2 prime TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012 CHINA 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, Tian Xiusi, political commissar of the Chengdu Military Area Com- THE NUMBER mand, Wang 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.