China’s Changing Communist Party: The Internal Struggle Between Conservatives and Reformers

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2008

CORPORATE PROGRAM: FOCUS ON CHINA

Minxin Pei, Senior Associate, China Program, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Randall Schriver, President of The Project 2049 Institute, and Partner, Armitage International LC

As the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) grip on power remains tied to the economic dynamism of the country, the party itself is attempting to co-opt competition by inviting in successful entrepreneurs and supporters of further reform. This new group of aspiring leaders is clashing with the old communist stalwarts on how open China should be to the world and how to reform China’s domestic and international politics. China’s exceptional growth will continue to owe much to free trade, a stable international political environment, and even-keeled domestic politics. As China further integrates into the international system, will the reformers within the CCP rise to dominate the party apparatus? To what extent are China’s factional party politics shaping the country’s domestic and international relationships?

Minxin Pei is a senior associate in the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His research focuses on economic reform and governance in China, U.S.-China relations, and democratization in developing countries. He is the author of From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union and China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy. Pei’s research has been published in Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, as well as many other print and radio outlets.

Randall Schriver is president and chief executive officer of The Project 2049 Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes international security, individual freedom and democratic institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. He is a founding partner of Armitage International LC, a Washington, DC based organization that provides multinational clients with critical support in the areas of international business development, strategic planning, and problem-solving. Mr. Schriver also serves as a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2003 to 2005, and as chief of staff and senior policy advisor to then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, from 2001 to 2003.

The Fairmont Chicago
200 North Columbus Drive
Chicago, IL 60601

7:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m. Presentation and Q & A
9:15 a.m. Adjournment

For more details, contact us at http://www.midwestUSAChina.com

Brian Su Joins The London Speaker Bureau Hong Kong

Mr. Brian Su is now represented by the London Speaker Bureau Hong Kong which is the largest speaker bureau in Europe and Asia. It has offices in five European and two Asian capital cities. Now international clients and event planners can book Mr. Su's speaking engagements through the London Speaker Bureau Hong Kong office.

Brian Su has extensive experience in international trade, business development, marketing management, and strategic planning. Prior to founding Artisan Business Group, Mr. Su served Illinois governor Jim Edgar and assisted him in his successful trade mission to China in 1996 and helped him host a numbers of Chinese government and trade delegations. Before coming to the U.S. in 1989, Mr. Su worked as a marketing manager for China Non-Ferrous Metals Import and Export Corporation. He has a MPA degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield in the U.S., and a Bachelor degree in English from Guizhou University in China. He is fluent in Chinese Mandarin and English. His extensive network of Chinese government and business connections, together with the amalgam of his Chinese background, U.S. education and multinational work experience, leave him well placed to bridge the business knowledge gap between the two cultures. Mr. Su is able to give his clients a unique inside view of what is happening in China found nowhere else. Mr. Su speaks on a wide range of China/Asia-related business and culture topics.

Log on http://www.londonspeakerbureau.hk for more information.

China's cabinet abolishes regulation on inspection exemptions for food

China's State Council, or the cabinet, on Thursday announced the abolishment of regulations on inspection exemptions for food.

In a circular distributed to ministries and governments at all levels, the cabinet said that it had decided to abolish the regulations relating to quality inspection exemptions for food in a document issued on Dec. 5, 1999.

It urged the ministries and governments to step up supervision, perform their duties strictly and carry out food quality inspections in line with relevant laws to ensure food safety. (Xinhua/Liu Quanlong)

To learn more about China's food safety and inspection system, please contact us at http://www.midwestUSAChina.com

U.S. urged to crack down on export of e-waste

Los Angeles (Xinhua) -- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged the U.S. government on Wednesday to stop the export of used computers and other electronic products with toxic materials that endanger foreign workers.

U.S. regulators has done little to stop the growing flood of electronic waste fueled by the short lifespan of many products, and by manufacturers who rush to get the latest gizmo or upgrade on the market, the GAO said in a report.

The GAO criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a lack of enforcement that allows recycling companies, some of them touting their "green" credentials, to dump computer and TV cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which contain several pounds of lead, and other "e-waste" overseas.

U.S. consumers disposed of 300 million electronic devices in 2006, and "a substantial amount ends up in countries where disposal practices can harm workers and the environment," said the65-page report.

GAO investigators posing as foreign buyers of broken CRTs in India, Pakistan and Hong Kong found 43 U.S. companies willing to export such CRTs. "Some were willing to export CRTs in apparent violation of the EPA rule," which went into effect in 2007, the report said.

A new crop of recycling companies "includes some high-end players but also bottom feeders," said Ted Smith, founder of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. These companies claim to responsibly recycle, but instead ship discarded electronics laden with toxic materials to Asia and Africa, where workers separate out copper, gold and other valuable elements.

The coalition was launched in the 1980s, when toxic chemicals from computer chip factories leaked into Silicon Valley groundwater. In recent years the coalition has focused on the disposal of electronic products as a growing problem.

The EPA estimates that 2.6 million tons of used or unwanted electronics was discarded in the United States in 2005. John Stephenson of the GAO told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Wednesday that U.S. export controls on used electronics are "among the weakest in the world." The only e-waste the EPA can regulate is CRTs, and "that enforcement is minimal," he said.

In response, the EPA said the GAO report "did not provide a complete or balanced picture of the agency's electronic waste program."

Cathode ray tubes contain up to four pounds of lead, and circuit boards also contain some of this metal. Lead is toxic and can delay neurological development in children and cause other adverse health effects in adults. Lead can leach out of CRT glass and circuit boards disposed of in landfills, or it can be released into the environment by incineration.

To learn more about export compliance, contact us at http://www.midwestUSAChina.com

China cuts import taxes on large equipment spare parts

The Chinese government has cut back on import taxes on spare parts of large equipment and canceled the import tariff exemption on some complete sets.

The adjustments were made to support the domestic manufacturing of large equipment, said the Ministry of Finance.

Taxes levied on domestic enterprises for importing key spare parts of large equipment, including ultra- and extra-high voltage transmission equipment and transformers, large petro-chemical equipment and large coal-chemical equipment, would be refunded and injected into the enterprises as investment from the nation, it said.

The policy applied to imports after Jan. 1, 2008, depending on the date of declaration of imports.

In the meantime, the import of some complete sets of equipment by enterprises approved after Sept. 1, 2008 would no longer enjoy the tax exemption. Both domestic and foreign-funded projects are subject to the new policy, the ministry said.

Imports of such equipment by enterprises approved before Sept. 1 would continue to enjoy the previous tax policies until March 1, 2009.

Log on http://www.midwestUSAChina.com for details.

Brian Su Meeting with VP of Honest Abe Log Homes, Inc. and Builder from China

Mr. Brian Su hosted a business matchmaking meeting with Jeff Clements, Vice President - Dealer Operations, Honest Abe Log Homes, Inc. a Moss Tennessee based log home manufacturer; and Mr. Mao Lei, President of American Wood House (AWH) Company, a southern China-based home builder. The meeting was also attended by the log home company's local dealership representative.

In recent years, Chinese demand for U.S. made log homes and manufactured homes have been increasing in China's coastal regions. Mr. Mao has been trained and certified by the Canada Wood College. His 30-member privately-owned company is one of the main Chinese importers for the North American-made eco-friendly construction materials and log homes. Mr. Brian Su has introduced AWH Company to Honest Abe Log Homes, Inc. in summer 2008. Mr. Mao's trip to Springfield, Illinois, was arranged by Brian Su of Artisan Business Group. Both firms have agreed to work jointly on marketing U.S. made log homes in China market.

For more information, log on http://www. midwestUSAChina.com.

Brian Su Meeting Chinese Clients at 2008 IMTS in Chicago

The International Manufacturing Technology Show is the premier manufacturing technology show in the Americas. More than 91,000 visitors from over all over the world attended the show in Chicago from September 7-13. Mr. Brian Su attended the event and met with the Chinese manufacturer from Zhuhai, Guandong Province. For more information, log on http://www.midwestUSAChina.com

Introduction to Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA)

Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA) is one of earliest approved and best state-level development zones in China. It now has a developed area of 27 square kilometers.
　　
　　Geographical Location

　　Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA) is located to the southeast of Tianjin City, about 45 kilometers away from downtown and 140 kilometers from Beijing. TEDA enjoys easy access to North China, Northeast China and Northwest China. Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu expressway runs through TEDA and divides it into two parts, the financial, trading and residential area covering 8.5 square kilometers to the south and an industrial park spanning acreage of 24.5 square kilometers to the north. Beyond the zone there are also the Yat-sen Scientific Industrial Park, Microelectronics Industrial Park and Petrochemical Industrial Park.

　　Climate

　　The TEDA is of temperate monsoon climate with a yearly average temperature of 12 centigrade and an average annual rainfall of 602.9 milimeters.

　　Communication and Transportation

　 　From TEDA, one can reach Beijing and Tianjin by the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu expressway and railway. There are many highways leading to Tianjin. TEDA is 180 kilometers away from Beijing Capital International Airdrome, about 36 kilometers from Tianjin Binhai International Airdrome, which is China‘s largest air cargo terminal, and 4 kilometers from Tianjin New Harbor. Through nine trunk railroads and 10 highways, TEDA is accessible to the country‘s highway networks. The Shanhaiguan-Guangzhou Expressway and the Beijing-Fuzhou Expressway are not far away from the devleoment area. In addition, TEDA is only 2 kilometers away from Tianjin New Harbor by road, which is its closest port and about 5 kilometers by railway. The closest highway is Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway running through the area, the closest airport is Tianjin Binhai International Airport and closest railway station, Tianjin Railway Station is 50 kilometers away.

　　Tianjin New Harbor

　 　As the largest freight terminal in North China, the harbor has an annual handling capacity of over 100 million tons, 2 million TEUs can be handled here each year, which will increase to 5 million TEUs by 2010. The port has freight exchanges with over 300 ports of 160 countries and regions in the world. With 47 container liner routes and nearly 200 international container liner routes, it is one of the container hubs in the world. With its 12-meter-deep two-way navigation channels, the port serves as the primary gateway of import and export for North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China.

　　Container Wharf

　 　With 8 berths, the container wharf is capable of handling 1 million TEUs per year. The coal wharf has 6 berths with an annual capacity of 20 million tons. The bulk grain wharf has 2 berths with an annual loading capacity of 3.5 million tons. Nanjiang Oil Wharf now has 3 berths dedicated to petrochemicals with a capacity of 10 millions tons per year. Nanjiang coke berth can handle 50,000-ton ships. Nanjiang coal wharf has two berths - one for 35,000-ton vessels and the other for 50,000-ton class. And there are terminals for fertilizers, ore (100,000-ton), and non-metal ore (35,000-ton). The passenger pier handles 30,000-ton ships to domestic ports such as Dalian, Yantai and Longkou, and to international ports such as Kobe of Japan and Inchon of South Korea.

　　Mineral Resources

　　There are more than 30 varieties of proven resources ranging from metal ores, non-metal minerals, to fuels and geothermal energy. Metallic minerals include over ten varieties such as manganese boron ore, manganese, gold, tungsten, molybdenum, copper, zinc, and iron. Non-metallic minerals include limestone, barite, stratified rock, marble, purple clay argil, medical stone and others. Proven petroleum reserves are 450 million tons and natural gas reserves, 14 billion cubic meters.

　　Industrial Structure

　 　Already in place are four pillar industries, including the electronic telecommunication sector headed by Motorola, Samsung and Sanyo, the food industry centered around Nestle and Dingxin, the optical-electromechanical integrated machinery manufacturing industry represented by Honeywell and SEW, and the bio-pharmaceutical sector led by GlaxoSmithKline and Novo Nordisk.

For more information about doing business with TEDA, contact us today.