BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup
American way of life
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-04-19 09:16
Living without American goods in China?
You could live, but it would not be comfortable, says Zhang Quan, an
executive at a Beijing-based securities company.
"It means computers without Microsoft, movies without Hollywood, drinks
without Coca-Cola and sport without Nike. Where's the fun?" asks the
30-year-old man who was born in a small town in eastern China.
His first taste of things American was when he ate KFC chicken wings for
the first time 15 years ago on a trip to Shanghai.
The American lifestyle, along with innovative products, dominant brands
and profitable business models, has firmly seeped into the consciousness
of China.
China's exports to the United States may seem huge if the trade balance
were the only criterion but American exports have had a pervasive effect
on China, too.
US companies are coy when it comes to questions of profit-making in
China, typically claiming that investments here are strategic.
But Bernhard Hartmann, vice-president of well-known US management
consultant A.T. Kearney, refers to a recent survey of 1,800 US businesses
in China by the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, which found that
the profit margins for 42 per cent were higher than their average
worldwide margins.
"It is interesting," says Hartmann.
A story in the Wall Street Journal in February has a more direct answer:
It quoted the US Bureau of Economic Analysis as saying that US-affiliated
companies in China earned US$3 billion in 2004.
Perhaps it does vary from sector to sector, but there is a higher
collation by experience than by sector, says Emory Williams, chairman of
the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
"The longer companies have been in China, the more profitable they are."
Perhaps those not profitable do not last here too long, he says.
Page: 1 2 3
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
Most Popular Stories in 48 Hours
� Baidu's Li smells fortune in mobile phone users
� Shanghai Auto turns around
� DVD royalty agreement signed
� Central bank raises lending rate
� American way of life
Today's Top News
� President ends African tour by drumming for dancers
� Housing fund ups mortgage rates
� Militants warn Chinese oil companies
� Q1 urban unemployment rate at 4.2 pct
� Pay rises by 16% for State sector workers
Top Biz News
� China's state pension fund permitted to invest overseas
� Lower Q1 NPL ratio for major banks
� Housing mortgage loan rates raised
� China builds railway corridor in rust belt region
� Pay rises by 16% for State sector workers
Learn Chinese
