Check out this wonderful video that Erik Slayter has noted. This is one reason I agree with Henry Lane, who spoke to us earlier in the year, that it’s only a matter of time before China becomes an economic, political, military and geopolitical force to be reckoned with. They just have too many people like the amazing young woman that’s the subject of this video portrait who are willing to buck up, sacrifice and just get it done ….

Chris — I recently came across this website. This site is a project where they interview regular people from all over the world on a handful of topics such as “love, tears, happiness, childhood, etc.”. It is a very compelling site if you enjoy watching people.

Also, of particular interest to us is an interview with an 18 year old Chinese girl who has just moved to Shenzhen to start working. To get to her interview, once you’ve gone to the “English” page, click on the little link called “portraits”. Once you get videos playing, you can scroll down to “China”.

She talks about her family, her country, her work, etc. I found it to be very interesting to listen to her talk.

Go check it out…it might even be better than watching people at the airport.

Also, before you lecture or preach to the Chinese on labor and factory issues, and to help you put the issue of the factory working conditions we will see in China into a comparative historical context and perspective, you simply must read this Wall Street Journal article, Lemonade Stands? Children Used to Toil 14 Hours, Every Day.

Professor Carr October 15, 2008 update:  See also this thoughtful Newsweek article on factory girls in China, Assembly Required.   An interesting piece that comes at this controversial topic from a different angle that most I have seen.   The book highlighted in the article might also be a good one to select for your Spring quarter book review.

I think you will love both Hangzhou and Suzhou. Great places to refresh and recharge, especially after being overwhelmed by the sheer size, chaos and power of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Both Hangzhou and Suzhou are historically famous for a number of reasons, one of which is that long ago in China it was a really big deal to be a government official (still is, I guess). The thought was, you needed to be smart to become one, you got to hob nob with the Emperor, and it would eventually lead to wealth, etc. But to become one, you had to study your butt off and do well on the imperial civil service examination (now, it’s be a successful party member).

To learn more on this exam and upward social mobility issue, read this post from the Eyes East blog (by Chris, an expat teaching in China) which also links to the Granite Studio blog (by Jeremiah who is a PhD student in history at UC Davis).

Then, once you served the Emperor as a government official, you retired to Hangzhou or Suzhou, to live out your remaining years in comfort. And when you arrived, particularly at Suzhou, because you were rich, you often built a beautiful garden you could lounge around in. In Suzhou we will take you to the Humble Administrator’s Garden (you will see the irony in the name when you see it) and the Lion Grove Garden. We won’t spend hours and hours at them, but you do need to see and experience them as a part of Chinese culture and history.

Ah, if only I could pass the imperial civil service exam ….

Here are two must read WSJ articles you need to check out before we visit the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and Wal-Mart:

Wal-Mart Sneezes, China Catches Cold.

China Nutures a “Clean Tech” Hub. (This is not the park we will visit, and it is not yet even really up and running; but SIP has facets of this in it.)

We have recently had some good discussion on this blog about the food safety debacle come out of China.

Here are four blog posts that are must reads which really tie this recent chain of events into your MBA studies and the business context. Free advice you don’t even have to pay for …

China Law Blog: How To Protect Your Company From Bad China Product (h/t Dan Harris for these three blog leads).

ImageTheif: China’s Food Crisis Strategy: Blame Everyone Else.

Peking Review: Why China May Be Playing the Blame Game.

China Law Blog: Selective Law Enforcement as Big Coincidence.

Professor Carr July 12, 2007 Addendum: See/read today’s related Wall Street Journal article, Lead Toxins Take a Global Round Trip, to see and better understand how we are all tied in together on these issues via the global economy and business

I’m a little teapot short and stout, here is my handle and here is my …. oh, hi there …

No, I am really not a teapot.  I wish I was a teapot, but I am not.

But this post is about tea pots.

For a gift for the folks back home, think about buying them a small size, medium size tea pot set from China. They pack nicely in your suitcase, your mother, father, girlfriend or boyfriend will never know how little you paid for them, and they are beautiful. See this recent NY Times article on Chinese tea pots, Purple Clay, a Pot of Tea and Thou, O China.

And bargain hard on price. Do NOT buy the first one you see!

Who would have ever thought that some of the best news reporting of the day would come from society’s comedians? Folks like Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, who address controversial issues through their sarcasm and humor, rather than the major news organizations?

Check out this short Jon Stewart on Crossfire video where he pummels bow-tied Tucker Carlson. It is priceless and speaks volumes about where we are as a society.  This tit for tat in American politics can make it very challenging to work with countries like China and India from a geopolitical standpoint.

And also check out the following short video from Stephen Colbert titled, Heated Debate: College Students Should be Unformed Lumps of Clay Fired in the Kiln of Unchallenged Thought. After you click on this link and get to this Comedy Central site, type “college students” into the search line in the upper right hand corner of the page, then click on the search icon, then look for the “Heated Debate …” description heading, and watch and enjoy away. [Carr 12-17-07 update -- be sure to read my Comment No. 6 or 7 below, in case this link is not working where you can read the interview and get the crux of it]

To the extent global warming and China are linked, this video is relevant.  It is also relevant from the standpoint that I have found that on trips like this sometimes a student or two may refuse to accept data of new information that does not jibe with their preconceived ideas of placed like China or India.   Aside from all of this, it’s a hoot to watch and was just too darn good to not put up a post that links to it.

Yep, Colbert and Stewart are gods.   (For any literalist readers, note that I used the small “g” on the word “God”.)

Professor Carr Addendum: See also this related POST I just made on Jon Stewart on China and the Olympics.

Submitted By: Jared Samarin

In the May 25th Economist, along with a very interesting graphic on the cover of a cute but menacing Panda and the caption “America’s Fear of China”, was an article concerning the importance of ideology in the PRC. After an exit from popularity through the 20th century and most certainly during Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Confucianism and other teachings of the great sage are gaining popularity amongst Chinese political academics. According to many, Confucianism may be just the shot in the arm the Communist party needs if they are to retain an ordered state.

The alarming disparity between the haves and have nots within the communist state threatens to overturn the authority of party officials. Confucianism, with its propensity to cause people to think of the group before self, could help to retain order. According to Professor Kang Xiaoguang, an outspoken faculty from Beijing’s Renmin University, Confucianism should become the accepted religion of the state. According to the article such ideas are attempts to provide a different philosophical underpinning to the purpose of Communism, and help restore people’s faith in the party. Confucianism is a homegrown set of ideals and philosophy that was revered in the past for its clarity of thought with regard to political philosophy and personal ethics.

Unfortunately for the party, faith in Communism waned long ago amongst China’s lower classes, the people who were supposed to benefit most from a Communist state. That said, party officials must be careful to retain the confidence in the system even in the face of a slowing rate of economic growth. Further bad news for the proponents of a national Confucian religion is that the party may be slow to except their offer. After all, the only mode for political change that Confucius ever taught of was revolution, not much of an option for a party clinging to power. According to many though an alliance between Confucianism and the State may be one of the only ways to help save the authority of a party who many see as only helping the rich and abandoning its core ideals. The adoption may also allow the party to improve its international image. The article cites that by taking this new idealist line they can be seen as an idealist party who seeks to improve the lives of all Chinese as opposed to just an “ideologically bankrupt” administration who allows money and money alone to rule the day.

Those things said, I would raise the question what would be the best course of action for the Communist party? Is it worthwhile to attempt to adopt a national religion as an attempt to bring new ideals to underpin your rule? Or should you continue to hope that people would follow with hope that equity will come?

There was an error in the website for Thomson listed at page 25 of your information booklet. See and instead use ….

Thomson

http://www.thomson.net/EN/Home/

Thomson China web site:

http://www.thomson.net/CN/home (in Mandarin; glean what you can).

Also, a reminder …

In the unlikely event your passport is stolen or lost and we need to take you to a consulate or embassy to replace it, you will need an ID with your picture on it. I would bring your driver’s license.

Please watch this three minute video before we arrive in southern China (called “Factory of the World” - features a factory in the Taishan province) by the NY Times’ Nicholas Kristoff of China Wakes fame.

Two thoughts came to mind as I watched this video.

One, the NY Times is often criticized for being “too left”, yet in this video it’s the Times making the argument that the human rights criticism of these factories is overblown.

Two, the general thrust and point of the video has been my own experience. Most of the factories I have seen and visited in China I would grade as a low “B” or high “C” on the treatment of workers issue (I define a high “C” as satisfactory).   A very, very small number I would give an “A”.  I have been in a small number of D and Fs - they do exist and they are ghastly by Western standards, but to the extent the video argues most in China are not D and Fs, that has also been my own experience.

Also be sure to check out this subsequent blog post, “In Defense of 12 Hour Days”, that Kristof made about this video in response to those who disagreed with his praise for the Chinese town of Dongguan and his comments about the woman who works 12-hour shifts seven days a week. Very insightful, in my view. But also stuff that people won’t hear or listen to if they have their mind made up.

Finally, remember … before you lecture or preach to the Chinese on labor and factory issues, and to help you put the issue of the factory working conditions we will see in China into a comparative historical context and perspective, you must read this Wall Street Journal article, Lemonade Stands? Children Used to Toil 14 Hours, Every Day.

On the flip side and for a different perspective, check out this thoughtful and interesting Washington Monthly article I came across, Confessions of a Sweatshop Inspector.  And see also this recent C-Span broadcast (click HERE to watch the interview and segment - 7.30-24.0 = the China bit); this segment is an interview of Mike Daisey, the story teller behind the well received show, “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs“.

And back to the original question of this blog posts, “Is China the Factory of the World or Market?”

It’s both.

No debate on the first category (factory of the world).

Re: the second (market?), as an example, I recently spoke with a former Nike executive who noted that 80 percent of what Nike makes in China it in turn sells there in its domestic market.  As a second example, see this Wall Street Journal article, Vespa Looks both Ways: China, India.

This Wall Street Journal article, For Some Manufacturers, There Are Benefits to Keeping Production at Home, also does a nice job highlighting for you what type of manufacturing moves to China and what type tends to stay home here in the US. To gain a feel for how the services industry and market for foreign firms is developing and set to take off in China, see this recent China Law Blog post, China New Investment Rules ….

I recently did the following post that dealt with air carriers in China, Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Slowly, I am learning more and more about why flight delays are so common in China, why domestic airline service is less than stellar, why I can’t let it get me upset and I need to roll with it, etc.

Here is yet another good WSJ article that sheds more light on this issue: How U.S. Pact Pressures Chinese Carriers.

Great piece. It helped me better understand why this year was difficult to get tickets for our group and trip. After reading this article I was also struck by the tremendous business opportunities that all of this uncertainty creates in China, while at the same time, a HUGE risk appears for those firms in that industry and who guess wrong.

I had also just assumed that Chinese air carriers were making a killing on their US routes and groups of MBA students flying into China — but apparently that is not the case per this article.