I am generally of the opinion that if you are writing a blog focused on business, you should follow the cardinal laws of topics to avoid at networking events: politics and religion. In china, I would also add culture.

However, I recognize the fact that the line between business and politics is a fine one, and that come this November the line that the Bush Administration has drawn in the sand will be moved by one of the candidates…. and more than ever, I think we need to understand clearly the knowledge, understanding, experience, and potential impact of the candidates as it relates to globalization.. and of course China.

and, as luck would have it, Youtube has provided such an opportunity through a 9 minute clip of Hillary Clinton being interview on the George Stephanopoulos show:

 The highlights of the clip are:

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A few months back I met with Dan Inman to discuss what I had been seeing in my time in China, related to China’s 2nd and 3rd tier growth, and this week his article was released on CNBC’s European Edition.

Trading Places take a mixed approach of looking at the macro picture and then bringing in the thoughts of people on the ground, and I would suggest readers who are interested in China’s 2nd and 3rd tier to take 5 minutes to read through it.

Besides myself, the perspectives from a number of others have been included to give the article a nice flavor of the opportunities and challenges that face foreign investors when looking at this environment.

In addition to this article, CNBC also highlights a few others that they have written
How Agile Is China?; Chinese Cities Beyond Beijing. Welcome to the 10 Chinese cities that are now coming of age; Chinese Brands The Chinese companies not to be missed in 2008; China Opener - Introducing the world’s next superpower

For those interested in my writing on China’s 2nd tier, you can see the profiles I have written here

1. Sichuan’s imports and exports increased quickly in the first quarter
From January to March, the accumulated imports and exports of Sichuan province reached 4.06 billion US dollars, up 59.7% year-on-year, while 24.6% higher than the national average for the corresponding period, learned the journalist recently from the Chengdu Customs Office.

2. 150-million-yuan bill agreed, receiving transplantation of shoemaking industry from Guangdong province.
On April 16, at the seminar of Sichuan’s Reception of Transplantation of Shoemaking Industry of Guangzhou held in Guangzhou, “China Female Shoes Capital” Chongzhou Base concluded in total 7 projects of shoemaking and accessory industries, involving investment of 1.5 billion yuan, which made itself the industrial park signed with the most projects and largest investment.

3. China’s first specialized international talent market established in Chengdu
On April 17, the Chengdu Software Talent Market of China International Talent Market was officially established. It is reported that it is so far China’s first specialized international talent market approved by the State Foreign Experts Administration.

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The product safety issue has been one that I am consistently a bit sensitive to. If nothing else, it has continually proved itself to be a case where statistics can be used to show anything that an author needs to use them for.

While I am sure you all remember, the basic rundown of last summer’s highlights includes RC2, Mattel, FTS Import/ Export, and several Pet Brands whom imported goods that were dangerous (and potentially deadly) for one reason or another.

Through this time, it has always been my position that the brands themselves needed to invest in a process of ensuring their quality control, and in each case it is clear to me that each of the brands involved had either not invested in any china based QC, had failed to follow their own protocols, and in a couple of cases had not even visited the factories.

the result, again, as you know was a mess.

So, when reading through the BBC report EU warns over ‘risky’ China goods that covered the recently released Keeping European Consumers Safe Report (PDF Here) from the European Union Consumer Affairs (Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products division), I was reminded of just how biased some reports could be when they fail to properly and completely cut the data.

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There has been a lot of talk lately about China’s inability to maintain its role as the world’s factory floor. Costs across the board are higher according to some, and it is just too much for them to handle… they are now looking at Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

CNN in fact just profiled one such factory owner.

Based in Dongguan, a bicycle helmet manufacturer who supplies Wal-Mart and others is feeling the pinch. the recent labor laws have increased his costs, and he is now considering moving half of the lines from his 17 factories around China to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

What I found most interesting about the report is that it showed the factory owner as a bit of a victim. That because of the new laws, inflation, and a couple of other things that “all came together” he was no longer able to make a profit from China anymore…

For me, this is simply another case of how this situation needs to be reframed, and what I found interesting about this report was that they were more concerned with the conditions of the owner than the workers that the law was supposed to protect.

Now, why is all this relevant?

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TEDA BECOMES ONE OF CHINA’S FIRST ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARKS
Thanks to the efforts in the past over four years, TEDA, on March 8, passed the acceptance test of three ministries and commissions of the central government and then became one of China’s first group of eco-industrial parks. Between March 7 and 8, the expert team and acceptance team of the leading office of the development of the national eco-industrial model zones, which is composed of the State Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, conducted in TEDA a two-day acceptance test including the examination, site inspection, and Q&As. Based on the Q&As and discussions of specialists, the teams pointed out in the Acceptance Result, that TEDA was developing into an eco-industrial park “propelled by the government, centered on enterprises, and supported by all people.” The basic conditions and indicators of TEDA meet the requirement as stipulated in China’s Standards for Comprehensive Eco-Industrial Parks.

It is learned that in 2004 the State Environmental Protection Administration of China officially approved TEDA to establish a state-level eco-industrial model zone. In September 2005, TEDA was approved to be one of China’s first group of pilot zones for circular economy by such six ministries and commissions of China including the National Development and Reform Commission, State Environmental Protection Administration, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Science and Technology. After working hard for a few years, TEDA has developed an approach featured by the most efficient way of utilizing resources, reducing pollution, and increasing profits in the process of developing into an eco-industrial park. The next goal of TEDA is to “forge a new mode of green development.”

Apart from TEDA, Suzhou Industrial Park and Suzhou National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone have also passed the acceptance test. After the 15 day national public announcement, upon the result of the announcement, TEDA, Suzhou Industrial Park, and Suzhou National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone will become China’s first group of eco-industrial model zones. (Tr. by Dong Jing)

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following up from last weeks post  UPDATED: If You Are Manufacturing In Beijing, Tianjin, or Shanghai. PAY ATTENTION, Xinhua has just released an article that I think everyone should pay attention to: East China province gives ultimatum to polluters before Olympics

At present, this article only seem to suggest that 132 firms are being looked at (no indication as to source of ownership), but the following is pretty clear to me.

The Shandong Provincial Environment Protection Bureau issued notifications on Monday to 132 enterprises that have not met the pollutant discharge standard, mainly sulfur dioxide and dust, asking them to take measures to attain the required standard before June 30.

Those that couldn’t meet the standard would be ordered to stop production from July 1, according to the notification.

I am not sure if any readers are on the list, but I would expect that if the situation does not improve there may be others at risk:

As a province close to Beijing, Shandong, together with the neighboring Tianjin, Hebei and Shanxi municipality and provinces, has taken pollution treatment measures to control dust, vehicle exhaust and industrial pollution emissions, to ensure the air quality for the August 8-24 Olympiad

As a final note, we all know that China is having water and energy problems, so while nothing has popped up yet, I would expect that if there is a sever  shortage of either running up to the games we will see the warning go out to others.

Keep your eyes peeled for more.  I will continue to follow this story.