May 8 - The Olympic Flame has reached the world’s tallest mountain. Chinese climbers reached the summit of Mt. Everest this morning, hoisting the flame at 9:18 am Beijing time.

After a turbulent world relay in which protests dogged the torch, and strict measures by both China and neighboring Nepal to bar access to Mt. Everest during throughout the torch’s ascent drew controversy, Cering Wangmo, a 21-year-old Tibetan woman and the youngest member of the expedition, carried the flame atop the peak. (more…)

BEIJING, April 17 - A group of enterprising editors have launched an all out PR campaign to drum up excitement and support for the coming Olympic Games in Beijing this August.

After weeks the Olympic torch relay placing China and its international policies being placed squarely at the center of what has become in many countries an organized street riot, some in the Beijing community are responding by rolling out a concerted PR campaign in the city that is to host the games in little over three months.

All around the capital city tonight, bumper stickers boldly proclaiming “Beijing Jia you,” or “Go Beijing” can be found. From bars to metro walls to taxis, the stickers are everywhere. KFC, one of the largest Western-style fast food restaurants in China has also picked up the promotion. (more…)

Bank’s beginnings lie within the Imperial Chinese Court

April 17 - This is the first of a series of informative historical articles we will be featuring on the development of China’s banks. These articles are condensed from the forthcoming book “A History Of China As Viewed Through Its Bank Notes” to be published by China Briefing.

The Hupu Bank
The Hupu Bank was organized by the Imperial Ministry of Revenues in 1904 during the Qing Dynasty. It is the oldest government owned and operated bank in China and opened its first office in Beijing on September 27, 1905 (August 29, 31st year of Guangxu - Qing Dynasty). In 1907, the Hupu Bank established a Jinan branch. In 1908 its name was changed to “Great Qing Bank” (The Da Ching Government Bank) The Imperial Court of China effectively ended in 1911 when Pu Yi, the young Emperor, abdicated in favor of the new Republic of China envisaged by Sun Yat-Sen. The Republic of China was promulgated on January 1, 1912, with the seat of government being based in Nanjing. (more…)

BEIJING, April 9 - Beijing Capital Airport’s new Terminal Three opened to passenger traffic on March 26. Designed by Sir Norman Foster’s architectural practice Foster & Partners, the Dutch airport planners NACO and engineered by Arup, the new terminal is expected to handle the massive increase in passengers expected for the 2008 Olympics and China’s increased role in global economy from its entry to the WTO.

The new terminal will allow Beijing Capital airport to increase capacity from 27 to 60 million passengers annually by 2015. The same team of planners, architects and engineers were responsible for the Chep Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong.

We sent our intrepid staff to find out how the new terminal was stacking up. (more…)

Foreign criticism often misguided

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

April 9 - With so much talk recently of Tibet for various reasons, and so much Western paranoia about even mentioning the name of the country (blogs running the name as T*bet or T1bet displays rather a lack of confidence, or a somewhat bizarre notion of harboring anti-China naughtiness. It’s almost become a trendy fashion to mistype the capital city that cannot, apparently be actually spelt for great fear of the Chinese police shutting them down) we decided to dig out an old, long deleted back issue of China Briefing about the investment environment there, which we ran in 2002 (click on cover to download the pdf).

Then, China Briefing hadn’t quite reached the glossy professionally produced standards it has today, but it was at the time – pre-blogging of course – pretty much the only source of China investment information available concerning FDI legal and tax issues about China, at least for free. 40,000 print copies were produced for this issue and distributed across China, and online. The issue followed meetings I had with the Tibetan autonomous regional government, at the time headed up by Guo Jinlong, the Party Secretary. Guo, now the mayor of Beijing, spent some time with me explaining the issues China faced with Tibet, and was a generous host, treating us to Tibetan banquets, dancing and singing. He was also obviously a man who enjoyed getting out and about in Tibet’s harsh sunshine; he had become very dark tanned indeed. (more…)

Both countries have now established tourist promotion offices in each others countries

BEIJING, April 7 - The Indian Minister of Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni, opened the first Indian Tourism office in Beijing last night in front of the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), Shao Qiwei at a packed Beijing Hotel gala dinner with over 700 specially invited celebrities and guests.

With the famous Bollywood Indian actor Kabir Bedi as master of ceremonies, the event featured speeches by Mme. Soni, Mr. Shao, the Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao, a 40 minute performance by over 50 Indian classical dancers choreographed by Leela Samson, and a slap up Indian five course dinner prepared by Indian master chefs, specially flown for the event.

Mr. Shao noted that cultural ties were improving and were greatly linked to an increase in cross border trade that was doubling every two years, and looked towards an increase in Indian tourists to China and vice versa. Shao, a long-time personal friend of our Senior Partner and Publisher of China Briefing, Chris Devonshire-Ellis, was congratulated by Chris on the opening of the Chinese equivalent in August last year in New Delhi. Chris commented: “Shao Qiwei and I have known each other since he was the vice-governor of Yunnan province some ten years ago. It’s great to see him now as head of the CNTA and taking such a lead with the promotion of China-India bilateral relations in particular.” (more…)

Mar. 15 - Well, the cat got out of the bag…for all those who have been wondering about the Communist Tax Law site, it seems curiosity killed the cat and certain people have  leaked details of the website, which forces us to tell all before the planned May 1 launch date, which is a bit unfortunate.

Anyway, to prevent any misunderstandings, the Communist Tax Lawyer site will deal with investment law and taxes in communist countries, and ex-communist states. Certain aspects of doing business in these countries have similar themes, and it takes a certain type of business approach to deal with law and financing in regimes that are experiencing shifts from communist based legal systems to capitalist models. This site aims to provide a forum to discuss these matters and to introduce professionals dealing in this fascinating area of developing law to each other and to build an online community of people with similar expertise but doing so in very diverse locations. (more…)

Many expatriate managers alienate their staff resulting in poor motivation

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis 

Mar. 13 - Following on from our previous article on this subject concerning cultural differences Chinese staff face in foreign invested organizations, we concentrate on the expatriate manager in China and the issues they face. With over 1,700 multinationals as clients in China, Dezan Shira & Associates sees a lot of businesses.

Problems at managerial level with expatriate staff are regrettably common. Many expatriate managers do not engage with their staff. While there are many factors that are responsible for this, the end results can be quite negative – diminished productivity, no true communication paths between the shop floor and management, production problems remaining unsolved, and a feeling of mutual distrust. The reasons for such alienation can be many and varied. From occasional sheer arrogance on behalf of the expatriate due to his self perceived superiority, to a natural shyness and personal inability to break down communication barriers, to the complexities of establishing and building relationships in a different language and culture. These can be awkward hurdles to overcome. But, as mentioned, if they are not, serious management problems can arise if the expatriate effectively remains estranged from his own personnel. It doesn’t have to be like this, and expatriate managers are also not often coached properly concerning the demands they face by head office either. Ways to break down these barriers can be simple yet effective. (more…)

The source to follow for the Chinese Communist Party’s thinking for the past 50 years

BEIJING, Mar. 12 - It’s one of those rare occasions when we plug a separate magazine and website, however on this occasion it’s something special. The Beijing Review was first published in 1958 at the specific request of Chairman Mao to publicize internationally the thinking and news concerning the Communist Party in China and the developments taking place in the country. Today it has evolved into a Chinese version of the Economist, and is a complete media entity in its own right, featuring online subscriptions, forums, blogs and a whole host of useful material and links.

Translated into 4 languages, it is distributed internationally and is still considered the official business view mouthpiece of the Chinese government.

We’d like then, to celebrate its 50th year of publishing and introduce it to our own academic, legal and business readers.

The main website, www.beijingreview.com.cn, is updated daily news and commentary and includes sections devoted to world news, national, business, finance, government reports, and special sections on the United States, science and technology, the Olympics, the National People’s Congress, as well as forums and blogs on these subjects. (more…)

HONG KONG, Feb. 27 – Hong Kong eliminated the duty on imported wines today, creating cheer amongst much of the population relishing a return to the past as an Asian wine lover’s paradise.

In his annual budget speech, Financial Secretary John Tsang announced that the duty on alcohol would be eliminated, the cuts to take place immediately. The duty had been 40 percent.

As the duty on alcohol is paid on the wholesale cost of wine, Jeanette Paterson, general manager at Watson’s Wine Asia, Hong Kong’s largest wine supplier, said consumers would actually pay around 22 percent less in shops and bars. “We will be phasing our price cuts in three stages so that by next week, all shops will be selling wine at the new prices,” Paterson said. The deal is good for consumers but not for suppliers, she said, who will now feel compelled to sell off stock on which they had already paid 80 percent duty at a discount. (more…)