and when China will master these hurdles. Challenges of social nature, like the gap be-tween rural and urban population and also

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

n Jiang Zemin takes over as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.n Stock markets are opened in Shanghai and Shenzhen. 8th Five-Year Plan (1991-95)

Deng Xiaoping accelerates market reforms to establish a “socialist market economy”.

China fixes its first RMB floating rate since 1949. 9th Five-Year Plan (1996-2000)

Preliminary construction work on the Three Gorges dam begins.

The first Goethe Institut in China is opened in Beijing

Germany g ives USD 450mn i n l oans f o r construction of Shanghai Metro.

n Visit of German Foreign Minister Kinkel in Chinan The German Bundestag lifts all economic sanctions of 1989.

Chinese President Li Peng visits Germany

State visit of the Presi-dent of the PRC, Jiang Zemin to Germany

Chancellor Kohl visits China. The business delegation closes orders valued at over DEM 6bn

14 coastal cities are completely opened to foreign investment. 7th Five-Year Plan (1986-90)

Honecker pays first official visit to the West.

n Mass exodus of East Germans as Soviet bloc countries relax travel restrictions. n 9th November - Fall of the Berlin Wall.

3rd October: Day of German Unity. East Germany joins the FRG. Chancellor Kohl leads a reunified Germany.

Parliament names Berlin the new capital.

Germany jo ins the Maastricht Treaty on European Union.

n Honecker dies. Kohl re-elected. n Russian and Allied troops finally leave Berlin.

ChinaSino-GermanGermany

26 October - November 2009

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2009 October - November 27

www.china.ahk.de

Of Cubes and Balls

Chinese “Returnee” Zhao Hangyu on switching back and forth between the Sino-German Cultural Borders

living as an expat in China, one easily tends to adopt a German-centric ‘laowai’ perspec-tive. But what about the opposite direction of expatriation? Thousands of well-educated Chinese graduates leave their homeland in order to continue their studies and careers abroad. More and more of them are now re-turning to China after years abroad to counter the brain-drain. One interesting example is the story of Mr. Zhao Hangyu, who had left shanghai in 1989 as a graduated naval archi-tect on a two year scholarship to pursue his postgraduate studies in Hamburg. His wife and little daughter followed a year later. After completing his studies, Zhao and his family moved to Bremen, where he started working for a large shipbuilding company.

When reminiscing about his first impressions of Germany – the first foreign country he ever visited – Mr. Zhao remembers a differ-ent world, mostly due to its abundance of personal space (an average shanghai citizen back then had 4m² of living space to himself). Friendly, yet reserved and very serious were the Germans in first encounters, says Zhao with a smile, indicating that the stereotype of lacking in humour may not always be so far off – at least at first contact. Whereas he was met at “almost same eye height” in a professional context, the typical first three questions posed by people he met outside work - “Where are you from? What are you doing? When are you going back home?” - he recounts with a hearty laugh.

‘Germanisation’, he admits, has helped him and his family to fully win the acceptance

minority issues will continue to keep the gov-ernment on its feet. A pragmatic and steady approach to resolving these pressing issues in a smooth way - like it was done so suc-cessfully in a commercial context – is what he wishes for China’s next decades. BnP

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Asian Financial Crisis hit much of the Continent’s economy. China is less affected than others.

Zhu Rongji succeeds Li Peng as Prime Minister.

n 50th anniversary of People’s Republic of Chinan 20th Dec 1999 - Macao reverts to Chinese rule

n China joins the World Trade Organisation.n 10th Five-Year Plan (2000-2005)

n Vice-President Hu Jintao is named Head of the Com-munist Party.n SARS wpidemic breaks out in South China and spreads across Southeast Asia.

n Hu Jintao becomes the 6th President of the PRC. Wen Jiabao follows Zhu Rongji as Prime Minister.n Launch of China’s first manned spacecraft.

China signs a landmark trade agreement with 10 south-east Asian countries

Taiwan’s National Party leader Lien Chan visits China for the first meeting since 1949.

n Three Gorges Dam is completed. n New China-Tibet railway line begins oper-ating.n 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010)

Wen Jiabao becomes the first Chinese prime minister to address Japan’s parliament.

First sign of relaxation of one-child policy to counter effects of ageing population.

n 12th May - Sichuan Earthquaken China and Taiwan hold first formal bilateral talks since 1999. n 8th August - Beijing hosts Olympic Games.

Opening of the Chinese-German University series of lectures at Tongji University in Shanghai.

T h e f i r s t Ge rman -Chinese constitutional s ta te symposium in Beijing.

China organizes a suc-cessful “Chinese Week” in Germany

Celebrations at the China Centenary Altar (CCA), Beijing mark 30th anniversary of Sino-German diplomatic ties.

General election victory for SPD leader Gerhard Schröder, who becomes Chancellor.

Hanover hosts Expo 2000 1st January - Euro replaces DEM. City of Dresden is flooded by River Elbe.

CDU-backed Horst Köhler elected presi-dent.

n Parliament ratifies EU constitution. n Angela Merkel (CDU) becomes chancellor in a “grand coalition” n Pope Benedict XVI consecrated

Germany hosts Fifa World Cup 2006.

November - Germany is officially in reces-sion.

Chancellor Merkel launches the cam-paign “Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together” in Beijing

Benefit concert with the city of Chongqing draws TV audience of 20 million viewers and bings EUR 10 million in donations.

China overtakes Germa-ny as the world’s biggest exporter during the first six months (USD 521.7bn vs. USD521.6bn in exports).

of the local community. He says the initial culture shock of coming to Germany was not difficult, but the slow process of cultural inte-gration. Zhao always made a conscious effort to adapt. “You must become familiar with German lifestyle and culture and cannot ex-pect your German friends to talk with you all the time about Chinese cuisine or Kung Fu”, he points out. Zhao proudly acknowledges that the efforts of his and another befriended Chinese family to integrate in the small town soon paid off and helped fight the stereotype of the “Chinese restaurant owner”.

When in 1995 the first opportunity to return to China as technical director of a joint ven-ture shipyard in shanghai arose, Mr. Zhao turned down the lucrative offer after a dif-ficult inner struggle, due to his daughter’s education and family obligations. The deci-sion to stay longer was made when the family bought a house in Vegesack, north of Bremen two years later. Mr. Zhao received the Ger-man citizenship in 1998, mostly for pragmatic considerations and the ease of travel it pro-vided. He had started working the same year for Germanischer lloyd (Gl) in Hamburg and was frequently travelling in his new role.

Mr. Zhao says he always knew he would return to China one day. When the right op-portunity presented itself to ‘expatriate’ to shanghai as a Business Development Man-ager for Gl’s Greater China office, he took it. in October 2006, one day after Zhao had dropped off his daughter in Heidelberg to study, he was on a plane to shanghai.

A great admirer of German technology and efficiency, Zhao is aware that European stan-dards are still hard to implement in China. A large part of his work here is to create aware-ness among Chinese businesses that – even without quick gains – a company will benefit in the medium to long term from enhancing the quality standards. His ability to switch between Chinese and German language and mentality is invaluable, but “at the core i am Chinese” he acknowledges. This flexibility and adaptability helped him succeed in both countries. it is also the main quality that Germany can learn from China, he feels and closes with an analogy:

“individually observed, Germans are like cubes. Move them once and they roll two or three sides and stand still. Chinese are more like balls. Push them and they roll until they find a place where they are at balance. You can stack cubes to build a tower or a wall, but when you put balls on top of each other, they will always roll aside without a surrounding containment”. Thus, Zhao wishes China fort the next 60 years further development of such ‘surrounding containment’, better distribu-tion of wealth and more endurance towards sustainability.

even back in China, he and his wife Ms. Chen Xuefang are continuing to build bridges be-tween China and Germany. They had opened the first Chinese school in Bremen back in 2001 as a private initiative, and now Ms. Chen is the City of Bremen’s liaison for shanghai expo 2010. BnP

2009 October - November 27

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28 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS COVER STORY

From Early Trade to M&As The Evolution of German Corporate Presence in China

German companies were among the first to start an industrial en-gagement in China and some of Germany’s big industry players’ commercial relationships with the Middle Kingdom even date back into the late 19th century. electrical and electronics giant siemens has been at the forefront of doing business in the Far east by exporting pointer telegraphs to China as early as 1872. Only a decade later, Bayer ventured out and began marketing dyes on the Chinese market. A period of increasing ties and further investments by these and other players followed until the World Wars and the Cultural revolution brought foreign investment to a halt.

The Post-Opening Erasin the very early days after China had established the reform and Opening up policy in 1978, it was again large German companies that made the first inroads. Siemens’ exhibition of “Electrical Engi-neering and electronics” in the same year in shanghai laid the step-ping stone for its Beijing Representative Office opening in 1982 and culminated in the signing of the ‘Memorandum of Comprehensive Co-operation between the Machinery, the electric and electronics in-dustries of the People’s republic of China and siemens AG’ in 1985. It was the first time that a foreign enterprise was invited by China to participate in such a comprehensive co-operation scheme and initiated the era of sino-German Joint Ventures. Bayer’s early efforts were rewarded with the establishment of a representative Office in Beijing in 1986 and a liaison office in Shanghai. Today more than ever, the People’s republic is one of Bayer’s main centres of global investment.

When examining the rich history of German investment, a clear pat-tern becomes visible (Fig.1). What started with equity and Contrac-tual Joint Ventures (JV) in a highly regulated market in the 1980s and required a Chinese partner for all commercial activities with a legal set up in China, soon triggered the often cited challenge of ‘sleeping in the same bed but having different dreams’. The massive market potential of more than one billion consumers lured many companies into signing JV contracts, which promised a bright future. Only few of them were able, however, to eventually align the strategic direc-tion between the Chinese partner and the German investor. The 1990s were thus highly influenced by the aftermath of the JV era and many companies gradually sought to develop their investments into more self-determination. The possibility of setting up representative Offices and later Greenfield projects by establishing Wholly Foreign Owned enterprises (WFOe) coincided with the time when many German companies laid the foundation for their later market success. Only the years after China’s accession to the World Trade Organisa-tion (WTO) in november 2001 with gradual acceptance of further market liberalisation (e.g. the possibility to set up trading WFOes in 2005) brought China into the modern day era of corporate mergers and acquisitions involving foreign investors.

German PresencePresent day statistics of German investment show an interesting development: while Delegation of German industry & Commerce in China (AHK) knows around 4,800 German-invested companies in the country, China’s national Bureau of statistics estimates this number to be higher at above 5,000. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that Chinese nationals, who had spent years abroad at

Thaddäus Müller is Manager of Business Development for Fiducia Management Consultants. The firm was established in 1982 and provides professional services across Greater China with four offices and more than 70 experienced staff in Beij ing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.' +852 2258-6612 | * tmuel [email protected]

German universities and set up busi-nesses after returning to China, are included in this figure. In terms of geography the Yangtze Delta has the largest presence of German operations. Despite China’s efforts in drawing investment to the more western provinces, German com-pany clusters are still mostly scattered along the coastal belt.

Germany continues to weigh heavy among China’s trading partners and ranks second only after the united states with a volume of more than usD 100 billion in 2008. The result of a recent survey among German Chamber member companies demonstrated however that - although China has had its share of the worldwide financial crisis - German companies are generally positive about business in the country and confident that the Chinese economy will pick up in the first half of 2010.

Development of Foreign Investments in China (Fig. 1)

M&A is a new investment form in the historical context of China’s FDI realization

Trends: 1978: Joint Ventures 1993: WFOE Now: M&A

FDI Context:

79 – 85: Restrictions86 – 88: 22 Regulations

89 – 91: Uncertainty 92 – 96: Deng Xiaoping

02 – 05: Post WTO

FDI Vehicle:

Equity JVsContractual JVs

Wholly foreign owned enterprises

n Acquisition of Chinese and foreign companies n Restructuring

Method: Partnering up withChinese Partner Greenfield investment Various methods

Results: Same bed,different dreams Largely successful

n Searching for dealsn Gaining experience

Source: Fiducia Analysis

An early day export to China: Siemens’ pointer telegraph

transmitting messages ‘letter by letter’. © Siemens

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2009 October - November 29

www.china.ahk.de

Strong Business TiesBilateral Trade Volumes have Skyrocketed over the Years

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AzPot_210x138_0909en_RZ.indd 1 02.09.2009 15:37:20 Uhr

*) incl. People's Republic of Mongolia Source: Federal Statistical Office Germany

Year

Real value Import (-) and exportsurplus (+)

Change over previous period in %Import

C DExport D C Import Export

1950* 31.53 24.46 -7.07 0 0

1955 98.51 56.20 -42.30 212.4 129.8

1960 148.95 204.94 55.99 51.2 264.6

1965 148.72 161.57 12.58 -0.2 -21.2

1970 157.72 312.97 155.20 6.1 93.7

1975 282.95 660.85 377.90 79.3 111.2

1980 750.09 1,062.67 312.58 165.1 60.8

1985 1,306.94 3,287.01 1,980.08 74.2 209.3

1990 4,135.72 2,156.87 -1,978.85 216.4 -34.4

1995 8,175.13 5,513.59 -2,661.54 97.7 155.6

2000 18,553.13 9,458.78 -9,094.36 126.9 71.6

2005 40,845.12 21,234.78 -19,610.34 120.2 124.5

2008 59,377.90 34,096.04 -25,281.86 45.4 60.6

German Foreign Trade With China 1950 - 2008 (in EUR mn)

Import C D Export D C

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

01950* 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008

Change Over Previous Period (in %)

Change in Imports Change in Exports

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

-501950* 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008

A look at historic trade volumes quickly shows that sino-German trade has been constantly on the fast rise since China’s opening and reform phase. The total trade volume in 2008 reached over 94 billion Euros, resulting in a EUR 25bn trade deficit for Germany.

Whereas German businesses mostly sell machinery, electrical and special equipment and automobiles to China, Germany imports mainly electronics, toys, textiles and apparel, and – to a much less-er extent – also machinery.

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30 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS

Leveraging Expat ROIA Brief Guide to Global Talent Mobility in China

Despite the current economic crisis, expatriates are still being sent to China. A new study investigates the exact purpose of today’s China international assignments and how companies can maximise their Expat Return on Investment (ROI).

Why are expatriates still needed?in June and July, six interviews conducted with senior expat managers in Beijing showed ongoing business expansion to be the most important reason for employing expatriates. short-term expatriates often pro-vide technical expertise in highly specialised areas, while long-term expatriates are hired to take over strategic and managerial posi-tions.

Crisleine Peres, ABB senior Hr Manager, notes that global companies simply need global leaders. ABB China supports this as it actually has the most foreign employees of any branch distributed amongst various departments; however they still make up less than 1% of the total work force.

Why do expats accept assignments in China?To maximise expat rOi one must understand not only how to make use of their skill-sets, but also why these expats accept positions in China. Yvonne Mcnulty’s series of studies, “Measuring expatriate return on investment in Global Firms” published in 2009, identifies that in 75% of cases expats accept an interna-tional assignment because of career develop-ment and personal/family opportunities.

How to maximise your expat ROIEven if only 15% of global firms use formal ROI measures, there are still a few areas where senior managers can focus their attention.

1. Increase the value of your expatsApart from look-see trips, most of the recommendations mentioned below are low-cost measures.

Expat assessment: l Are the social competencies of the expats you send to China suf-

ficient for a successful transition? l Do they have strong contacts and networks in place within the

firm’s headquarters? l Will they be able to adapt quickly to living and working in China? l Will they be capable of bringing the maximum potential and tal-

ent out of their Chinese colleagues?

Clemens Damschen, Managing Director of iee (langfang) electronics & engineering Company ltd, states that he pays increasingly more attention to judging a candidate’s ability to adapt his or her social competencies.

Family buy-in:All the managers interviewed in the study stressed the importance of allowing the whole family to be part of the decision to relocate to China. This usually means organising look-see trips and providing other pre-decision support and information. Tiny els, Hr Manager at sasol China, believes that the comprehensive two-day orientation

given in South Africa to the whole family before their final decision has helped considerably in this area. in case of dual career issues, spouse support and job search assistance programmes can be pro-vided in China as well.

Length of assignments: l What does the learning curve of your expats look like? l Assignments of two years in manufacturing most probably make

sense, but what about in business development?

When iee set up its operations in China, the company started with two-year contracts. iee has now extended its expat assignments to five years. As Clemens Damschen says, “One has to be realistic about learning curves in China.”

Knowledge transfer: l Do you have a clear process to transform intentions into actions?

Walter schaff, Vice President of Human resources at Daimler north-east Asia, is a strong believer of adding some clear goals related to transferring specific knowledge and skills into the local office for each expatriate assignment. This particularly makes sense regarding the terms of the last 1-2 years of an assignment.

Retention and repatriation follow-up: One cannot talk about expat rOi without taking a long-term and strategic approach. What benefits do you want your expats to bring back after their as-signments?

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2009 October - November 31

www.china.ahk.de

Leveraging Expat ROIA Brief Guide to Global Talent Mobility in China

Despite the current economic crisis, expatriates are still being sent to China. A new study investigates the exact purpose of today’s China international assignments and how companies can maximise their Expat Return on Investment (ROI).

Jasmine Keel is the Managing Director of INSPIRED, a training and coaching firm in the field of Life & Career Transition Support. For the full report on “A New Approach to Global Mobility in China”, please email her at [email protected]

What measures will you take so that they don’t leave for the competition?

Those are difficult questions but important ones to consider.

2. Lower your expat costsAs companies face expatriate resistance to localisation, here are a few ways to decrease your expat budgets.

Benchmark your expat benefits:l Have you ever compared the components

of your expat benefits with industry stan-dards?

When Allan rawack took over the posi-tion of Human resources Manager at rOC, he asked Mercer to conduct a benchmark study to see “where rOC packages sat”. The benchmark cost him usD 5,000 and helped him identify some benefits that could easily be trimmed back. The 2009 Hewitt study on China expat Compensation and Benefit in-dicates that “companies are investing today more in cash and less on benefits packages”.

Renegotiate housing costs:We all know that individuals are currently negotiating rent decreases of 20% or more, so

why shouldn’t your firm? Be careful about liaising directly with land-lords so that your expats do not take this sensitive measure as a cut in benefits.

Attract younger expats:Hanna Böhme, Managing Director of the German Centre for industry and Trade in Beijing, has seen a shift in the profile of expats working within the 100 sMes represented at the Centre. The shift has also oc-curred among the foreigners she meets in various Beijing-based pro-fessional networks. Many belong to the generations X and Y and tend to accept less attractive packages in exchange of increased responsi-bilities and additional career development opportunities.

Train local staff to become global leaders:With this long-term idea in mind, ABB China decided two years ago that for each expat coming to China, they would send one Chinese employee to another international ABB branch. At Daimler, expatri-ate and non-expatriate managers follow leadership coaching pro-grammes with a strong emphasis on international environments.

There are many ways to leverage your expat rOi. What will make the most sense in your organisation? This will depend very much on your current business needs and budget constraints.

© Hautumm/PiXeliO

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32 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS

The Ultimate Business Tool – Chops in ChinaAn important difference in business practices between China and many western countries is the value that Chinese companies and individuals as well as officials and courts, give to the stamp, often also referred to as ‘chop’ or ‘seal’. For western managers in China it often pays off to understand some of the main rules and practices, and thus manage their company’s risk when chopping in China.

a print of his name rather than a print of his signature, though some authorities will accept the latter as well. in any case, the bearing of the legal representative’s stamp presumes the agreement of the legal representative.

Stamp Keeping - Internal vs. External Liabilities

The stamp can be a useful tool for companies as it marks authority when the company’s official representatives are not available. Third parties may presume that a document is legally executed if it bears the relevant stamp. Hence, the stamping of a document creates a direct liability onto the company or individual represented by that stamp. if the document is stamped, then the company is bound by its terms. The only exception to this is when a third party uses the stamp and that party knows or should have known that the use of the stamp is not authorised. This is true even if the use is specified in the company’s Articles of Association.

Therefore, a company can and should establish and strictly imple-ment a system of internal guidelines to control the use of stamps and assign consequences for misuse or abuse. As a practical example, internal rules or a sales manager’s contract can prohibit him from signing contracts valued above a certain limit. if he goes beyond this limit without prior approval from, say, the General Manager, then he must bear the liability for any damages towards the company he misrepresented. if the contract becomes subject of a dispute, the company would still be liable towards the third party, but could in its turn claim against the sales manager. The same goes for the use of an individual’s stamp, and in particular that of the legal representa-

tive. Another person may be authorised to use this stamp on the representative’s behalf, and a third party may presume such authorisation from the legal representative. if the user of the stamp is acting beyond such authorisation, it is again an internal matter.

in many situations however, even if a company is able to claim against an employee for abuse of au-

thorisation, the harm is already done. For this reason, it is extremely important to design a system, which not only manages the authorisation levels for use of the stamps, but also manages the physical control of such stamps. stamps should be kept safe at all times to minimise the risk of misuse or abuse. The person in charge of a certain stamp - “the chop keeper” - should know at all times where the stamp is being kept.

For many western companies, the signature of its legal representa-tive is the ultimate mark of authority. not so in China. Here, a rep-resentative’s signature is often not registered and is deemed easily forgeable. Thus, the value of the company stamp is far greater. every company in China, once it is established, will make and register its company stamp with the Public security Bureau. Towards third par-ties, the company stamp represents the company, and therefore doc-uments bearing this stamp will generally be legal and binding upon that company – whether that document bears a signature or not!

The company stamp is not the only stamp that can represent the company. For specialised functions, companies may decide to carve and register other stamps. Common examples are the contract stamp for “signing” contracts, the finance stamp for making payments and accessing bank accounts, and the customs stamp for making customs declarations. These are particularly important for larger companies, where different people carry the final authority to deal with different matters. As long as they are registered, these stamps serve a similar function as the company stamp – namely to represent the company in relations with external parties.

individuals can have stamps as well. A Chinese company’s legal rep-resentative, for example, should have registered his stamp to be used on documents or papers, including checks, which he executes in his official capacity. Usually the stamp of a legal representative will be

32 October - November 2009

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2009 October - November 33

www.china.ahk.de

Mr. Maarten Roos is Senior Consultant at Wang Jing & Co. The PRC law firm advises and represents foreign companies on Ch inese lega l i s sues f rom i t s o f f i ces i n S hangha i , Guangzhou a nd t h r o ughou t Ch i na .' 021 5887-8000; 139 2270-0548 | * [email protected]

Stamp Keeping – Valuable Lessons

since the stamps are often needed in the course of doing business, the company needs to find the right balance between convenient access and restricted use. This is especially the case when the legal representative is away. A lesson that many companies have learned the hard way: never leave important stamps in the hands of people that you do not trust!

in one recent case, a client established a wholly foreign-owned manufacturing company in Zhuhai, appointing a local employee as General Manager and placing all stamps in his possession. After a year of operation, the company found that the employee had used the chop to sign unapproved contracts with third parties. When the company terminated the employment contract with said General Manager, it found out that he had used the company stamp to rene-gotiate his own contract, entitling himself to a higher compensation should the contract be terminated early for whatever reason. in the end, the owners of the company had to settle. While this is an ex-treme example, it does illustrate well just how powerful a stamp can be in China.

if a stamp needs to be made available for emergency purposes while the usual chop keeper is out of town, it is a good idea for a company to leave it with its accountant, law firm, or even a trusted friend or family member. This arrangement can be strengthened with signed orders that the stamp may only be used for matters specifically men-tioned or separately confirmed, and any use of it must be recorded in a ledger. in this way, the company is able to share liabilities for unau-thorized use with the third parties that are keeping the stamp, while

still having the benefit of being able to act if and when necessary. In the before mentioned case, the company now keeps its stamps in the safe of its law firm and controls its usage through a detailed retainer agreement whenever the newly-appointed foreign manager is out of town.

Adopting Local Practices

in europe and the united states, stamps are rarely taken serious. The situation is very different in China, and foreign companies do-ing business in China need to adapt to local practices to ensure the safety of their operations and avoid unnecessary – and sometimes very surprising – liabilities. Devising strict guidelines and provid-ing adequate safeguards with regard to the usage of stamps helps to protect you from risks for your business in China.

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34 October - November 2009

BUSINESS FOCUS

What is your personal and business background?i was born in a small town in Cloppenburg near Bremen and studied electrical engi-neering in Berlin. After graduation i took a chance overseas by accepting an offer from TÜV rheinland Taiwan. My gamble worked out well as my career would progress with this company over the next 20 years. After seven years in Taiwan i had a relatively brief stint of three years with TÜV rheinland Japan before taking over responsibility for all of Central and northern China out of shanghai - a role i’ve held now for already ten years.

Tell us a little about your company’s activities in China?With the establishment of our shanghai of-fice back in 1989, the TÜV Rheinland Group became one of the first international certifi-cation service providers to enter the Chinese Mainland. since then we have set up service locations in eight major Chinese cities and our scope expanded to include industrial services, Mobility, Customer Products, life Care, education & Consulting, and systems Certification.

We are celebrating our 20th anniversary on the Mainland this year. This is a significant milestone for us, as we have now served more than 100,000 export-oriented enter-prises in China. in shanghai alone, we have issued more than 200,000 certificates to Chi-nese manufacturers. We not only offer strong local testing capabilities and the one-stop

solutions required to facilitate global mar-ket access, but we also enjoy good partner relationships with internationally renowned retailers and buyers as well as with related authorities, institutions and manufacturers in China.

What are the main challenges you en-countered operating an international business in a Chinese environment?Being one of the first foreign testing houses in mainland China, we immediately noted that there were relatively few products be-ing exported directly from China, yet we also recognised the huge future potential in this market. since most exporters were rather vague about international standards and criteria at the time, we set out to educate our customers about the latest international standards to qualify them for exporting their products worldwide.

since we launched operations, TÜV has continuously restructured and reinvented its own business in line with the changing re-quirements of Chinese exporters and manu-facturers. 20 years ago our local testing pro-cedures were solely concerned with product safety. now, in line with higher consumer expectations, we also look at functionality, durability, hazardous substances and elec-tromagnetic compatibility. We work very closely with our customers to ensure that their output meets international standards and is competitive in international markets.

looking at the domestic market, Chinese

consumers are also becoming far more con-cerned with environmental issues and are looking for increased energy efficiency. in light of the latter, we recently established our first testing lab for Photovoltaic applica-tions in shanghai and will soon engage in the wind energy business. summing up, the main challenge has been to always stay one step ahead of the market.

What is your competitive advantage? For the past 135 years, TÜV rheinland has been committed to safeguarding product safety and quality. Our brand is thus synon-ymous with safety and quality. This allows Chinese manufacturers who associate with it to access global markets with their pro-ducts. We occupy an overwhelming market share in new areas such as testing of photo-voltaic modules and railway testing – both areas where China is likely to take the lead globally.

Can you give an example of a particu-lar problem you encountered in your work here?As we are all aware, every business in the world is affected to some degree or another by what one of your recent speakers referred to as the “most synchronised recession”. This has not spared China’s bullish business environment.

There has been a noticeable decrease in Chi-nese exports and weak customer demand from outside China has affected the certifica-tion industry as a whole. Fortunately, during our 20 years in China we have diversified into automotive, industrial, railway and re-newable energy markets, in which increased local demand ensures a continuous expan-sion of our operations.

Tell us a little about your personal life in China?shanghai is my home. i live here with my wife and my three sons. They were all born here. Although we might not stay here for-ever, I am sure that they will definitely value the time and place where they were born. We really enjoy living in shanghai and look forward to what the city prepares for the expo. i am continuously impressed with the dynamism and speed of development in China and especially in shanghai. i see this as a result of our hosts’ motivation and drive. experiencing this energy in my daily work and with the people i interact with outside the office is a real pleasure for me.

Besides working and family, i counterbal-ance the hours at my desk with rides on my bicycle. There are some nice areas that i can recommend for cycling in Qingpu District.

Gerhard LuebkenCompany: TÜV Rheinland (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Job Title: Managing DirectorYear of Foundation: 1989

HQ: GermanyMain Business: Certification, Testing, Inspection,

Auditing, Education and Consulting, Supply Chain Assessment

Number of Employees: 424

MEET THE MEMBER

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36 October - November 2009

The name of the often overlooked northeastern industrial city of Changchun, which means ‘long spring,’ may be a bit misleading. With freezing winters that can stretch longer than six months, the provincial capital of Jilin Province - with borders to north Korea, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia - has had to find something other than its climate to lure visitors and foreign investors. It got some help in that regard, when the Communist Party designated the city an auto manufacturing base and set up its first car manufacturer, China First Automotive Works Group, there in 1953. Fast forward to 2010; China is second only to Japan in number of automobiles manufactured and poised to over-take the us as the world’s largest car market, and it becomes clear just what a boon this was for the city’s future.

have set their sights on becoming global industry leaders. Big in-ternational auto companies, having honed in on China as the next big market, are also scrambling for a piece of the pie. Accordingly, FAW plans to open a second Changchun factory next year. Audi and Toyota are both working on expanding production out of Changc-hun. The industry must shift to meet the demand of Chinese con-sumers and the government’s changing standards for fuel efficiency; Changchun will without a doubt be at the forefront of these move-ments.

Major Development ZonesChangchun is facing intense competition from nearby cities, but the investment zones and central business district have soaked up much of the province’s foreign investment. The exploding car industry is its main advantage, but other projects are in the works: sinopec, a major Chinese petroleum company, has just gotten government ap-proval to build a pipeline from its northeastern songnan gas field to Changchun. Big international companies such as Coca-Cola have already set up plants there. local industry development zones centre around automobile production, but some other main industries such as foodstuffs, photo-electronic technology, biology, and medicine also anchor the local economy.

Ms. Juliana Hanson is a writer-at-large for China Briefing, a bus iness magazine and webs i te , which has been produced by Asia Briefing in China since 1999. Asia Briefing publishes a wealth of information about China, India and Vietnam and cooperates with the Asian foreign direct investment practice, Dezan Shira & Associates.* [email protected]

Shaking Off the DustA New Industrial Spring Dawning for Changchun

Beyond IndustryOnce the home of China’s last emperor Puyi, this old industrial city is still struggling to shake off the rust, modernise and make a name for itself alongside China’s major second-tier cities. unfortunately, Changchun has not matched the long, frigid winters it shares with Harbin with the glamour of its northern neighbour’s international snow and ice Festival or bids at hosting the Winter Olympic Games. it did however, host the 2007 Asian Winter Games and thus stayed far in the running for a joint bid at the 2018 Winter Olympics with Harbin. Changchun hosts its own smaller version of the ice festival as well as a biennial international film festival that has yet to earn its name. To date it has tended to award its top prize, the Golden Deer, to Chinese movies year after year. However, with its interesting his-tory and proximity to some of the province’s scenic destinations, many find Changchun one of the most liveable cities in Jilin. low costs and a standard dialect have long drawn students to Jilin uni-versity, complementing the small expat community and the smatter-ing of bars and international restaurants.

Automobile Production BaseAlthough it still has a low profile compared to other up-and-coming Chinese cities, Changchun is now in the enviable position of be-ing the Chinese automobile industry’s base. it is already the site of FAW’s headquarters, r&D branch and test centre as well as the state-owned company’s base for joint ventures, producing brands such as Volkswagen, Audi and Toyota. China’s domestic auto companies

Changchun High Technology Development ZoneFive main industries - bio-engineering, automobile engineering, new material fabrication, photo-electricity and information technology – are the focus of the zone. It also includes 18 full-time universities and colleges, 39 state and provincial-level scientific research institutions and 11 key national laboratories.

Changchun Automotive and Economic Trade and Development ZoneAdjacent to FAW, the zone includes an exhibition centre, five separate industrial centers and the Changchun Automobile Wholesale Centre, China’s largest auto and spare parts wholesale center. A resale centre for used vehicles, a tire wholesale centre and a special-ised centre for industrial/commercial vehicles are also located here.

Changchun Economic and Technological Development ZonePillar industries include the production of automobiles and auto parts, food processing, photo-electronics and biopharmaceuticals. High-tech and high value-added projects make up 80% of total projects.

BUSINESS FOCUS NORTH CHINA

© reinhard Buß

Wir übernehmen Ihr Management,Setzen neue Strategien um,

Verkaufen Technologien und Patente.

© Hans-reiner Bohn

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2009 October - November 37

When looking at Guangdong, nearly all investments are centred around cities in the Pearl river Delta with Guangzhou, shenzhen, and Dongguan being the most popular, followed by smaller cities such as Zhuhai, Zhongshan or Foshan. These cities have a well de-veloped business infrastructure and have attracted foreign invest-ment from a variety of industries, propelling the area into one of China’s economic hubs. This development does, however, come with a price: property prices, cost of living, and wages have increased just as rapidly as the cities have. By focusing only on the obvious cities, one might overlook other less well known places that offer attractive conditions as well.

Rich in Natural ResourcesZhanjiang in southwest Guangdong is just such an example. located in the deep south of the Chinese mainland, at the conjunction of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces, the municipality has a population of over 7mn, with nearly 1mn living in the urban cen-tre. The city is surrounded by beautiful natural scenery highlighted by a clear blue sky absent in other locations around the Pearl river Delta. An area rich in natural resources such as: diatomite, limestone and graphite, Zhanjiang has developed its industrial structure to leverage the cost advantage it has over more popular investment destinations. supporting its ambitions, the Federal Government has approved an economic & Technological Development Zone (eDTZ) and six provincial level economic zones. The proposed transfer of 100 projects from the Pearl river region at a combined investment valued of rMB 17bn will further boost the industrial development of Zhanjiang.

Petrochemical and Aquaculture IndustriesA former French colony that was only returned in 1946, the city has developed into a base for the Chinese petrochemical and aquacul-ture industries. This role will be further strengthened when the city was chosen as a location for a massive oil processing plant produc-ing 800,000 tons of ethylene, a joint investment between sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Zhanjiang’s proximity to the sea has also encouraged the establishment of several shipyards specialising in building small to medium boats. Though its industrial structure is dominated by Chi-nese investments, the ci ty has been able to attract some foreign investments in the past . Most notably Hilti, a pro-ducer of high perfor-mance drilling tools and accessories, has opened a production facility as early as in 1995.

Zhanjiang: Pioneering Investment in

Western Guangdong

Cost Structure for Manufacturing in Zhanjiang

Water 2.03 RMB/m3

Power 1-10/kv 0.620 4RMB/kWh 35-110/kv 0.6104 RMB/kWh >220/kv 0.6004 RMB/ Wh

Land 1st Grade 395 RMB/m2

2nd Grade 375 RMB/m2

3rd Grade 320 RMB/m2

Wages Workers 1265 RMB/Month Technicians 1,612 RMB/Month Management 2,182 RMB/Month

Source: Zhanjiang Government, 2008

www.china.ahk.de

Charming and Developing SpiritZhanjiang’s deepwater port sees fewer container ships than other ports in the Pear river Delta. instead, its harbour is dominated by massive oil and iron-ore terminals. A highway provides direct access to Guangzhou and Chongqing and an airport serves Guangzhou and shenzhen. An often overlooked, but not to be underestimated aspect of the city’s infrastructure, is the presence of first class hotels with western standards. A five-star Crowne Plaza hotel is located in the city centre with other luxury class hotels being developed around the new business district.

Zhanjiang may be at a development stage, in which the now popular investment destinations across the Pearl river Delta were not too long ago. Many privileges taken for granted in first and second-tier cities may not yet be as readily available, but the city offers a certain charm, and the Zhanjiang government is obviously eager to develop the city’s economy. Though it is clear that such a remote city may not be an option for every investment project, for some it may be a real bargain. MZ

SOUTH CHINA

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38 October - November 2009

Xuzhou RisingXuzhou, a city in Jiangsu Province, is the biggest in the Huaihai Economic Zone and has always kept good relations with Germany through science and culture exchanges and trade cooperation. The metropolitan circle with Xuzhou as the core provides vast market opportunities to encourage this.

BUSINESS FOCUS

situated just north of the Yangtze river, Xuzhou lies in the conjunctive area between the eastern coastal region and mid-western development region. As such, it links the Yangtze river Delta and Pan-Bohai sea eco-nomic Zone. With more than 1,500 business and retail companies in its downtown area, ‘Buy in Xuzhou’ and ‘Play in Xuzhou’ have become strong concepts among neighbour-ing cities.

Xuzhou’s industrial regions provide a solid foundation for investment. Xuzhou has near-ly 20 industrial clusters now with more than 2,000 enterprises and 500,000 employees. The annual output of the construction ma-chinery cluster exceeds rMB 80bn, ranking first among the various industrial clusters of Jiangsu Province. The new energy cluster with photovoltaic industry, wind energy, environmentally friendly and energy reduc-ing industries as its representatives is a fast growing new pillar of Xuzhou’s economy.

Affordable AdvantagesDue to the ‘Guidelines on Accelerating the revitalisation of Xuzhou Old industrial Centre’ introduced in 2008, Xuzhou enjoys certain preferential policies. some of these include land supply and financial support. in addition, Xuzhou received approval by the state council to become part of the eco-nomic Circle of Yangtze river Delta. Despite these favourable conditions, the cost of do-ing business in Xuzhou remains relatively low.

The average cost of Xuzhou’s industrial land is nearly one sixth to one fourth of the Pearl river Delta, and one fifth to one fourth of

the Yangtze river Delta. Xuzhou’s location, combined with its waterways, highways, railways and aviation make it a nationally important transportation hub. it holds one of the ten river ports in China, handling coal shipments from west to east and from north to south. Because of these diverse transpor-tation options, Xuzhou’s transportation costs are about rMB 100 cheaper per tonnage than in neighbouring cities. This low cost though, does not reflect a low class character. Xuzhou remains one of the safest cities in China.

Long Time Partners Moving Forwardsince 2004, Xuzhou has been named among the Top 100 Cities for Best investment envi-ronment, China’s City for Potential invest-ment by Transnational Companies, China’s Most innovative City and one of the Top 500 Cities for Global Competition. To date, businesses from 40 different countries and regions invest in Xuzhou, including over 20 enterprises from the Fortune 500 list. Former German Prime Minister Gerhard schröder visited Xuzhou in October 2008 and praised the ecological environment, urban construc-tion and social culture of the city.

Xuzhou’s relations with Germany are well rooted. since it has become sister city of Bochum and erfurt, it has carried out exten-sive cooperation in the fields of trade, culture and health. last year, Xuzhou has approved projects funded by German businesses with a total business volume of usD 325mn. six such projects come from Henkel, Thyssen-Krupp and liebherr. Germany is now the third largest trade partner of Xuzhou with

179 companies that have business connec-tions with Germany and a trade volume that increased by 122% over the last year.

New Cooperation, New Market, New Opportunity

On 26th June 2009, the ‘Sino-German Symposium on Jointly Establishing Xuzhou Ecological Demonstration Area’ was held in Shanghai. The event was supported by the German Consulate General and the Delegation of German Industry & Commerce in Shanghai. At the forum, Xuzhou Municipal Government and the Delegation of German Industry & Commerce signed a cooperation agreement, which turned a new page in trade coopera-tion and recruiting business. Over 200 distinguished guests attended the forum.

Xuzhou Mayor Cao Xinping made a brief introduction concerning the economic, social and investment environ-ment in Xuzhou. Qin Jing’an, director of Xuzhou Economic Development Zone gave an update on the progress of the group and its Germany related projects. Deputy Mayor Wang Hao, on behalf of the Xuzhou Municipal Government, signed a cooperation agreement with Mr. Manfred Rothgänger, Chief Representative of the Delega-tion of German Industry & Commerce Shanghai. German General Consul Dr. Albrecht von der Heyden and Mr. Rothgänger both delivered speeches to bestow congratu-lations and express their expectations for future successful cooperation.

This forum shows the confidence and determination of Jiangsu Province to revive its old industry base and recover the ecological environment of Xuzhou. The event also attracted wide attention from German-funded corpo-rations in the Yangtze Delta.

MEET THE MEMBER

Mr. Wang Lianyun is advising investors at the Xuzhou Foreign Affairs Office. ' 0516 8375-4616 * [email protected]

© Xuzhou Foreign A

ffairs Office

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2009 October - November 39

www.china.ahk.de

What is your personal and business background?i have been working in the hotel industry for over 30 years and am now in my fourth post in China. The first time working in China dated back between 1983 and 1985, when i was the resident Manager for the opening of the Great Wall Hotel Beijing, the first joint-venture hotel in China. Having lived and worked in 15 countries, i had the pleasure to work with major inter-national hotel brands such as Marriott Asia Pacific, Mandarin-Oriental and Millennium & Copthorne.

Rene TeuscherCompany: Millennium Hongqiao Hotel ShanghaiJob Title: General ManagerYear of Foundation: 2006HQ: Singapore Main Business: Accommodation, meeting facilities, restaurants and bars. A fitness centre, swimming pool and an out-door tennis court.Number of Employees: 424

Tell us a little about your company and its activities in China?Our hotel in shanghai is part of Millen-nium and Copthorne Hotels, which has over 120 hotels worldwide, including the Grand Millennium Hotel Beijing and hotels in Wuxi, Qingdao, Xiamen, and soon also in Chengdu.

How long has your company been ac-tive in China? We entered China just three years ago. Our initial strategy of expanding in the market is continuing and, by the end of this year, there

will be six of our hotels operating in China after only three years of development.

Do you target a mainly Western or Chi-nese customer base? Both. Our hotel is serving guests from home and abroad from all walks of life. The per-spective for the future is good, especially in shanghai the outlook for 2010, the year of the World expo, is very positive.

What is your hotel’s competitive advan-tage? Our hotel is a five star product with a very competitive pricing in the market. it possibly boasts the best facilities among the interna-tional hotels in the Hongqiao area. Our rooms are among the most spacious, starting at 40m² and above, all with double–glazed floor to ceiling windows. it is the only international brand hotel with a garden, river promenade and pagodas in the Hongqiao area.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? i like to discover shanghai in my spare time and use my camera to take snapshots of the city’s changing image. so far, i have trav-elled to Beijing, Guangzhou and other major cities in China. i would like to take a trip to suzhou as well since i love the creek and garden architecture.

MEET THE MEMBER

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BUSINESS FOCUS MEET THE MEMBER

Joachim ZwickyCompany: Weiss-Voetsch Environmental Testing Instruments (Taicang) Co. Ltd.

Job Title: General Manager

Year of Foundation: 2004

Present in China: Since 2004

HQ: Reiskirchen / Heuchelheim, Germany

Main Business: Environmental Testing Chambers

What is your professional background?i graduated from the university of Applied sciences Munich in industrial engineering & Management in 2000. From 2001 to 2004 i was working as a Project Manager for KnOrr-BreMse in Munich, shanghai and Hong Kong. After that, from 2004 – 2008 i was assigned as a General Manager to set up and manage a WFOe Company mainly for automotive products in shanghai.

Can you tell us a little about your com-pany and its activities in China? Weiss-Voetsch China is a German WFOe and a subsidiary of the schunk-Group in Germa-ny. We are the technology leader in the de-velopment and assembly of environmental Testing Chambers, which are used in many industries like Automotive, Aerospace, elec-tronic as well as in testing institutes and at the Military.

How long has Weiss-Voetsch been ac-tive in China? Have there been any major shifts in strategy? Through its own subsidiary, Weiss-Voetsch has been active in China for five years. Our business however has been represented through local agents in China for more than 20 years. Before the establishment of Weiss-Voetsch China, our agents were only able to sell our products from Germany at a very high price level. As more local competitors were entering the huge Chinese market over time, we had to think about localising our production in order to compete with the much lower prices. Therefore we set up our own WFOe in Taicang

Why did your company choose to lo-cate in Taicang? We chose Taicang due to the excellent envi-ronment and support provided by the local government.

What are the main challenges you en-countered operating an international business in a Chinese environment? selling in a very competitive environment and finding the right staff for key positions.

What has been your strategy in terms of localisation?localise – in terms of Hr and material - as much as you can in China and keep your core know-how in Germany.

Do you target a mainly Western or Chi-nese customer base? in the past we exported a lot back to europe. We are trying to change this and focus more on the domestic market.

Are your products mainly for export or the domestic market? Mainly for the Chinese and Asian markets.

What is your competitive advantage? Technology, reliability and service.

What are your short and long-term business objectives?strengthening our market position in China and building the base for our business in the Asia Pacific Rim.

Are your main competitors domestic or foreign? Our main competitors are local, and they are constantly improving and getting better. This is very challenging for us.

In your experience, what are the prob-lems German investors in China en-counter most frequently?The intransparency of the business environ-ment as well as non-objective regulations and processes.

Can you give an example of a problem you encountered in your work here? Based on the Chinese culture, the people here have a different way of thinking when it comes to taking over responsibility.

Any top tips for doing business in China? Do not see China as the “Golden east”. see China as an important, fast growing and “normal” market, where not every business model works out – same as anywhere else in the world.

What made you decide to go overseas? My sense of adventure and the chance of be-ing a pioneer.

Do you enjoy living in China? Yes, i still enjoy it after being here for eight years, but it’s also nice to leave and “to” come back. in China you can really move something - this makes me happy - not only because of the money.

Did you experience any culture shock in terms of business and private life here? This depends on the environment. if i sit at Paulaner’s, there is no big culture shock. if i am having a midnight snack with my Chinese wife somewhere on the streets of shanghai, it is a bit different.

Tell us a little about your personal life in China? My wife is from shanghai and we have two young kids. i play tennis at the weekends and i spend most of the time with my family. We prefer travelling through southeast-Asia or in Germany and Austria.

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