Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By China Law Blog
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Doing Business In China Just Got Even Tougher

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


A business shrine in China. (logatfer/Flickr)

I have known Janet Carmosky for going on a decade now and I’d be willing to stack her China business knowledge up against anyone’s.  And not only does she know China business, but she is one of those people who just seems congenatillay incapable of pulling any punches.  I am a huge fan of hers, though we certainly do not see eye to eye on everything.

But when Janet says something I always have to listen and she just came out with an article that already has people talking. Janet’s article is in Forbes and it is titled, “Business in China: My Painkillers Aren’t Working Anymore.”  To say it starts out strong would be an understatement:

This just in – a Happy New Year note from a friend I’ll call “Hank”, who has lived and worked in Beijing, on and off, since 1983.  ”Things are hard. The Chinese are (expletive deleted) with American companies here in ways beyond anything I have ever seen.”

That is saying something, because 30 years of working in US-China business has taken Hank into some fairly ugly situations. There was a time when the business landscape in China was nothing but regulatory gray area, and when business plans went well into execution phase before it became clear that they were based on massive misunderstandings. Someone had to figure out what went wrong;  ask the questions no one asked before.  Fire people, carefully, who were holding hostage the operations; renegotiate deals that took two years to negotiate the first time; track down the holders of fraudulent paper.  Headquarters never wanted to know the details. I had to do some of those things.  Hank did it more – chasing down bad joint venture partners, bad deals, bad loans.  I got death threats once in a while, but I’m pretty sure Hank had bodyguards on speed dial.

Carmosky then goes on to argue that China does not play fair when it comes to foreign companies doing business in China and we should not expect it to play fair any time soon:

We’re stating the fact that, while the board is identical visually, the Chinese are playing chess and we are playing checkers. We need to accept that competition is not between firms (American firms and Chinese firms), but between our firms and China’s government.  If the objective is winning, we should teach more of our people the game as it really is being played. Don’t blame the people who do the dirty work for not being team players. The real issue is that head office doesn’t have a team. They have pain killers, denial, and the habit of indulging in the wishful thinking that the Chinese will start acting like us soon, or else…? We’ll get stronger pain kllers, right?

I pretty much have to agree.  I say that because I have already received two emails from two of the people I most respect on China’s front lines and both of them say essentially the same thing.  They both come from people who have been deeply involved with doing business in China for more than a decade and they both say that Carmosky has completely nailed it and that things have never been so bad for foreign companies in China as right now. They both assert that China is much more concerned about face and about nationalism and about keeping its citizens happy than it is about the few thousand jobs that any given foreign company can provide.

I also keep hearing the same sorts of thing from my firm’s own clients.  Just today, I spoke with a very savvy China veteran who contacted us to provide legal assistance to a company in which he is a part owner.  During our conversation, he told me that he would never have an American company own a China WFOE outright because that simply presents too easy a target for China.

What I can add to all of this is that we have seen a definite tightening in the enforcement of all sorts of laws against foreign companies. Almost without exception, the foreign companies and foreign individuals getting in trouble in China were skirting Chinese laws at least a little bit.  But at the same time, we are seeing foreign companies and foreign individuals taking hits for doing things that nobody much cared about as recently as one year ago.  Our lawyers’ response to all of this is to re-emphasize that if you can do business with China without having to do business in China, you should think long and hard about that path.

Are you seeing what we’re seeing?

We will be discussing the practical aspects of Chinese law and how it impacts business there. We will be telling you what works and what does not and what you as a businessperson can do to use the law to your advantage. Our aim is to assist businesses already in China or planning to go into China, not to break new ground in legal theory or policy.


Source:



Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    Total 4 comments
    • Anti-Zion

      China hangs bankers for fraud but the USA/UK/Europe gives them a pay increase !

      I like the way China conducts business because it is better than the crap we are getting here at home.

    • Bilka Skincare

      “China is much more concerned about face and about nationalism and about keeping its citizens happy than it is about the few thousand jobs that any given foreign company can provide.” Finally an open and honest article that reflects reality accurately. I have a few Chinese friends, lovely people, but… not for business. “Would you like to try my skincare?” “No, because this is skincare designed for Europeans, it is not designed for Asian skin” was the answer I got. I was stunned. “What is the difference between European and Asian skin?” I asked. ‘mmm, there is a difference as you can see our skin has a different colour and it is different, and only Asian skincare is suitable for our skin.” I gaped in disbelief. The worst part of it was that the person is a good friend so I am sure she was not doing it on purpose to rebuff me, she genuinely believed in what she was saying. This is the level of brainwashing that is happening there, as you said by a government which has worked on people’s minds for decades to make them believe that their produce is superior to anyone else’s. They don’t allow export in the country on a formal level, which is also backed up by some solid brainwashing on a mind level. Since then I reply to Chinese businesses who approach me for business – “I am interested only in exporting to China and not importing from China.” It gives me a gratification to withdraw from doing business with those people. They are impossible for business. Fair? No, that is not on the agenda, neither is mutually beneficial business deals. They want things on their terms or not at all. In that case I’m out and so is the choice of many other businesses. Imports from China are not as big as they used to be, and the west are turning to other Asian countries for business where the terms are much fairer.

      • Sebastian Clouth

        Thanks for your comment! It is very interesting to learn about.

    • Bill Downey, Goldtrends.net

      you can only laugh at Business USA — unless I read this wrong — they’re saying that now that China wants to enforce its laws and get stricter on them — that its not right for US business. Good, let me come home here in USA so they can cheat at their pleasure. Real typical US response —- hey — we dont want to follow laws. Like i said, fine come home. You won’t have to worry about that here.

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.