Archives 2007

China Moves to Meet Surging Demand for Chinese Language Teachers

China is stepping up efforts to train more Chinese language teachers and plans to set up 60 more Confucius Institutes to meet the demand for Mandarin across the world, according to Chinese Language Council International.

“Each year, there are 10,000 positions of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the world by conservative estimate, but only 2,000 teachers are available from China,” said Xu Lin, director of the office. “The greatest challenge we are facing now is to meet the surging demand for Chinese teachers.”

This year, a large number of college graduates, regardless of their major, will be recruited to attend a one-year training course to teach Chinese as a foreign language, according to Xu.

China currently has a pool of over 5,000 certified teachers of Chinese as a foreign language. Some of them will be selected to learn Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic for a year and then sent to teach in Latin American and Arab countries.

Last year, China sent 1,004 Chinese teachers to 80 countries and 1,050 volunteers to 34 countries.

In addition to recruiting more Chinese teachers, the office also plans to set up another 60 Confucius Institutes and launch Confucius Institute online and broadcast services.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the Chinese language has become increasingly popular as bilateral trade and cultural exchanges have expanded.

The first Confucius Institute in an Arab country was set up on February 27 in Saint Joseph’s University of Lebanon.

Egypt will likely to have its first Confucius Institute soon, said Chinese ambassador Wu Sike to Egypt, who, on behalf of Xu, has signed an agreement with the University of Cairo on setting up a Confucius Institute.

“Along with the University of Cairo, three universities have Chinese language and culture departments. The number of students majoring in Chinese language has been on a steady rise in recent years,” said Wu.

“Almost every term of the Chinese language training course is fully booked,” he added.

The latest Confucius Institute was established on March 16 in the University of Zimbabwe, which enrolled over 50 students on the opening day, including scholars, government officials and entrepreneurs, said Yuan Nansheng, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe.

The Chinese government donated US$100,000 to the institute and installed two well-trained volunteers as instructors.

“The teachers are expected to introduce China’s cultural, economic and social development as well as giving students linguistic instruction, in the hope of cementing the two countries’ friendship and promoting bilateral trades,” said Yuan.

According to an agreement signed by China’s Hunan Normal university and Russia’s Kazanian State University, the third Confucius Institute in Russia will be set up to receive an ever-growing number of Russian students who want to learn Chinese.

A total of 10,000 people in Russia are attending Chinese-language training programs.

The Confucius Institute, headquartered in Beijing, is a non-profit organization aimed at promoting the Chinese language and culture. By 2010, 500 Confucius Institutes and classrooms are expected to be set up around the world.

Some Confucius Institutes, however, have encountered difficulties.

The first Confucius Institute in southeastern Asia has struggled since it was launched on February 14, 2006 in Bengal. Now only 10 students remain and teachers have nothing but a desk in the office.

“The teaching method is mainly to blame because most of the teachers are linguistics major graduates and not knowledgeable enough in other spheres. As a result, the institute has little influence on the upper class,” said an insider.

“A way out may be to follow a successful model, like the ‘Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme.’ At the same time, we can train some local Chinese teachers in the hope of influencing more people of higher education or from a higher class,” said Xu Guangyuan, headmaster of the Confucius Institute of Bengal.

Confucius, born in 551 B.C., was a great Chinese thinker, philosopher, statesman and educator. He was also the founder of Confucianism. Advocating the building of a harmonious society through individuals’ self-refinement in manners and taste, Confucianism dominated the Chinese society for centuries and was spread to Europe in the late 16th century.

In an effort to promote the Chinese language and Chinese culture abroad, the Chinese government has set up 140 Confucius Institutes, schools or classrooms in 52 countries and regions worldwide.

Foreign banks list new retail services

THE first four overseas banks to incorporate domestically held symbolic opening ceremonies yesterday to release details on the retail yuan-denominated products they will soon offer in Shanghai.

“Today we opened a new chapter in the bank’s 142-year history in China,” Vincent Cheng, chairman of HSBC Bank (China) Co, said in Shanghai yesterday. The new entity was set up with eight billion yuan (US$1.01 billion) in registered capital.

The others that will get a headstart in taking advantage of the full opening of China’s banking industry are Citigroup Inc, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of East Asia.

Completing the domestic incorporation process is the gateway for overseas banks to be able to provide the same retail services as their domestic competitors. Overseas banks were previously allowed to offer retail yuan services only to expatriates and retail foreign exchange services to Chinese.

Eight other overseas banks are awaiting approval of their incorporation applications.

The first four banks, which began operating under their new names yesterday, will all offer yuan-denominated mortgages, wealth management products, deposits and loans, starting in about two weeks. All but Citigroup said they may launch their own brand of credit card.

Citigroup plans to issue its own debit cards and will continue to offer credit cards with local partners Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co and Guangdong Development Bank.

The American financial-services company also wants to underwrite domestic bond sales, according to Richard Stanley, chairman of Citibank (China).

BEA and HSBC also said they will tap fund products in the future.

BEA has promised to waive its account management fees as an promotional incentive when it kicks off its retail yuan business in mid-April. The lender may impose fees later in response to market conditions.

The other three banks will charge management fees on small accounts.

HSBC will charge 300 yuan a month for value-added, premium-services to customers whose daily average balance is less than 500,000 yuan. There will be no fees for balances above that amount.

The bank will charge 150 yuan a month to its non-premium clients if the average daily balance is less than 100,000 yuan.

Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank will disclose their charges later this month.

The four banks also indicated yesterday that they have big expansion plans for the Chinese mainland.

HSBC Bank (China) will open around 30 new outlets this year, up from its current 35.

BEA is scheduled to triple to 100 outlets by 2010 from its current 34.

Citibank (China), with four billion yuan in registered capital, plans to boost its outlet number to 30 at the end of this year from 16 at present, and Standard Chartered Bank will expand to 40 from the current 23 in the same period.

See more on B2

HSBC to hire 2,000 staff for 30 new outlets

HSBC will hire 1,000 new staff this year and another 1,000 staff next year, as it adds 30 new domestic outlets on the Chinese mainland, bank officials announced this morning in Shanghai.

The bank opened its locally incorporated branches in Shanghai today and will offer unlimited service on the mainland after it undergoes Chinese banking regulator’s inspection for readiness. Three other foreign banks — Citigroup Inc, Bank of East Asia and Standard Chartered Bank ¨C also have been approved.

The four banks will be able to offer a full array of retail yuan business such as deposits from Chinese clients and issue credit cards.

Allowing foreign banks to set up branches in the country is part of China’s commitment to open its banking sector as part of an agreement to enter the World Trade Organization.

In December, nine overseas banks including Hang Seng Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, DBS Bank and ABN Amro Bank N.V. gained approval to prepare for local incorporation in Shanghai.

Citigroup hires Deutsche Bank China veteran

HONG KONG, March 26 (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s top bank by market value, on Monday named Eugene Qian as a managing director in its China investment banking team, hiring him from rival Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

Qian, who will report to Jing Zhao, Citigroup’s head of China investment banking, had been at Deutsche for four years, where he ran the bank’s Asian natural resources investment banking team.

Several senior bankers have switched jobs in Asia recently, as dealmakers traditionally switch firms after getting their bonuses early in the year.

Baxter aims to increase staff, investments in China

Baxter International Inc. will be stepping up its investments in China, hiring an additional 200 workers a year as part of a larger strategy to increase its international business, the company told analysts recently.

Baxter generated 56 percent of its sales from international operations last year.

Baxter’s international sales increased by 6 percent last year, to $5.8 billion. The firm’s total sales were nearly $10.4 billion.

The company also has more employees outside the U.S. Currently, about 1,500 of Baxter’s global workforce of 45,000 are in China.

Baxter has 18,500 workers in the U.S.

Baxter is not a traditional pharmaceutical company that makes pills and tablets. Rather, it makes money on medication delivery devices, genetically engineered blood therapies and dialysis medicines.

The emphasis on China did not get as much attention as Baxter’s overall plans announced last week to increase spending on research and development and to give consideration to acquiring companies in the $100 million to $500 million range.

However, many analysts have taken note of Baxter’s international plans in notes they have written in the week following the March 14 analyst meeting.

In particular, Baxter sees China as a growth market because dialysis rates are low, particularly for peritoneal dialysis, a form of in-home therapy.

Baxter, which sells intravenous systems, also sees a huge opportunity in medication delivery.

China is a country that still has hospitals that make use of glass bottles as containers for solutions and medications, instead of the plastic bags commonplace in U.S. health facilities.

“The company is investing in new low-cost products, clinical studies and marketing activities to position itself for faster growth in these countries as they come to appreciate the benefits of home dialysis,” said Ben Andrew, an analyst with William Blair & Co. of Chicago in a report he issued last Friday, two days after the Baxter analyst meeting.

The Deerfield-based medical products giant sees markets such as China, where per-capita spending is growing 10 percent or more annually, as critical to achieving a sales growth rate of 7 percent to 9 percent over the next five years.

John Greisch, corporate vice president and president of Baxter’s international operations, said fast-growing economies such as China’s are also expanding health insurance coverage of their citizens and increasing reimbursement to providers of medical care.

By comparison, the number of uninsured in the U.S. is rising while increasing numbers of workers are paying more out of pocket for their health benefits.

Baxter’s sales from China were about $150 million last year.

The company expects them to grow about 25 percent a year and approach $500 million annually by 2011.

China hopes to promote justice in employment by new law

by Ren Ke

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) — Liu Dan, a final year student at the Capital Normal University in Beijing, has been job hunting since October last year. As a female student without any relatives in Beijing, she is finding it difficult to get employed.

“It’s really too difficult for me to find a job,” said Liu, “some employers turned down my resume just because I’m from Henan Province, some rejected me because I’m a girl, or they did not need undergraduates. Finally, I found an administrative job but one of the job requirements was that I must have relatives in Beijing as my guarantors — so I failed again.”

Liu’s experience is widespread in China, most people encounter discrimination when they are trying to find jobs. Gender, educational background, age and health conditions — such as carriers of Hepatitis B or HIV — all fall foul of discrimination on the part of prospective employers.

A questionnaire regarding job discrimination, which was made at the end of last year, revealed that 86 percent of interviewees thought discrimination exists in employment market, while 58 percent thought that this discrimination is of a severe nature.

However, this may all be set to change with the introduction of a new employment law by the Chinese government. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) — China’s top legislative body — has recently examined a draft law on employment promotion for the first time.

The drafting of the law started in the second half of 2003 and, after repeated revision; the law is now on the agenda of China’s legislators. As chairman of NPC standing committee, Wu Bangguo said, since the law has close relations with people’s interests, the full text of the draft law will be published after the 5th plenary session of the 10th NPC in order to ascertain public opinion.

“Unemployment leads to social unrest and conflicts between different groups,” said Liu Cuixiao, a researcher with China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) who believes that the main catalyst for the new law is China’s present social situation.

As the most populous country in the world, China is now facing a rapid rise in its labor force — nearly 10 million people every year. Unemployment is becoming a challenge that the government is increasingly facing. Although the official urban registered unemployment rate is 4.6 per cent, some economic observers believe the national figure may be much higher.

In order to address this issue, the draft law is aiming at promoting employment around the country. The law states that the government will implement new policies, such as boosting professional training, regulating the intermediary employment agencies and increasing financial investment in employment promotion.

Severe employment stress makes discrimination more popular in China, however building a fair employment market is a key issue addressed in the draft law, which contains a special clause on anti-discrimination. The clause states that discrimination against job seekers with respect to their background, whether it is with regards to ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, age, or physical disability, will be prohibited.

Indeed, as well as college students like Liu Dan, some disadvantaged groups — such as some 200 million migrant workers and laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises — also suffer from discrimination in the labor market. Most Chinese employers will not consider job applications from candidates above 35, excluding the majority of China’s laid-off workers.

China’s residential permit system (or ‘hukou’) ties farmers to farmland, restraining the surplus labor force in rural areas from migrating into the cities and thus suffering discrimination from urban dwellers.

Due to the discrimination, they have little say over their treatments. They cannot enjoy some basic rights, such as work-related insurance and health care. Although the government always vows to protect the interests of them, sometimes they even cannot get paid on schedule.

According to Xie Zhiyong, a professor at the China University of Political Sciences and Law, discrimination also exists in China’s civil servant recruitment exams.

“Some posts only accept male candidates,” he said, “and 35 is the age limit for the promotion of many posts — these requirements have no necessary connections with the nature of the work.”

Such widespread discrimination sometimes triggers tensions in society, often resulting in tragedy. One such case that raised public awareness of job discrimination was the murder committed by Zhou Yichao, a university graduate that was also a carrier of Hepatitis B.

In 2003, Zhou killed a civil servant and seriously wounded another, primarily due to his anger over the recruitment procedure of a local government department in Jiaxing City of East China’s Zhejiang Province — he had successfully passed the interview and the exam for the post, but had failed the health check-up. Zhou was subsequently sentenced to death.

“These inharmonious things obviously do not tally with the picture that the Chinese government is now trying to draw — a socialist harmonious society, in which equality, justice and the interests of social vulnerable groups are being addressed,” said Liu Cuixiao.

Issues concerning people’s livelihoods are amongst the most important subjects being discussed in the recently convened annual session of the NPC and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Prof. Zheng Gongcheng of Renmin University, who is also a member of NPC Standing Committee said, “Discriminations may damage the labor market, and thus lead to serious social consequences, it undermines the fair competition environment of the labor market, and results in a tremendous waste of labor capital.”

“What the draft law said on anti-discrimination is mainly in principle,” remarked Liu Cuixiao, “however, as an administrative law made by the central government, all of the local provisions that are against such principles will be abolished.”

More importantly, the draft states that the government is to co-ordinate rural and urban employment policies in a bid to build a system in which workers from rural and urban areas can have equal rights in employment.

Due to lack of education and professional training, these workers from rural areas cannot find jobs requiring skills and technology, which made them disadvantageous when competing with urban people.

As Liu Cuixiao said, it is unfair for them — she believes that with all the efforts that the government will make, discrimination must be curbed significantly.

However, some experts think that there is still some room for improvement in the draft law.

Lin Qiang, a member of NPC standing committee commented, “Now the draft law has only prohibitory provisions on job discrimination, however, there is no corresponding legal obligation.” Lin suggested that the legal obligation of discrimination should be clarified in the future.

Another member of NPC standing committee, Yuan Hanmin, suggested that the present draft law is too ‘soft’ to curb the discrimination in employment. He also suggested that some foreign experience should be taken for reference.

“In order to avoid gender and racial discrimination, American employers have to keep certain ethnic and gender proportions in their companies.” As the draft law mainly focuses on discrimination based on age, gender and hukou, Yuan also suggests that more attention needs to be paid to the 120 million carriers of Hepatitis B.

Chinese netizens have welcomed the government’s efforts to promote employment and oppose discrimination on web forums, however voices that doubt the law’s effectiveness in anti-discrimination remain.

“Where employment exists, employment thresholds exist,” said Luo Baiwei, a lawyer from South China’s Guangzhou City, “therefore, a job seeker may have formal equal rights in employment, but he may suffer from de facto discrimination. Any differences in gender, age, appearance and background will become the pretexts for employers to decide to hire or not.”

As Luo said, it is difficult for the government to decide what kinds of behavior are discriminatory, since there are no specific standards. Furthermore, anti-discrimination is not always good news for everyone, especially for those who have gender, age and hukou advantages. At the same time, the employers will face more restrictions when hiring people.

“Laws cannot create employment, but a fair environment, which will undermine the efficiency and lead to different impacts to different groups,” said Luo.

Liu Cuixiao with the CASS believes that the fight against discrimination will be a long-term process and there is still a long way ahead. “It depends on the level of economic development, the changes of the employers’ ideas and improvements in the quality of the labor force,” said Liu.

“A single law is not enough — we need a series of systems to promote justice in employment, possibly including reform of the hukou system,” Liu added

China’s Ctrip appoints new director following resignation

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) – Nasdaq-listed Ctrip.com International Ltd, an on-line provider of hotel accommodation, airline tickets and packaged tours, has appointed Hideaki Yokomizo to its board of directors, following the resignation of Yoshihisa Yamada, effective Mar 29.

In a statement, the company said Yokomizo is the deputy general manager of Rakuten Travel Inc.

Ctrip did not provide details on the reason for Yamada’s resignation.

Human Resources Conference Offers Insider Insights Into Doing Business in China

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire/ — China is the world’s fastest-growing economy, offering significant opportunities for U.S. businesses, but also a unique set of HR challenges. Quick employee turnover, widely varying employment laws between provinces, recruiting the right talent, benefits desired by Chinese workers — are all issues for companies entering China and organizations already there.

“Making China Your ‘Gold Mountain,'” a new conference and exposition in South San Francisco on May 23-25, explores the unique human resource difficulties that can significantly affect business success in China. The conference is hosted by XMei International, a business consulting and development organization with expertise in Chinese business practices and their cultural impact.

The conference is the first event in the U.S. with influential Chinese HR executives and business leaders from multinational companies, private Chinese companies, Chinese consulting firms and the government.

Among the abundance of practical advice, attendees will learn:

* Compensation and benefits trends, including how much to pay employees, how to pay them, required benefits, typical benefits package, and what benefits are most valued by Chinese workers
* How to find top talent in China, including how to advertise jobs, and keys to retaining employees in a culture where the average length of employment is two years.
* How Chinese culture impacts doing business in China, including how to work effectively across cultures
* How to outsource HR services in China, including what HR products and services are available in the Chinese marketplace
* How to comply with Chinese employment law — and the critical
differences amongst provinces.
* Which Chinese provinces are the most labor friendly and how to set up business in China.

Delivering keynote speeches will be Dr. George Koo and Dr. Irv Beiman. Dr. Koo, the Director of Chinese Services Group for Deloitte and Touche, will speak on the conference theme, “Making China Your ‘Gold Mountain.'” Dr. Beiman, Chairman of eGate Consulting, Shanghai, will address the links between challenges and solutions of doing business in China to HR requirements there. He’ll discuss five root causes of the HR problems that hinder successful execution of business in China.

“This conference and expo represent a great opportunity to develop a Chinese business network,” said Xiaoli Mei, president and founder of XMei International. “Our keynoters and session speakers are completely accessible. Those doing business in China, and those considering it, will benefit from the educational and social components of the event.”

China panel maker recruiting former executives from Taiwan, paper says

China-based Shen-Chao Optronics (transliterated from Chinese) is recruiting former executives from Taiwan-based panel and component makers, as the company’s fifth-generation (5G) LCD plant is expected to enter production in 2008, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN).

Hsiang-Kuei Chung, a former vice president of the CRT business of Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT), will be responsible of the construction of the 5G plant; Ching-Chih Chen, a former vice president of Quanta Display (QDI), will be responsible for Shen-Chao’s 6G plans while Arthur Chou, former president of Allied Material Technology Corporation (AMTC), a Taiwan-based color filter (CF) maker, may be in charge of its in-house CF production, the paper said.

The paper also reported Shen-Chao is targeting employees at AUO, Chi Mei Optoelectronic (CMO) and HannStar Display.

KY (Kuen-Yao) Lee, chairman and CEO of AU Optronics (AUO), was quoted as saying he has heard of the recruitment plan from Shen-Chao and several high-level executives are said to have joined the China-based maker.

General Manager (Wu Xi)

Company introduction:
With more than 50 years history, our client is a manufacturer of generators. And set up their factories in China since 1998.
The company is the exclusive distributor of Sinemaster Inverter generators and Professional Series generators to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our goal is to provide outstanding products with world-class quality, availability, and after-care service to customers across North America, Europe and Asia.
Our products are available throughout the world from a rapidly-growing number of portable power and small engine dealers, agriculture and farm supply dealers, RV dealers, marine dealers and ATV/motorcycle dealers. It supports these independent dealers through a network of 17 distribution centers, a warranty service center, and a trained staff of service personnel.

Report To: Board of Directors
Location: Wu Xi
Responsibilities:
1.Budget development and adherence requirement;
2.Responsible for continuous improvement in all areas of the factory operation;
3.Support implementation of the strategic direction of Operations in China.
4.Control and reduce production cost while improving quality by training programs, cross training of operators, process improvement, etc.
5.Contribute to the overall company performance by active participation as part of the management team by daily communication with the subordinate departments’ heads.
6.Manage the whole team to achieve the aims of the company.
7.Responsible for establishing and maintaining vendor relationships to support the plant operations;
8.Ability to negotiate important contracts for materials and services;
9.Develop the skills and experience of the factory management and employees
10.Become China expert on product (Finished and Components) needs and institute Manufacturing and DC capabilities to ensure that our customers receive the best product availability and quality.

Requirements:
The successful candidate should have:
1.Bachelor degree majored in Mechanical, Engineering or relevant, and MBA is preferred;
2.At least 8 to 10 years of manufacturing experience including minimum 5 years in managerial position in foreign manufacturing company;
3.Professional leadership, teamwork and good communication skills;
4.Strong analytical, organizational and planning skill required;
5.Knowledge of Lean Production/6Sigma and ERP system
6.Knowledge in stamping, casting, machining and coating is preferred
7.Good command of English both spoken and written;
8.Strong leadership and inter-personal skills with ability to work through all levels of organization, internal and external.
9.Be able to work under pressure, self-motivated and have positive attitude as well as good team spirit.
10.Strong sense of responsibility, highly initiative and flexible, mature, independent, good interpersonal and communication skills
11.Good commercial sense.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_eo089wx#dacare.com’(Please replace “#” with “@”)