Posted on 11/04/2018 1:23:06 PM PST by Zhang Fei
Mixing political summitry with a trade fair, heads of state, trade ministers and executives from multinational companies will gather in Shanghai on Monday to hear President Xi Jinping tout China’s role as a global importer.
Beijing is billing the China International Import Expo (CIIE) as its most significant event this year and as a demonstration of commitment to globalisation as its economic growth slows and a trade battle with Washington continues.
But the US is snubbing the expo and European countries are generally sending lower-level ministers, with diplomats expressing scepticism over Beijing’s commitment to easing barriers to trade and complaining about the event’s confusing organisation.
“They could take the opportunity to make some real announcements on opening up and reform without making it look like they are responding to US pressure. That’s what a lot of countries have been pushing for,” said one European diplomat.
Mr Xi is expected to use a speech on Monday to continue an effort begun at Davos last year to portray China as a guardian of the international trading order. Analysts say he is likely to highlight that China’s imports have grown at an average annual rate of 9 per cent over the past decade outpacing export growth and reached $2.1tn last year.
Foreign governments have also been worried by Beijing’s use of its consumer market as a diplomatic weapon, cutting off flows of goods imports and outflows of tourists, such as during a spat with Seoul last year that saw trade drop dramatically.
“Its kind of old fashioned to have a big sales fair. Companies are doing business every day in China,” said James McGregor, China chairman of consultancy APCO Worldwide. “The real issue is not selling imports into China, it’s market access. China knows that’s the real core contradiction in this trade battle.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
i.e. let’s throw this at the wall and see if it sticks
They sell us poison and crap.
Who are they trying to fool ? Self deception is one of the worst form of deception.
[They sell us poison and crap.]
* That’s factoring in iPhones, iPads, Apple TV’s, Apple watches. A 2016 (i.e. prior year) iPhone model accounted for $16b of China’s trade surplus in 2017. https://qz.com/1234437/the-iphone-alone-accounts-for-16-billion-of-the-us-trade-deficit-with-china/
** Lest you think Foxconn is a real slave driver, it actually pays pretty well compared to other employers in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/11/30/apple-and-foxconn-are-the-best-thing-thats-ever-happened-to-chinese-labour/#3ce9f36e3cf9 And that’s in a country where wages have gone up 5-6x in real terms since 2000.
Or we steal german shepards, skin them alive and use them as trim on boots, coats etc, sold to US
Well, finally a decent balanced post about China. Thank you sir.
Yes, you are correct. You cannot use American industry standards to judge Chinese factories. It is like comparing an apple to a chicken. They are both food items, but other than that, the comparisons break down.
While most Chinese companies will pay a decent Chinese-standard of living wage, they also provide free housing. Free food. Free internet. Free television. Free bus service to and from the local town. Monthly trips paid by the company. Free healthcare. And long lunch breaks so that workers can take a nap.
They do work a 6 day week, however. But this is offset by a month long vacation, and a month long shutdown during the CNY.
So when someone tries to argue that the Chinese are underpaid, etc. I come back that pay is relative. Tell me how the software giants in California deal with the lack of affordable housing, food, and free medical care? They don’t.
Japan used to throw around a lot of “Lifestyle superpower..!”-type B.S., too, aimed solely at foreign leaders and audiences.
They really lapped it up, too, as they somehow want to believe everyone, deep down, yearns to practice American ways.
Soooo pathetic...
RIDICULOUS..!
[But this is offset by a month long vacation, and a month long shutdown during the CNY.]
The factories that I work with always have a vacation and time off for the holidays. While there is an official policy, the implementation of the policy is regional and depends on the workers. I can tell you FACTUALLY that I had my senior Managers, and technical experts take both a month long vacation and the full shutdown over the holidays.
Of course, there is policy, and then there is implementation. I never dealt with policy issues. I was always involved in implementation. For instance to get around the tax issues, we would allow the employees to break their pay into different bank accounts of their children. So while the policy might mandate a set fixed amount, the amount they functionally paid was far, far less.
No need to parse any of this. You just go to China and check it out on your own. Avoid Western cities, like HK, Shanghai or Beijing. Go to Chengdu, Guangzhou or Dongbei.
[The factories that I work with always have a vacation and time off for the holidays. While there is an official policy, the implementation of the policy is regional and depends on the workers. I can tell you FACTUALLY that I had my senior Managers, and technical experts take both a month long vacation and the full shutdown over the holidays.]
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