2 prime TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012 DAILY Go global by thinking local, fi rms are advised

Small steps lead to giant strides Lenovo’s market share is nications Consulting World- confronted obstacles. Li Pan, president of Haier “Without partners, local about 8 percent in the US and wide, said it is important to “But at the local and state Electrical Appliances, said the governments and consumers, in overseas markets, experts say it is the fourth-largest PC com- build a positive stakeholder levels, companies are wel- company is in talks to expand its you cannot generate a win-win pany in the US, according to the relationship. comed by offi cials who see the investment in South Carolina on result,” Li said, adding that Hai- By LAN LAN Group, in 2010, Chinese com- company. “It’s hard to convince people economic benefits. Chinese the basis of a good local network. er regards itself as a corporate [email protected] panies employed nearly 1 mil- Th e company, built by former in any area by telling them you companies seeking to invest in Th e appliance and electronics citizen with social responsibili- lion people overseas, and of chairman Liu Chuanzhi 28 years are here to help them. Th ey will the US should start as locally giant started with $30 million ties when investing overseas. When asked how he feels these about 71 percent were part ago with a few engineers in a hut, question what you can bring and as possible and work outward investments in the US in 1999. about working for a Chinese of the local workforce. has put down roots in the US. what you will take.” to create a widening network Th e initial investment brought Media practices company, Jeffrey Shafer, vice- Local hiring has helped Leno- “When Lenovo purchased He suggested Chinese inves- of strong stakeholder relation- more than 200 jobs and another Chinese companies are devel- president of global communi- vo, the world’s second-largest IBM most people expected it to tors spend more time building ships,” Black said. 600 jobs indirectly, and it also oping a greater awareness of the cations at Lenovo, responded personal computer maker, to fail. Aft er seven years, we have bridges to local communities. Stakeholders mean custom- stimulated a number of projects importance of communication quicker than a mouse click: “It’s gain local acceptance. become the world’s second- Chinese companies have to ers, employees and investors, in the area. in the US and to tell their story a global company.’’ The company maintained largest PC maker,” Shafer said. overcome certain obstacles, government offi cials at the local, Apart from creating jobs, to their customers and stake- Even a cursory glance at the local jobs aft er it purchased IBM Th e US market is obviously including mistrust, caused in regional and national level, operations in the US have holders in a more eff ective way. company’s executive list con- in 2004. It has more than 2,500 of strategic importance for any part by the increasingly harsh community and union leaders, strengthened Haier’s coopera- “Even as recently as three fi rms the truth of that statement. people in the US and created 300 Chinese company looking over- rhetoric of the US presidential and environmental groups. tion with US companies in joint years ago, most of the few Chi- There are six nationalities jobs at its US headquarters near seas. campaign. “If stakeholders come to see research and getting supplies of nese companies operating in the among Lenovo’s top 10 executives Raleigh, North Carolina in 2011. Despite the fact that only Some people think that the the new business as being a good raw materials. US thought that the best way to and 17 nationalities are represent- “If your executives and about 1 percent of US foreign US is economically limp while potential partner that will bring Haier sources more than achieve their business goals was ed in the company’s top 100. Th e employees are from various direct investment came from China is economically strong, benefi ts, such as more jobs and $520 million annually from US to stay quiet, is to stay out of the company has a presence in more backgrounds, it demonstrates China in 2011, more and more and they then believe China’s economic activity, then they companies, such as Honeywell media. I think that has changed than 60 countries and regions. the company has a cultural diver- Chinese companies are set to growth represents a threat, Bill will welcome the foreign invest- and Dow per year, a sum greater in recent years and is still chang- Chinese companies operat- sity,” Shafer told China Daily. enter the US market. Black, senior vice-president ment, and even actively work to than Haier’s annual exports in ing,” Black said. ing in ever-increasing numbers Chairman and CEO Yang But the basic question of Fleishman-Hillard, said. smooth its path of entry,” he said. terms of value, Li said at a recent Chinese companies are con- overseas have contributed sig- Yuanqing moved his family to remains the same: How do you Though Washington Haier is another pioneer of forum in Beijing. sidered opaque, as the Ameri- nifi cantly to the host countries. the US to better understand gain acceptance and achieve encourages foreign invest- Chinese companies “going glob- Haier started by sponsoring cans value openness and trans- According to a report released its culture after the purchase, sustainable success? ment, Chinese investment al” and its strategy was through the NBA, aft er that a US national parency, so it’s important for by the World Economic Forum though he didn’t speak English Peter Verrengia, president in telecommunications and green-fi eld investments (build- park and charity organizations to them to be open and transpar- and the Boston Consulting fl uently then. and senior partner of Commu- information technology has ing new facilities). help it gain brand visibility. ent, Black said.

QUOTABLE ‘“All‘ the things I have done are for the health of around china my baby daughter.” BEIJING WEI XINGYU, a 36-year-old Six offi cers receive businessman in Changsha, Hunan province, raised fi ve dairy rank of general goats on the roof of his house to President Hu Jintao conferred get milk for his baby because he the rank of general on six senior is uncertain about the quality of military and police offi cers in Bei- jing on Monday. milk powder on the mainland. Th e six offi cers are Du Jincai, Since his daughter was born in deputy director of the General April, he has fed her breast milk, Political Department of the People’s goat milk and baby formula, but Liberation Army, Liu Yazhou, mainly goat milk. The goat milk political commissar of the National has also become popular with Defense University of the PLA, Du his relatives and neighbors. Hengyan, political commissar of the Jinan Military Area Command, , political commissar of the Chengdu Military Area Com- THE NUMBER mand, Jianping, commander of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force and Xu Yaoyuan, polit- 20 ical commissar of the CPAPF. Hu, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commis- PERCENT sion, handed the certifi cates to the China may have the world’s larg- offi cers and congratulated them at a est mineable shale gas reserves, ceremony on Monday morning. about 20 percent of the world’s total, according to a report pub- Most non-State lished by the Ministry of Land fi rms have unions and Resources. The report said Most non-State companies in the world’s mineable shale gas China have set up labor unions, a reserves are estimated to reach trade union organization said on 187 trillion cubic meters, with Monday. more than 36 trillion cu m in About 3.44 million, or 82.73 per- China. China’s interest in shale cent, of private and foreign-funded gas exploration is increasing companies in China had estab- with an estimated output of lished labor unions as of the end of 6.5 billion cu m by 2015. June, Wang Yupu, vice-president FROM BAY WATCH TO BODYGUARDS of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, said at a meeting on PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Monday. ON THE WEB In the fi rst half of the year, 99.29 Prospective bodyguards are put through their paces at Queen Bay in Sanya, Hainan province, on Monday, as 109 train- million, or 73 percent, of staff ees gathered for a one-month training course. Highlights from members in private companies chinadaily.com.cn joined labor unions, Wang said. Wang said the labor unions have blog of the city’s public security ment’s work for the fi rst half of eight years, according to scientifi c SHANDONG hundreds of residents who heard been working on promoting col- bureau on Sunday. the year and introduced a work data. Hundreds fi sh for the news rushed to the port to fi sh. lective salary negotiations between Investigations are ongoing, but plan for the second half, which Qinghai Lake, an inland saltwa- Th e biggest snapper caught by companies and workers, with the police say evidence suggests the fi re was broadcast on the website ter lake in Northwest China’s Qin- snappers in port a resident weighs about 1.5 kilo- number of companies signing was started deliberately. of the Guangzhou City People’s ghai province measured 4,354.28 Hundreds of local residents grams, report said. collective wage contracts up 56.1 Th e suspect was detained at 9:30 Congress and several other local square kilometers according to of Qingdao, Shandong province, percent from 2010 to the current pm on Saturday, according to the websites. satellite data collected on July 19 recently rushed to the city’s Four dead in 1.74 million. micro blog post. Th e broadcast will help citizens and published on Sunday, said port to fi sh for about 10,000 better understand the people’s Zhou Bingrong, deputy chief of the American red snappers that car crash GUANGDONG Suspect in fi re congress system and make the gov- provincial institute of meteorologi- about 20 people dumped there, Four people died when a car ernment’s work more transparent, cal sciences. China National Radio reported on collided with a tanker carrying on bus detained Legislative meeting said Zhang Guifang, director of the Th e fi gure was 14.58 sq km Monday. dangerous chemicals on Monday shown online Standing Committee of the Guang- larger than that at the same time Police have detained a man According to the report, the morning in Zibo, East China’s zhou City People’s Congress. last year, and the largest in 12 years, suspected of starting a fi re on a Legislators in Guangzhou, capital 20 people, who said they Shandong province, the city gov- bus in Beijing, according to city Zhang said the Guangzhou City he said. of South China’s Guangdong prov- are from Jilin province, bought ernment said. authorities. ince, on Monday broadcast their People’s Congress plans to broad- Zhou’s institute has been car- Th e two vehicles collided around about 10,000 American red snap- No one was injured and the fi re meeting online for the fi rst time in cast 15 such meetings on the Inter- rying out surveillance of the lake’s 11 am on the corner of a road. Th e caused only light damage to the the city’s history, local authorities net this year. surface area since 2001, when the pers from a fi sh plant near the Jimi- tanker exploded and caught fi re. Culture: Discover the beauty of vehicle. said. lake was shrinking due to climate ya Port for 500,000 yuan ($78,000). Th e remains of four people were Zun porcelain, which due to its Th e blaze started at the back of a Th e fourth session of the Stand- QINGHAI change and human activities. Freeing captured animals found at the scene of the accident, delicate “ears” is referred to as No 9 bus about 5:15 pm on Satur- ing Committee of the 14th Guang- China’s largest “We have noticed an apparent is a Buddhist practice and is a but they have not yet been identi- ox head, was traditionally used day as the bus passed the intersec- zhou City People’s Congress was increase of water since 2005, thanks tradition for many Chinese. Th e fi ed. Th e cause of the accident is to store alcohol and has been tion of Jintai Road and Chaoyang held on Monday. lake expanding to more rainfall and sustained purpose of setting animals free is being investigated. used as an indoor decoration North Road in Chaoyang district, Chen Jianhua, Guangzhou’s Th e surface area of China’s larg- environmental protection eff orts,” saving lives. since the Song Dynasty (960- according to a post on the micro mayor, reported on the govern- est lake has been expanding for Zhou said. Aft er the snappers were freed, CHINA DAILY—XINHUA 1279). Video: Keep up to date with all the goings-on at London 2012 with our multimedia team’s daily Highlights of the Day digest. Medal: ‘Athletes not machines’; media obsessed with gold On China Forum FROM PAGE 1 http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/ Wang Ling, a 24-year-old from others. We don’t need Weightlift er Zhou Jun failed in an interview with the Xinhua He added that there is a chain tennis fan from Beijing said that anymore.” all three attempts at her first News Agency. of interests around athletes who Activity: Write and share re- views of your favorite books for Th ere is no doubt that gold athletes cannot just produce Olympic athletes said they weight in the 53kg division on Xiao Hongbo, a professor at make it to the Olympics. This a chance to win prizes. medal winners are given more gold medals. are simply happy with any Monday. the department of journalism includes coaches and adminis- Discussion: The world’s most material rewards and media “Our athletes are not medal medal. “I wasn’t in the best condi- at Shanghai University of Sport, trative staff . One person’s failure absurd lawsuits. exposure than other Olympic machines. Th ey are supposed “Is it really a matter of the tion,’’ she said later in an inter- highlighted participation. to get the gold can aff ect every- Pictures: My Room by French participants in China. to enjoy the Games and make color of the medal?” asked view. “But I really appreciate all “China’s obsession with gold one in the chain, so it is no sur- photographer John Thack- To some extent, the media people want to join in the spirit Timo Boll, German table ten- the support and concern back medals is what makes it diffi- prise to see athletes in tears if they wray off ers an insight into the are partly responsible for the and take up sport. nis star who has an outside in China.’’ cult to get the masses involved don’t have their golden moment. intimate worlds of an entire obsession with gold medals, “People feel proud for them gold medal chance in London. Yu Dan, bronze medalist in in sport. All the funding will go generation. Wu Zhilin said. no matter what results they get “I would prefer gold. But I the women’s 10 meter air rifl e, to those who are capable of win- Contact the writers at “You see so much media cov- as long as they did their best. will also be very satisfi ed if it’s celebrated her success with par- ning the gold, but not the public. [email protected] Scan it! erage of the gold medalists, from No one is a failure in the Olym- silver or bronze.’’ ents and friends. “This (gold obsession) has and pengyining@chinadaily. Read what food they like to revisiting pics,” she said. Leaving the issue of gold “I am so proud that my got to stop. Otherwise, China com.cn more on the primary school they attend- “China used to use gold behind, people in China gener- daughter went to the London may become a nation that wins chinadaily. ed. Th e other athletes just fade medals to prove we are a ally are giving their full support Olympic Games and won the a lot of gold medals but is still Sun Xiaochen contributed to com.cn into the background,” he said. strong nation and gain respect to all the athletes. bronze medal,’’ Yu’s father said weak in sports,” he said. this story.