Below are useful China links that were previously in the "Useful Links" section on the right side of the blog.
China Weather
Xinhua News Agency
China News Service (was English before, but is Chinese now)
China Internet Information Center
China Facts and Figures (from the China Internet Information Center)
China Ag Statistics (from the USDA ERS)
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Welcome FP Readers
If you found this blog by way of Financial Partner magazine, welcome! I have posted over 60 entries, and many pictures, about the Vermont agricultural trade mission to China in October 2007. Please feel free to look around.
If you are new to blogs, click here for some helpful tips.
If you are new to blogs, click here for some helpful tips.
What does it all mean?
This is all very nice, this trip to China, but what does it have to do with agriculture in Vermont and the Northeast?
For a variety of reasons, in recent years the world has effectively become smaller. (Thomas Friedman says the same thing a different way. He says "The World Is Flat.") The reasons include:
On the input side, China now competes with the rest of the world, including us, for basic commodities such as oil, steel and fertilizer. This increased demand is increasing prices worldwide.
On the output side, China affects world markets in two ways. One the one hand, their increasing demand can drive up prices. This is a factor in today's high dairy prices. On the other hand, China's production of certain agricultural products is also increasing. This increased supply puts downward pressure on prices. We have seen this in apples and timber.
Specifically concerning dairy, China is presently a net importer. The U.S. exported over $100 million of dairy products to China in 2006, mostly powders and concentrates. China has plans to become self-sufficient in dairy, even an exporter. It remains to be seen if those plans can be realized.
We saw several dairy processing facilities in China, but few produced cheese and none produced aged cheese. There isn't presently much demand in China for cheese. But demand for other dairy products has increased in recent years as China's increasing wealth has resulted in changes in diets. It is likely that demand for cheese will increase, too. The U.S. Dairy Export Council has noted that demand for cheese in both Japan and Korea increased significantly after those countries hosted the Olympics:
Perhaps the same will happen in China.
So, to return to the subject of this post: What does it all mean? In short, China significantly affects the prices that Northeast farmers receive for their products and pay for their inputs, whether or not there is direct trade between the Northeast and China. This brings both new opportunities and new challenges.
Note: If I counted correctly, this is my 69th post (and nearly my last post) about the trip to China with the agricultural delegation led by Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee. The trip was a wonderful adventure! Blogging about it has been fun, too. Thanks for reading.
For a variety of reasons, in recent years the world has effectively become smaller. (Thomas Friedman says the same thing a different way. He says "The World Is Flat.") The reasons include:
- Advances in transportation (e.g., container ships).
- Advances in communications (e.g., the Internet, fiber optics).
- The lowering of trade barriers (e.g., the World Trade Organization).
- The lowering of political barriers (e.g., the end of the Cold War).
- Increasing wealth in many parts of the world, including China, India and oil producing countries, causing increased demand.
On the input side, China now competes with the rest of the world, including us, for basic commodities such as oil, steel and fertilizer. This increased demand is increasing prices worldwide.
On the output side, China affects world markets in two ways. One the one hand, their increasing demand can drive up prices. This is a factor in today's high dairy prices. On the other hand, China's production of certain agricultural products is also increasing. This increased supply puts downward pressure on prices. We have seen this in apples and timber.
Specifically concerning dairy, China is presently a net importer. The U.S. exported over $100 million of dairy products to China in 2006, mostly powders and concentrates. China has plans to become self-sufficient in dairy, even an exporter. It remains to be seen if those plans can be realized.
We saw several dairy processing facilities in China, but few produced cheese and none produced aged cheese. There isn't presently much demand in China for cheese. But demand for other dairy products has increased in recent years as China's increasing wealth has resulted in changes in diets. It is likely that demand for cheese will increase, too. The U.S. Dairy Export Council has noted that demand for cheese in both Japan and Korea increased significantly after those countries hosted the Olympics:
Perhaps the same will happen in China.So, to return to the subject of this post: What does it all mean? In short, China significantly affects the prices that Northeast farmers receive for their products and pay for their inputs, whether or not there is direct trade between the Northeast and China. This brings both new opportunities and new challenges.
Note: If I counted correctly, this is my 69th post (and nearly my last post) about the trip to China with the agricultural delegation led by Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee. The trip was a wonderful adventure! Blogging about it has been fun, too. Thanks for reading.
One Thing About China
If there is one thing that I would most like to convey about China, it is this: China is changing rapidly.
China has had only four rulers since the Communist revolution in 1949: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and the current leader - Hu Jintao. Most of the changes have occurred since Deng came to power in 1978--in other words, in less than 30 years.
Deng promoted "socialism with Chinese characteristics," which introduced certain aspects of capitalism into the Chinese economy. The result has been a sustained period of strong economic growth--a compound average growth rate of over 9% per year for 25 years. (The U.S. averaged 3.1% over the same period.)
Deng also introduced the "one child policy." (See this post.) The first children born under this policy are now in their 20s. I cannot predict how this policy will affect China, but it is bound to bring about change, just as the Baby Boomer generation in the West profoundly affected our society. Demographics is destiny.
China has historically been a self-contained society. Prior to the 20th century, Buddhism was one of the few outside influences to have had a significant effect on China. (Buddhism came to China from India in the 1st or 2nd century AD.) But China has recently made a deliberate effort to more fully engage with the rest of the world.
Two examples stand out. Both of these events are hugely important for China's development and integration with the world.
First, in 1986 China began negotiations to become a member of the World Trade Organization. Those negotiations took 15 years, but succeeded in 2001.
Second, in 1991 China first sought to host the Olympics, entering a bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics. China lost to Sydney, but bid again eight years later. This time China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Increased foreign interactions will only accelerate the pace of change.
A few things from our trip that highlight the fact that China has recently been changing rapidly:
One thing to keep in mind: Rapid change may at times unfold in unexpected directions.
China has had only four rulers since the Communist revolution in 1949: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and the current leader - Hu Jintao. Most of the changes have occurred since Deng came to power in 1978--in other words, in less than 30 years.
Deng promoted "socialism with Chinese characteristics," which introduced certain aspects of capitalism into the Chinese economy. The result has been a sustained period of strong economic growth--a compound average growth rate of over 9% per year for 25 years. (The U.S. averaged 3.1% over the same period.)
Deng also introduced the "one child policy." (See this post.) The first children born under this policy are now in their 20s. I cannot predict how this policy will affect China, but it is bound to bring about change, just as the Baby Boomer generation in the West profoundly affected our society. Demographics is destiny.
China has historically been a self-contained society. Prior to the 20th century, Buddhism was one of the few outside influences to have had a significant effect on China. (Buddhism came to China from India in the 1st or 2nd century AD.) But China has recently made a deliberate effort to more fully engage with the rest of the world.
Two examples stand out. Both of these events are hugely important for China's development and integration with the world.
First, in 1986 China began negotiations to become a member of the World Trade Organization. Those negotiations took 15 years, but succeeded in 2001.
Second, in 1991 China first sought to host the Olympics, entering a bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics. China lost to Sydney, but bid again eight years later. This time China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Increased foreign interactions will only accelerate the pace of change.
A few things from our trip that highlight the fact that China has recently been changing rapidly:
- The China Ag Trade Fair that we attended was only the 5th such event.
- The Dairy Development Seminar that we attended was only the 5th such event.
- The tremendous amount of new building construction that we saw.
- The relatively new infrastructure we saw: roads, airlines, airports, cell phone towers.
One thing to keep in mind: Rapid change may at times unfold in unexpected directions.
China's 5000 Year History
China has a 5000 year history that makes the rest of the world look young. It was humbling to me to realize how little I knew of this rich history. Even a brief overview of this history is helpful in understanding China today.
For much of its history, China developed independently of the West. Writing, for example, developed independently in China and the West. Several major inventions were developed in China before the West, including: paper, printing, gunpowder, the compass and paper money.
Western civilization even today bears the influence of the Roman Empire (44 BC-476 AD). In China the Han Dynasty was roughly contemporaneous (206 BC-220 AD). By many measures of wealth and power, the Han Dynasty equaled or exceeded the Roman Empire, yet few in the West are familiar with it.
For over 1,500 years after the end of the Han Dynasty, China enjoyed several long periods of progress and prosperity, interspersed by short periods of instability. In contrast, there was little progress in the West for nearly 1,000 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. China was arguably the richest and most powerful country in the world for much of this time. There was little contact between China and the West during this period. The travels of Marco Polo to China in 1271-1295 was the most significant contact.
The West began to catch up to China with the Age of Exploration in the 1400s and 1500s. Western explorers sailed from Europe to Africa, south Asia, east Asia, and the Americas. Independently of the West, China also launched great sea voyages of exploration in the 1400s. But after seven successful voyages, reaching as far as east Africa, this initiative was halted. China reverted to an internal focus, while the West increasingly turned its focus outward.
The West overtook China with the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Britain became the world's greatest industrial and sea power. Frictions developed over trade, eventually leading to war. Over a period of about 60 years, China suffered a series of defeats at the hands of various foreign powers: Britain (the Opium Wars, 1842 and 1860), France (1884), and Japan (1895). In the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, China was defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance (Japan, Russia, Britain, France, U.S., Germany, Italy, Austria).
The last imperial dynasty collapsed in 1911. The Nationalist Party was established the next year and ruled weakly. The Communist Party of China was formed in 1921, inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. At times the Nationalists and the Communists worked together, and at times they fought each other. Following an uneasy collaboration in World War II (when Japan brutally occupied part of China), open civil war broke out. In 1949 the Nationalists withdrew to Taiwan, and the Communists proclaimed the Peoples Republic of China on the mainland.
Mao Zedong led the Communist Party of China for over 40 years, from 1934 until his death in 1976. People in China today mostly regard Mao as a great leader, albeit with minor flaws, who unified the country and set China on the path to again become a world power. Certainly Mao instituted major changes in Chinese society, including socialism, land reform and marriage reform. But many would argue that the Great Leap Forward (1958) and the Cultural Revolution (1966) were major disasters for China, the first causing millions of peacetime deaths and the second leading China to the brink of civil war.
The next post discusses developments in China after Mao.
For much of its history, China developed independently of the West. Writing, for example, developed independently in China and the West. Several major inventions were developed in China before the West, including: paper, printing, gunpowder, the compass and paper money.
Western civilization even today bears the influence of the Roman Empire (44 BC-476 AD). In China the Han Dynasty was roughly contemporaneous (206 BC-220 AD). By many measures of wealth and power, the Han Dynasty equaled or exceeded the Roman Empire, yet few in the West are familiar with it.
For over 1,500 years after the end of the Han Dynasty, China enjoyed several long periods of progress and prosperity, interspersed by short periods of instability. In contrast, there was little progress in the West for nearly 1,000 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. China was arguably the richest and most powerful country in the world for much of this time. There was little contact between China and the West during this period. The travels of Marco Polo to China in 1271-1295 was the most significant contact.
The West began to catch up to China with the Age of Exploration in the 1400s and 1500s. Western explorers sailed from Europe to Africa, south Asia, east Asia, and the Americas. Independently of the West, China also launched great sea voyages of exploration in the 1400s. But after seven successful voyages, reaching as far as east Africa, this initiative was halted. China reverted to an internal focus, while the West increasingly turned its focus outward.
The West overtook China with the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Britain became the world's greatest industrial and sea power. Frictions developed over trade, eventually leading to war. Over a period of about 60 years, China suffered a series of defeats at the hands of various foreign powers: Britain (the Opium Wars, 1842 and 1860), France (1884), and Japan (1895). In the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, China was defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance (Japan, Russia, Britain, France, U.S., Germany, Italy, Austria).
The last imperial dynasty collapsed in 1911. The Nationalist Party was established the next year and ruled weakly. The Communist Party of China was formed in 1921, inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. At times the Nationalists and the Communists worked together, and at times they fought each other. Following an uneasy collaboration in World War II (when Japan brutally occupied part of China), open civil war broke out. In 1949 the Nationalists withdrew to Taiwan, and the Communists proclaimed the Peoples Republic of China on the mainland.
Mao Zedong led the Communist Party of China for over 40 years, from 1934 until his death in 1976. People in China today mostly regard Mao as a great leader, albeit with minor flaws, who unified the country and set China on the path to again become a world power. Certainly Mao instituted major changes in Chinese society, including socialism, land reform and marriage reform. But many would argue that the Great Leap Forward (1958) and the Cultural Revolution (1966) were major disasters for China, the first causing millions of peacetime deaths and the second leading China to the brink of civil war.
The next post discusses developments in China after Mao.
Olympic Symbolism
China will host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. This is a big deal for China. During our visit it was never far from mind, even at the Great Wall:
The Olympics are important for China's reputation in the world, as discussed in this article. But what I want to discuss in this post is some of the symbolism that China has created for the Olympics. The Chinese are fond of symbolism, as the following two examples show.
The 2008 Olympic emblem-"Dancing Beijing"-represents both a dancing person and the Chinese character for Beijing. You can see the Dancing Beijing Olympic emblem in the photo above. It is meant to represent China's spirit, commitment to Olympic ideals, and invitation to the world. You can read more about the meaning of the Dancing Beijing Olympic emblem here.
The 2008 Olympic mascots-"Fuwa"-are particularly endearing: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. There is much symbolism in these characters, beginning with the fact that the first syllables of their names say "Welcome to Beijing" or "Beijing welcomes you." You can read the fascinating story behind the Fuwa here and here.
The Olympics are important for China's reputation in the world, as discussed in this article. But what I want to discuss in this post is some of the symbolism that China has created for the Olympics. The Chinese are fond of symbolism, as the following two examples show.The 2008 Olympic emblem-"Dancing Beijing"-represents both a dancing person and the Chinese character for Beijing. You can see the Dancing Beijing Olympic emblem in the photo above. It is meant to represent China's spirit, commitment to Olympic ideals, and invitation to the world. You can read more about the meaning of the Dancing Beijing Olympic emblem here.
The 2008 Olympic mascots-"Fuwa"-are particularly endearing: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. There is much symbolism in these characters, beginning with the fact that the first syllables of their names say "Welcome to Beijing" or "Beijing welcomes you." You can read the fascinating story behind the Fuwa here and here.
How to read this blog
If you are familiar with blogs or if you have been reading this blog all along, you can skip this post. But if you are new to blogs, here are some suggestions on how to get the most out of this one.
Entries are posted in chronological order, most recent on top. Therefore, the blog is best read from the bottom up. However, the main page for this blog only shows 10 posts. You have to scroll down and click the "Older Posts" link at the bottom to get the 10 previous posts, etc. As there are presently over 60 posts on this blog, this is a tedious way to get to the beginning of the blog.
An easier way is to use the navigation links under the blog Archive on the left side of the blog. This blog was started in October 2007. All of the "live" posts from the China trip are in October. I have continued to post follow-up entries in November and December. Click on the month under the blog Archive navigation links to see all the entries for that month. (Or click the little triangle to the left of the month to see just the titles of the entries for that month.)
To make it even easier, here are the links for the first three months of entries on this blog. Read each one from the bottom up, if you want to read the entire blog in chronological order.
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
This blog has a handy search feature in the upper left hand corner. For example, if you want to know if I mentioned methane digesters in any posts, enter "methane" in the search field and click "Search." You will find this post, of course, and you will also find the post titled "Jinan Field Trip" from 10/13/07.
This blog allows readers to post comments. You can view comments posted by others, or post your own comments, by clicking the "comments" link at the end of any post.
If you want to send me e-mail, you can find my e-mail address by clicking my name under "Contributors" to the left, and then clicking "Email" under "Contact."
UPDATE: All of the 2007 entries on this blog are about the China trip. In 2008 we started to include other subjects of interest to the Yankee community.
Entries are posted in chronological order, most recent on top. Therefore, the blog is best read from the bottom up. However, the main page for this blog only shows 10 posts. You have to scroll down and click the "Older Posts" link at the bottom to get the 10 previous posts, etc. As there are presently over 60 posts on this blog, this is a tedious way to get to the beginning of the blog.
An easier way is to use the navigation links under the blog Archive on the left side of the blog. This blog was started in October 2007. All of the "live" posts from the China trip are in October. I have continued to post follow-up entries in November and December. Click on the month under the blog Archive navigation links to see all the entries for that month. (Or click the little triangle to the left of the month to see just the titles of the entries for that month.)
To make it even easier, here are the links for the first three months of entries on this blog. Read each one from the bottom up, if you want to read the entire blog in chronological order.
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
This blog has a handy search feature in the upper left hand corner. For example, if you want to know if I mentioned methane digesters in any posts, enter "methane" in the search field and click "Search." You will find this post, of course, and you will also find the post titled "Jinan Field Trip" from 10/13/07.
This blog allows readers to post comments. You can view comments posted by others, or post your own comments, by clicking the "comments" link at the end of any post.
If you want to send me e-mail, you can find my e-mail address by clicking my name under "Contributors" to the left, and then clicking "Email" under "Contact."
UPDATE: All of the 2007 entries on this blog are about the China trip. In 2008 we started to include other subjects of interest to the Yankee community.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Want to move to China?
Are you a dairy farmer who wants to move to China?
If yes, China apparently wants you. After we returned home from China, one of our Chinese hosts e-mailed to say that he thinks the following incentives could be arranged for dairy farmers who would move to China "with their cows and necessary working machine tools that would be needed to successfully run a dairy farm":
If yes, China apparently wants you. After we returned home from China, one of our Chinese hosts e-mailed to say that he thinks the following incentives could be arranged for dairy farmers who would move to China "with their cows and necessary working machine tools that would be needed to successfully run a dairy farm":
- free land
- free labor
- fixed milk price for a period of years
- no Chinese taxes
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Notes on Quality
Do you remember when "Made in Japan" was synonymous with junk? Now Japanese goods are the highest quality. Similarly, Korean goods are higher quality now than just a few years ago. China is on the same trajectory. We were told numerous times that China is intent on both producing higher quality goods than in the past, and on consuming higher end products. The Chinese are quite brand conscious.
As we were walking near Tiananmen Square, I saw a sign for a trade show that captured this notion: "Luxury Personal Goods for the Distinct Consumer."
Somehow the stepladder, which had blown over and put a hole in the sign, seemed symbolic. The Chinese aren't quite there yet. Two minor examples:
First, my hotel room in Beijing had minor flaws in construction and maintenance (fastener heads showing through the top of the shelf next to the desk, mildew around the bathtub). These would not have been noteworthy in a two or three star hotel, but this was a five star hotel. One would not find such flaws in a five star hotel in the U.S.
Second, while walking around the Temple of Heaven, my camera batteries died and my spares were back on the bus. So I bought new batteries from a gift shop. They appeared to be new Duracell batteries, but they died after about 15 pictures, before I even left the Temple of Heaven. They must have been knock-offs, not genuine Duracell batteries.
On the other hand, the quality of service we received was excellent everywhere: hotels, airports, airlines, restaurants, taxis. The airlines were better than U.S. airlines. There were no overbooked or canceled flights; our flights were on time or nearly so; and no one lost any luggage.
I expect that we will see the Chinese work to bring everything they do up to this standard of quality.
As we were walking near Tiananmen Square, I saw a sign for a trade show that captured this notion: "Luxury Personal Goods for the Distinct Consumer."
Somehow the stepladder, which had blown over and put a hole in the sign, seemed symbolic. The Chinese aren't quite there yet. Two minor examples:First, my hotel room in Beijing had minor flaws in construction and maintenance (fastener heads showing through the top of the shelf next to the desk, mildew around the bathtub). These would not have been noteworthy in a two or three star hotel, but this was a five star hotel. One would not find such flaws in a five star hotel in the U.S.
Second, while walking around the Temple of Heaven, my camera batteries died and my spares were back on the bus. So I bought new batteries from a gift shop. They appeared to be new Duracell batteries, but they died after about 15 pictures, before I even left the Temple of Heaven. They must have been knock-offs, not genuine Duracell batteries.
On the other hand, the quality of service we received was excellent everywhere: hotels, airports, airlines, restaurants, taxis. The airlines were better than U.S. airlines. There were no overbooked or canceled flights; our flights were on time or nearly so; and no one lost any luggage.
I expect that we will see the Chinese work to bring everything they do up to this standard of quality.
Misc. Travel Notes
In downtown areas it was not unusual for establishments to broadcast music outside, especially in Harbin and Anda.
We encountered roundabouts (traffic circles) in Harbin and Beijing, but not elsewhere.
Beijing and Shanghai had subways. Didn't notice them elsewhere.
I noticed one light rail line (on the surface) in Beijing, but not in the other cities.
Buses were common in every city we visited.
From Daqing to Anda we traveled on a country road, the only time we did so. The quality of the road was good. Horse-drawn carts were common on the road, in addition to cars. One saw a horse-drawn cart in the cities only occasionally.
In the fields one saw horse-drawn carts, small trucks and motorcycles. Once I saw a 4-wheeler.
Corn was dried by laying out the husked ears on the ground or on rooftops.
The Chinese often answered cell phones in meetings.
Public spaces were often warmer than optimum (e.g., Beijing airport on 10/20, mall and restaurant on 10/19).
The refrigerated cases in stores for soft drinks and bottled water were not as cold as we are used to.
Coke cans had the old style tab which separates from the can.
In bookstores it was common for titles on books to be shown in English on the cover, but for nothing else to be in English. Same for magazines on the domestic airlines.
Cabin crews on the Chinese airlines were uniformly female, young and thin. Cabin crews on United Airlines were more diverse.
When flying internationally, keep a pen handy. There are numerous forms to fill out at various stages of the journey.
The best book I found to read in preparation for this trip was "Culture Smart! China: a quick guide to customs and etiquette," by Kathy Flower. This small book is easy to read and covers a lot of ground. (Actually, Nancy found this book for me. Thanks, Nancy!)
We encountered roundabouts (traffic circles) in Harbin and Beijing, but not elsewhere.
Beijing and Shanghai had subways. Didn't notice them elsewhere.
I noticed one light rail line (on the surface) in Beijing, but not in the other cities.
Buses were common in every city we visited.
From Daqing to Anda we traveled on a country road, the only time we did so. The quality of the road was good. Horse-drawn carts were common on the road, in addition to cars. One saw a horse-drawn cart in the cities only occasionally.
In the fields one saw horse-drawn carts, small trucks and motorcycles. Once I saw a 4-wheeler.
Corn was dried by laying out the husked ears on the ground or on rooftops.
The Chinese often answered cell phones in meetings.
Public spaces were often warmer than optimum (e.g., Beijing airport on 10/20, mall and restaurant on 10/19).
The refrigerated cases in stores for soft drinks and bottled water were not as cold as we are used to.
Coke cans had the old style tab which separates from the can.
In bookstores it was common for titles on books to be shown in English on the cover, but for nothing else to be in English. Same for magazines on the domestic airlines.
Cabin crews on the Chinese airlines were uniformly female, young and thin. Cabin crews on United Airlines were more diverse.
When flying internationally, keep a pen handy. There are numerous forms to fill out at various stages of the journey.
The best book I found to read in preparation for this trip was "Culture Smart! China: a quick guide to customs and etiquette," by Kathy Flower. This small book is easy to read and covers a lot of ground. (Actually, Nancy found this book for me. Thanks, Nancy!)
Notes on Cell Phone Service
The Chinese used cell phones all the time, and several people in our delegation used cell phones and Blackberries regularly. I was not so successful.
The Blackberry service that I subscribe to is limited to the continental U.S. My Blackberry worked in China only after my assistant back home called Verizon to do something to change my service, and even then it sounded expensive (I haven't seen a bill yet). It sounded like it would have been better to have called Verizon to change my service before going to China, instead of after I got there. I used my Blackberry only occasionally for phone service, and never for e-mails.
I was never aware of any blackout areas. On the day that we visited the Great Wall, I used my Blackberry successfully from the bus while traveling in the mountains (try that in Vermont!) and from the Great Wall itself.
My suggestion is that if you are going to China, check with your service provider before going.
The Blackberry service that I subscribe to is limited to the continental U.S. My Blackberry worked in China only after my assistant back home called Verizon to do something to change my service, and even then it sounded expensive (I haven't seen a bill yet). It sounded like it would have been better to have called Verizon to change my service before going to China, instead of after I got there. I used my Blackberry only occasionally for phone service, and never for e-mails.
I was never aware of any blackout areas. On the day that we visited the Great Wall, I used my Blackberry successfully from the bus while traveling in the mountains (try that in Vermont!) and from the Great Wall itself.
My suggestion is that if you are going to China, check with your service provider before going.
Notes on Internet Service
I never had any trouble accessing the Internet, except that I could not always get to every site I wanted to (see this earlier post).
Accessing my virtual private network (VPN) was another story. Essentially, VPN allowed me to access the Internet through a U.S. portal. Otherwise I was accessing the Internet through a Chinese portal. (And I used VPN to access my company e-mail.)
Shanghai - VPN worked reasonably well. I was only dropped occasionally.
Jinan - VPN was the best here. I was never dropped.
Harbin - VPN worked poorly. I was dropped frequently, and for about a day early in our visit VPN did not work at all.
Beijing - At first VPN worked well, only dropping me occasionally. But for the last 2-3 days, it did not work at all. I don't know if this was a network quality issue, or a deliberate blocking issue. There were reports in the media at home that the Chinese government had further tightened Internet controls in advance of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China which commenced while we were in Beijing.
Accessing my virtual private network (VPN) was another story. Essentially, VPN allowed me to access the Internet through a U.S. portal. Otherwise I was accessing the Internet through a Chinese portal. (And I used VPN to access my company e-mail.)
Shanghai - VPN worked reasonably well. I was only dropped occasionally.
Jinan - VPN was the best here. I was never dropped.
Harbin - VPN worked poorly. I was dropped frequently, and for about a day early in our visit VPN did not work at all.
Beijing - At first VPN worked well, only dropping me occasionally. But for the last 2-3 days, it did not work at all. I don't know if this was a network quality issue, or a deliberate blocking issue. There were reports in the media at home that the Chinese government had further tightened Internet controls in advance of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China which commenced while we were in Beijing.
Notes on Electrical Outlets
Electrical service in China is 50Hz, 240V as compared to 60Hz, 110V in the U.S.
Nevertheless, if you are traveling to China, you may not need any adapters. Check the devices that you want to plug in. If they say 50-60Hz, 110-240V then you are all set. You don't need anything else. Furthermore, our plugs will fit into their outlets. It doesn't look like it, but they do. (At least our 2-prong plugs fit. I don't know about 3-prong plugs.) I had four electrical devices with me: laptop computer, Blackberry, AA battery charger, and an electric razor. They all worked just fine without any adapter.
(Thanks, Susan, for giving me this tip before I went.)
Nevertheless, if you are traveling to China, you may not need any adapters. Check the devices that you want to plug in. If they say 50-60Hz, 110-240V then you are all set. You don't need anything else. Furthermore, our plugs will fit into their outlets. It doesn't look like it, but they do. (At least our 2-prong plugs fit. I don't know about 3-prong plugs.) I had four electrical devices with me: laptop computer, Blackberry, AA battery charger, and an electric razor. They all worked just fine without any adapter.
(Thanks, Susan, for giving me this tip before I went.)
Notes on Toilets
The usual name for a bathroom or restroom was toilet.
Private toilets, such as in our hotel rooms, were just like home. (Granted, we stayed in nice hotels.) The following comments apply to public toilets.
Men usually rinsed their hands but seldom used soap (often there was no soap). They almost never dried their hands. Usually there was no means of drying one's hands except sometimes a seldom used electric dryer.
Sometimes men and women shared the washup area.
Men tended to stand back from the urinal.
Every public toilet I saw had urinals. I never had to pee in a trough. However, on the road to Daqing it was common to see men urinating beside the road. The Buddhist temple in Daqing was for female monks (nuns) only, and so there were no facilities for men. Men peed outside in the bushes.
The most unusual stall facilities I encountered were in the rest area on the road to Daqing. Presumably someone came along and cleaned it out once in a while, like a barn gutter.
While walking around Shanghai I saw a pay toilet with an attendant:
You'll have to ask Margaret about the female facilities. It didn't sound like home.
Private toilets, such as in our hotel rooms, were just like home. (Granted, we stayed in nice hotels.) The following comments apply to public toilets.
Men usually rinsed their hands but seldom used soap (often there was no soap). They almost never dried their hands. Usually there was no means of drying one's hands except sometimes a seldom used electric dryer.
Sometimes men and women shared the washup area.
Men tended to stand back from the urinal.
Every public toilet I saw had urinals. I never had to pee in a trough. However, on the road to Daqing it was common to see men urinating beside the road. The Buddhist temple in Daqing was for female monks (nuns) only, and so there were no facilities for men. Men peed outside in the bushes.
The most unusual stall facilities I encountered were in the rest area on the road to Daqing. Presumably someone came along and cleaned it out once in a while, like a barn gutter.
While walking around Shanghai I saw a pay toilet with an attendant:
You'll have to ask Margaret about the female facilities. It didn't sound like home.
Notes on Meals
Our meals were probably not typical middle or lower class meals. Nevertheless, some comments:
Meals began with a moist, warm (sometimes hot) washcloth to wipe your face and hands. Most refreshing.
Silverware was always available if asked for, and often supplied anyway after the restaurant staff observed our chopstick skills. We gamely stuck with chopsticks most of the time.
Meals were served family style. Everyone could try every dish. As mentioned before, dishes were placed on a large lazy Susan (see the last photo in this post).
Meals did not include a conventional dessert. Meals ended with a serving of fresh fruit slices such as watermelon.
Rice was not a big part of the meals. It was served at the end of the meal, as a filler, in case one wasn't yet full. (Not necessary in our case!)
Dumplings were delicious and considered a treat. If served at all, they were served just before the fruit.
Cold drinks or water were not served with meals. They were available if asked for, but one got the impression that it was unusual to do so. Hot tea was the norm (or spirits). Leaves were in the tea. Iced tea seemed to be something only for foreigners.
Chinese men often smoked after meals.
Our Chinese hosts often treated us to meals as described above for lunch or dinner, sometimes both in the same day. Breakfast was different. We ate breakfast on our own at a breakfast buffet in our hotels. Both Chinese and Western foods were available, in great variety, including plenty of fruit.
Meals began with a moist, warm (sometimes hot) washcloth to wipe your face and hands. Most refreshing.
Silverware was always available if asked for, and often supplied anyway after the restaurant staff observed our chopstick skills. We gamely stuck with chopsticks most of the time.
Meals were served family style. Everyone could try every dish. As mentioned before, dishes were placed on a large lazy Susan (see the last photo in this post).
Meals did not include a conventional dessert. Meals ended with a serving of fresh fruit slices such as watermelon.
Rice was not a big part of the meals. It was served at the end of the meal, as a filler, in case one wasn't yet full. (Not necessary in our case!)
Dumplings were delicious and considered a treat. If served at all, they were served just before the fruit.
Cold drinks or water were not served with meals. They were available if asked for, but one got the impression that it was unusual to do so. Hot tea was the norm (or spirits). Leaves were in the tea. Iced tea seemed to be something only for foreigners.
Chinese men often smoked after meals.
Our Chinese hosts often treated us to meals as described above for lunch or dinner, sometimes both in the same day. Breakfast was different. We ate breakfast on our own at a breakfast buffet in our hotels. Both Chinese and Western foods were available, in great variety, including plenty of fruit.
Notes on Families
The "one child" policy started around 1979-80, after Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1978. Exceptions are allowed for minorities (8% of the population), if the first child is born disabled, for rural couples if the first child is not a boy, and for overseas couples. Parents are fined for children in excess of the policy.
Parents lavish care on their one child. Single children are called "little emperors."
The first single children are about now reaching marriage age. If two single children marry, they are allowed two children.
Young urban Chinese families want to own two things: a car and an apartment. An average apartment costs 15,000 RMB per square meter in Beijing, 20,000 in Shanghai. (1 USD = 7.4 RMB approx.) That's about $225,000 for a 900 square foot apartment in Shanghai.
The current generation is the first generation to use home mortgages to purchase an apartment.
Parents lavish care on their one child. Single children are called "little emperors."
The first single children are about now reaching marriage age. If two single children marry, they are allowed two children.
Young urban Chinese families want to own two things: a car and an apartment. An average apartment costs 15,000 RMB per square meter in Beijing, 20,000 in Shanghai. (1 USD = 7.4 RMB approx.) That's about $225,000 for a 900 square foot apartment in Shanghai.
The current generation is the first generation to use home mortgages to purchase an apartment.
Notes on Crime
We were told that there was little crime, and indeed I never saw any evidence of street crime. I saw little graffiti. I never felt unsafe anywhere I went.
Occasionally we saw bars over apartment windows, as in the photo below. (Note also the leeks hanging out the window to dry. This was common.) In this picture, taken in Harbin, it looks like there is barbed wire below the windows, but I think those were clotheslines.
I did not see large numbers of police anywhere except Tiananmen Square. Airport security guards had "China Security" on their uniforms, which I was told was a private, not government, security agency. Airport security officers were courteous and professional. There were many China Security officers at the China Ag Trade Fair:
If you combine the previous post on poverty with this post on crime, one finds little evidence for the common Western notion that poverty inevitably breeds crime.
Occasionally we saw bars over apartment windows, as in the photo below. (Note also the leeks hanging out the window to dry. This was common.) In this picture, taken in Harbin, it looks like there is barbed wire below the windows, but I think those were clotheslines.
I did not see large numbers of police anywhere except Tiananmen Square. Airport security guards had "China Security" on their uniforms, which I was told was a private, not government, security agency. Airport security officers were courteous and professional. There were many China Security officers at the China Ag Trade Fair:
If you combine the previous post on poverty with this post on crime, one finds little evidence for the common Western notion that poverty inevitably breeds crime.
Notes on Poverty
As in the U.S., there is a wide range of wealth in China, from rich to middle class to poor. As a general rule, the city centers were the wealthiest. One saw more poverty as one moved into the city outskirts and country. The photo below is from the outskirts of Jinan, and shows less prosperous establishments than downtown:
The following photo shows farm labor housing:
We saw mostly cities, but 60% of the population in China lives in rural areas (as compared to 20% in the US). Judging by what we did see of the country, there is considerable poverty outside of the cities. Even in the cities, I do not think you would consider the average standard of living to be high. We did not, however, notice any homeless people such as one sees in U.S. cities.
China has made considerable progress against poverty. Before this trip I attended a lecture at UVM about China by Nicholas Kristof, and he said that China has lifted 300 million people above the UN poverty level since 1990.
The following photo shows farm labor housing:
We saw mostly cities, but 60% of the population in China lives in rural areas (as compared to 20% in the US). Judging by what we did see of the country, there is considerable poverty outside of the cities. Even in the cities, I do not think you would consider the average standard of living to be high. We did not, however, notice any homeless people such as one sees in U.S. cities.China has made considerable progress against poverty. Before this trip I attended a lecture at UVM about China by Nicholas Kristof, and he said that China has lifted 300 million people above the UN poverty level since 1990.
Notes on People
I hope it is clear from my posts that the Chinese people were friendly. They were always gracious hosts. They were curious about us, and they openly talked about themselves. I never felt any hostility, certainly not toward us individually and neither toward Americans generally. I felt more welcome in China than I sometimes do in Canada.
Even strangers were considerate and helpful. An example: On one of the domestic flights, airport security wanted to inspect my carry-on bag. The security officer asked me to open my bag, but after searching it and taking things out to inspect, he repacked it for me. He was most courteous.
This is not to say that Chinese businesspeople are not opportunistic. They will take advantage of opportunities as they see fit.
In Chinese society and business, contacts seem more important than contracts. The Chinese word is "guanxi." Chinese people exert considerable effort building networks of social relationships.
Even strangers were considerate and helpful. An example: On one of the domestic flights, airport security wanted to inspect my carry-on bag. The security officer asked me to open my bag, but after searching it and taking things out to inspect, he repacked it for me. He was most courteous.
This is not to say that Chinese businesspeople are not opportunistic. They will take advantage of opportunities as they see fit.
In Chinese society and business, contacts seem more important than contracts. The Chinese word is "guanxi." Chinese people exert considerable effort building networks of social relationships.
More China Posts
We have now been back from China for two weeks. What a great adventure! I continue to think about the things we saw and learned. And I take much more note of news items about China than I did before. For example, since returning home Time magazine has published an article about China's young urban population and the Wall Street Journal has published an article about philanthropy in China. Both articles are more meaningful to me now. If you have been reading this blog and learning about China with me, perhaps they will be of more interest to you now, too.
I haven't yet finished blogging about China. Today I have a series of posts. On the plane from Beijing to Chicago, I wrote down notes on various things about our trip that I had not yet had occasion to blog about. I have organized those notes into 11 posts, immediately following this post, of "Notes on...." various miscellaneous topics pertaining to our trip.
On the left side of this blog is the blog Archive. This is organized by month. All of the "live" blogging from China is in October 2007. To access those posts, click on "October" under "2007." To see the list of titles of those posts, click on the little triangle next to "October." There were 52 posts in October 2007, most of them about China.
I haven't yet finished blogging about China. Today I have a series of posts. On the plane from Beijing to Chicago, I wrote down notes on various things about our trip that I had not yet had occasion to blog about. I have organized those notes into 11 posts, immediately following this post, of "Notes on...." various miscellaneous topics pertaining to our trip.
On the left side of this blog is the blog Archive. This is organized by month. All of the "live" blogging from China is in October 2007. To access those posts, click on "October" under "2007." To see the list of titles of those posts, click on the little triangle next to "October." There were 52 posts in October 2007, most of them about China.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Agri-tourism
The hotel in Beijing had brochures titled "Modern Agriculture Tour" published by the Beijing Tourism Administration.
From the brochure: "Agriculture tour is an important branch of the modern tourism products of today. The agriculture tour develops rapidly in China in recent years....You can cast away the chaos of urban cities completely and search the paradise of heart in the rural gardens." (Chinese translations into English are often fun to read.)
The brochure described 11 agri-tourism sites near Beijing. The examples listed highlighted both "ecological" farming and gardening and high-tech farming and gardening. Also featured were pick-your-own fruit, hot springs and folk culture.
The brochure was in English, but I would expect that other brochures targeted the local population. We heard several times that the Chinese are using their increasing wealth not just to consume more products, but also to travel more, both domestically and internationally.
From the brochure: "Agriculture tour is an important branch of the modern tourism products of today. The agriculture tour develops rapidly in China in recent years....You can cast away the chaos of urban cities completely and search the paradise of heart in the rural gardens." (Chinese translations into English are often fun to read.)
The brochure described 11 agri-tourism sites near Beijing. The examples listed highlighted both "ecological" farming and gardening and high-tech farming and gardening. Also featured were pick-your-own fruit, hot springs and folk culture.
The brochure was in English, but I would expect that other brochures targeted the local population. We heard several times that the Chinese are using their increasing wealth not just to consume more products, but also to travel more, both domestically and internationally.
Leaving China 10/20
Our leader said it was time to go home.
We left Beijing for home on Saturday, Oct. 20. The airport was not as busy as when we arrived on Oct. 17. We were processed efficiently; lines were shorter than is often the case at home. As this photo shows, the Beijing airport was much like any other large, modern airport:
Following is the United Airlines 747 that took us to Chicago. Note the Iran Air 747 in the background; one doesn't see that at home.
We did not fly over the North Pole this time, but rather flew over the Siberian Peninsula and Alaska. We were hardly over water at all, except for the Sea of Okhotsk.
We left Beijing for home on Saturday, Oct. 20. The airport was not as busy as when we arrived on Oct. 17. We were processed efficiently; lines were shorter than is often the case at home. As this photo shows, the Beijing airport was much like any other large, modern airport:
Following is the United Airlines 747 that took us to Chicago. Note the Iran Air 747 in the background; one doesn't see that at home.
We did not fly over the North Pole this time, but rather flew over the Siberian Peninsula and Alaska. We were hardly over water at all, except for the Sea of Okhotsk.
Shopping in Beijing
We managed to do some shopping during our stay in Beijing, Oct. 17-20. Silk Street was a short taxi ride from the hotel. This is a wonderful tourist trap, where one can buy jewelry, clothes, luggage, electronics, Chinese gifts, and much else. There are over 1,700 merchants. The clerks can be aggressive, but all in good fun. Prices are determined by haggling, in English if desired, or by passing a calculator back and forth with the latest bid/offer displayed. It was usually more crowded than is shown in this photo:
There were several small, upscale malls within walking distance of the hotel. We had dinner in a Korean restaurant in the mall shown below. This mall seemed to be like any Western mall, selling mostly clothes and jewelry. Unlike Silk Street, it did not appear to be targeted at foreigners.
Other places that people went (alas, no pictures) included a huge weekly flea market and a Wu Mart store (groceries, household goods) across the street from the hotel.
There were several small, upscale malls within walking distance of the hotel. We had dinner in a Korean restaurant in the mall shown below. This mall seemed to be like any Western mall, selling mostly clothes and jewelry. Unlike Silk Street, it did not appear to be targeted at foreigners.
Other places that people went (alas, no pictures) included a huge weekly flea market and a Wu Mart store (groceries, household goods) across the street from the hotel.
Sightseeing 10/19
Our last full day in China was Friday, October 19. We spent the day sightseeing.
Our first stop was the Great Wall at Badaling, one of several sections of the Great Wall open to tourists near Beijing. The Great Wall was first built 500-200 BC, and rebuilt and changed many times since then. The sections that are visited by tourists today were built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), and have been carefully restored in the last 50 years.
Beijing is situated on a plain surrounded by mountains on three sides. The Great Wall extends throughout the mountains to protect the city from invasion. In the photo below, note how the wall follows the mountains up and down, with watchtowers at the summits. This photo was taken mid-morning, before it became crowded.
Back in Beijing, we visited the Temple of Heaven. This temple complex was also originally built during the Ming Dynasty. It has been rebuilt several times. The Temple of Heaven was used by the emperor, accompanied by several thousand assistants, to pray for good harvests. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, shown in the photo below, is the most striking of the many buildings in the temple complex.
Our last stop was Tiananmen Square, also first built in the Ming Dynasty. Tiananmen Square reminded me of the National Mall in Washington, DC. Tiananmen Square is smaller, and is paved with stone, but there are many similarities. Both are large open spaces in the center of the national government where people congregate, surrounded by national monuments and museums. Both places have been used for protests and rallies. In the West, Tiananmen Square is mostly known for the Massacre of 1989.
To the north of Tiananmen Square is the Tiananmen gate-tower (Gate of Heavenly Peace), beyond which is the Forbidden City--which we did not have time to visit. On the east is the National Museum of China. On the south is the Zhengyangmen gate-tower, the tallest of the many gate-towers in Beijing. On the west is the Great Hall of the People. Inside the square are the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.
The square was decorated with elaborate floral displays of Chinese landmarks and the upcoming 2008 Olympics. The photo below shows one of these displays (note the Olympic flame) with the National Museum of China in the background.
The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was being held in the Great Hall of the People while we were there, but we did not see any evidence of it other than a huge sign and a significant police and military presence.
The photo below shows the Great Hall of the People and the Monument to the People's Heroes.
The weather was beautiful for our sightseeing day. There was a brisk wind which blew all of the pollution out of Beijing. We were told that this was most unusual.
Our first stop was the Great Wall at Badaling, one of several sections of the Great Wall open to tourists near Beijing. The Great Wall was first built 500-200 BC, and rebuilt and changed many times since then. The sections that are visited by tourists today were built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), and have been carefully restored in the last 50 years.
Beijing is situated on a plain surrounded by mountains on three sides. The Great Wall extends throughout the mountains to protect the city from invasion. In the photo below, note how the wall follows the mountains up and down, with watchtowers at the summits. This photo was taken mid-morning, before it became crowded.
Back in Beijing, we visited the Temple of Heaven. This temple complex was also originally built during the Ming Dynasty. It has been rebuilt several times. The Temple of Heaven was used by the emperor, accompanied by several thousand assistants, to pray for good harvests. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, shown in the photo below, is the most striking of the many buildings in the temple complex.
Our last stop was Tiananmen Square, also first built in the Ming Dynasty. Tiananmen Square reminded me of the National Mall in Washington, DC. Tiananmen Square is smaller, and is paved with stone, but there are many similarities. Both are large open spaces in the center of the national government where people congregate, surrounded by national monuments and museums. Both places have been used for protests and rallies. In the West, Tiananmen Square is mostly known for the Massacre of 1989.To the north of Tiananmen Square is the Tiananmen gate-tower (Gate of Heavenly Peace), beyond which is the Forbidden City--which we did not have time to visit. On the east is the National Museum of China. On the south is the Zhengyangmen gate-tower, the tallest of the many gate-towers in Beijing. On the west is the Great Hall of the People. Inside the square are the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.
The square was decorated with elaborate floral displays of Chinese landmarks and the upcoming 2008 Olympics. The photo below shows one of these displays (note the Olympic flame) with the National Museum of China in the background.
The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was being held in the Great Hall of the People while we were there, but we did not see any evidence of it other than a huge sign and a significant police and military presence.The photo below shows the Great Hall of the People and the Monument to the People's Heroes.
The weather was beautiful for our sightseeing day. There was a brisk wind which blew all of the pollution out of Beijing. We were told that this was most unusual.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thank You
My deepest gratitude to Secretary Roger Allbee for inviting me on this ag trade mission, to Chris Barbieri for a wonderful job organizing this trip, to my fellow delegates for their company and insightful discussion on our journey together, and to our Chinese hosts for their warm hospitality. It was a most interesting and enjoyable adventure. I hope it leads to closer relations between Vermont and China.
Also many thanks to the directors and owners of Yankee Farm Credit for this opportunity to go to China, and to Bill Heath and the employees of Yankee Farm Credit for continuing to serve our customers' needs in my absence.
Also many thanks to the directors and owners of Yankee Farm Credit for this opportunity to go to China, and to Bill Heath and the employees of Yankee Farm Credit for continuing to serve our customers' needs in my absence.
Back Home
I am now back home in Vermont. I have a few more posts about China in mind, as time permits, but I am no longer blogging the experience "live." I am now relying on notes, photos and memory.Fall is a beautiful season in Vermont. This is my backyard today.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Beijing American Club
Our meeting with Tate Miller and Jeff Bi from AmCham-China was in the Nixon Room of the Beijing American Club in the China Resources Building, a nice facility.
Out one window was a view of a 25-story building going up right across the street (we were on the 28th floor). The weather was nice today.
Here was the view out another window. The two inclined towers will be joined at the top by a tube.
I would provide a hot link to the Beijing American Club's web site in the first paragraph of this post, except for one thing. When I googled "Beijing American Club," Google provided the link but with this notation: "This site may harm your computer." This is the first time I have seen this warning on Google. With another click, Google provides this explanation: "This warning message appears with search results we've identified as sites that may install malicious software on your computer." I have read that this is a problem with Chinese web sites.
Out one window was a view of a 25-story building going up right across the street (we were on the 28th floor). The weather was nice today.
Here was the view out another window. The two inclined towers will be joined at the top by a tube.
I would provide a hot link to the Beijing American Club's web site in the first paragraph of this post, except for one thing. When I googled "Beijing American Club," Google provided the link but with this notation: "This site may harm your computer." This is the first time I have seen this warning on Google. With another click, Google provides this explanation: "This warning message appears with search results we've identified as sites that may install malicious software on your computer." I have read that this is a problem with Chinese web sites.
AmCham-China
Our second meeting today was with representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Peoples Republic of China (AmCham-China). Representing AmCham-China (as members of the Chamber) were Tate Miller, Chief Representative, Beijing Office of the American Forest & Paper Association and Jeff Bi, General Manager of Shandong Tralin Packaging Co., Ltd Beijing.
Messrs. Miller and Bi did not have a formal presentation, but we had a wide ranging discussion over lunch that provided context for the things we have seen and learned in China, from the perspective of people trying to do business in China.
Takeaways:
1. There is great opportunity in China, but also great risk. The Danone-Bright Dairy breakup is but one of many failed joint ventures. Many foreign joint venture partners have simply walked away from their investment.
2. Deals are done business to business, but everything happens within the context of the government's central planning. If the central government makes something a priority, they have tremendous resources available. Policy can change overnight. Example: In coated paper, China went from nothing to the world leader in 8 years, because the central government made it a priority.
3. The overriding concern of the central government is social stability, especially among the lower classes.
4. Provincial and county governments are also important, and may be easier to work with.
5. The central government is providing huge amounts of cheap capital to various sectors of the economy that it wishes to promote. (For example, we were told earlier that the Liu family described in this post has benefited from such financing because the government is promoting the dairy industry.) Private investment companies from the West are also providing huge amounts of capital with lax oversight. No one wants to miss out on the boom. The result is reminiscent of the dot com boom in the U.S. As one small example, we were told of $60M of private venture capital being offered without so much as a business plan. (Another example--many of the buildings in my photos are empty.)
6. Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in high-end quality products, because their income is increasing. There are opportunities for niche or unique products. Maple syrup may be an example (it can't be made in China).
7. The wood products industry is one of the industries that China has made a priority. They already import almost no finished products, and may soon import few logs. China has planted more trees in the past 15 years than any other country in the world. Huge Russian forests are also available nearby. There may still be opportunities in hardwoods.
8. The Olympics will have a huge impact on China. In addition to the effects described in the previous post, all of the foreigners coming to China will leave behind bits of their culture after 2008.
Tate Miller described something affecting China's attitudes toward the timber industry that none of us in the delegation had ever heard of--the 1987 Black Dragon forest fire in Manchuria, perhaps the greatest fire in history. I find it amazing that this fire is so little known in the West. I cannot even find a mention of it on Wikipedia, but there was a book written about it. It is now out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon. There is so much to learn.
This was the last meeting of our trade mission. One more post about the place where we met with Messrs. Miller and Bi, and then time to be a tourist! Posting may be light.
Messrs. Miller and Bi did not have a formal presentation, but we had a wide ranging discussion over lunch that provided context for the things we have seen and learned in China, from the perspective of people trying to do business in China.
Takeaways:
1. There is great opportunity in China, but also great risk. The Danone-Bright Dairy breakup is but one of many failed joint ventures. Many foreign joint venture partners have simply walked away from their investment.
2. Deals are done business to business, but everything happens within the context of the government's central planning. If the central government makes something a priority, they have tremendous resources available. Policy can change overnight. Example: In coated paper, China went from nothing to the world leader in 8 years, because the central government made it a priority.
3. The overriding concern of the central government is social stability, especially among the lower classes.
4. Provincial and county governments are also important, and may be easier to work with.
5. The central government is providing huge amounts of cheap capital to various sectors of the economy that it wishes to promote. (For example, we were told earlier that the Liu family described in this post has benefited from such financing because the government is promoting the dairy industry.) Private investment companies from the West are also providing huge amounts of capital with lax oversight. No one wants to miss out on the boom. The result is reminiscent of the dot com boom in the U.S. As one small example, we were told of $60M of private venture capital being offered without so much as a business plan. (Another example--many of the buildings in my photos are empty.)
6. Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in high-end quality products, because their income is increasing. There are opportunities for niche or unique products. Maple syrup may be an example (it can't be made in China).
7. The wood products industry is one of the industries that China has made a priority. They already import almost no finished products, and may soon import few logs. China has planted more trees in the past 15 years than any other country in the world. Huge Russian forests are also available nearby. There may still be opportunities in hardwoods.
8. The Olympics will have a huge impact on China. In addition to the effects described in the previous post, all of the foreigners coming to China will leave behind bits of their culture after 2008.
Tate Miller described something affecting China's attitudes toward the timber industry that none of us in the delegation had ever heard of--the 1987 Black Dragon forest fire in Manchuria, perhaps the greatest fire in history. I find it amazing that this fire is so little known in the West. I cannot even find a mention of it on Wikipedia, but there was a book written about it. It is now out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon. There is so much to learn.
This was the last meeting of our trade mission. One more post about the place where we met with Messrs. Miller and Bi, and then time to be a tourist! Posting may be light.
U.S. Dairy Export Council
We had two meetings today. The first was with Daniel Chan, Chief Representative of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Mr. Chan is based in Shanghai, but was out of the country when we were in Shanghai. He made a special trip to Beijing to meet with us. Three takeaways:
1. It is an official Chinese goal to become self-sufficient in dairy, but the DEC's research shows that China will remain a net importer of dairy products for at least five years.
2. Per capita income, dairy consumption, and cheese consumption in particular--while all low by Western standards--are increasing in China. Mr. Chan reinforced a point we had heard earlier, that all of those measures increased significantly in Japan and Korea after they hosted the Olympics in 1964 and 1988, respectively. After next year's Olympics in Beijing, all of those measures in China are likely to increase even more rapidly than before.
3. The real reason for the breakup between Danone and Bright Dairy is that the Chinese were making knock-off Danone products in violation of their joint venture agreement. It is not clear that Danone has any practical recourse.
Mr. Chan was also helpful in explaining aspects of Chinese culture. Being originally from British Hong Kong, he had a good understanding of differences between Chinese and Western perspectives. Three examples:
1. The Chinese have a different concept of time. They have a 5000 year history of civilization, as compared to just over 200 for the United States. Things do not always move fast in China. When it is to the advantage of the Chinese to stall, they can be very patient.
2. Physical exercise has not historically been a big part of Chinese culture. (Indeed, I have seen few joggers.) Their diet reflects this. The Olympics may gradually affect the attitude toward exercise.
3. The Chinese are interested in the wellness aspects of their food. Additives with supposed health benefits are popular. (U.S. standards of truth-in-advertising don't apply.) This may be because medical care is scarce, hence prevention is important.
1. It is an official Chinese goal to become self-sufficient in dairy, but the DEC's research shows that China will remain a net importer of dairy products for at least five years.
2. Per capita income, dairy consumption, and cheese consumption in particular--while all low by Western standards--are increasing in China. Mr. Chan reinforced a point we had heard earlier, that all of those measures increased significantly in Japan and Korea after they hosted the Olympics in 1964 and 1988, respectively. After next year's Olympics in Beijing, all of those measures in China are likely to increase even more rapidly than before.
3. The real reason for the breakup between Danone and Bright Dairy is that the Chinese were making knock-off Danone products in violation of their joint venture agreement. It is not clear that Danone has any practical recourse.
Mr. Chan was also helpful in explaining aspects of Chinese culture. Being originally from British Hong Kong, he had a good understanding of differences between Chinese and Western perspectives. Three examples:
1. The Chinese have a different concept of time. They have a 5000 year history of civilization, as compared to just over 200 for the United States. Things do not always move fast in China. When it is to the advantage of the Chinese to stall, they can be very patient.
2. Physical exercise has not historically been a big part of Chinese culture. (Indeed, I have seen few joggers.) Their diet reflects this. The Olympics may gradually affect the attitude toward exercise.
3. The Chinese are interested in the wellness aspects of their food. Additives with supposed health benefits are popular. (U.S. standards of truth-in-advertising don't apply.) This may be because medical care is scarce, hence prevention is important.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Wikipedia
I had read that China had blocked access to Wikipedia, and that seems to be the case. Many of my posts have links to Wikipedia for background info. I can post to this blog two ways--either through VPN or not. I prefer to use VPN (virtual private network), because then the Blogger.com screens come up in English. If I don't use VPN, they come up in Chinese. I would use VPN all the time, except that I get dropped a lot. (It's better here in Beijing than in Harbin.) When I use VPN, I can get to Wikipedia. When I don't use VPN, I cannot get to Wikipedia.
A word about your blogger
I started this blog as a way of sharing my trip to China with the staff and directors of our small company (35 employees) and my family. I have gradually become aware that other people are also reading this blog. Welcome! I hope you find this blog interesting. For those of you who do not know me, perhaps a comment is in order.
If this blog has the feel of a "wide-eyed boy from the country," that is so. (Well, maybe the "boy" part is forgetting a few years.) It could not have been any other way.
I grew up on a family dairy farm in Vermont. (As you might expect, when we tell people here the population of Vermont, they find that amusing.) I have previously traveled only within the U.S. and Canada. I have not spent much time in cities even within the U.S., except for Chicago. Although New York City is not far from Vermont, I have now spent more time in Chinese cities than in New York City. My job for the past 25 years has involved working with farmers.
This blog naturally reflects my background, and the original intended audience consists of people much like me (some more widely traveled than me, and some less so).
I hope that provides some context for the perspective of this blog.
If this blog has the feel of a "wide-eyed boy from the country," that is so. (Well, maybe the "boy" part is forgetting a few years.) It could not have been any other way.
I grew up on a family dairy farm in Vermont. (As you might expect, when we tell people here the population of Vermont, they find that amusing.) I have previously traveled only within the U.S. and Canada. I have not spent much time in cities even within the U.S., except for Chicago. Although New York City is not far from Vermont, I have now spent more time in Chinese cities than in New York City. My job for the past 25 years has involved working with farmers.
This blog naturally reflects my background, and the original intended audience consists of people much like me (some more widely traveled than me, and some less so).
I hope that provides some context for the perspective of this blog.
Beijing Taxis
The streets are full of taxis. So far I have ridden in four taxis--to the clinic and back, and after that to dinner and back. I have not waited so much as two minutes for a taxi. (However, I have spent many minutes waiting inside a taxi in traffic!)
Many of the taxis are new. On the trip to the clinic, I rode in a new Hyundai Elantra.
Drivers here at first seem crazy. Right-of-way is determined by the size of your vehicle, and pedestrians come last. Right turn on red is permitted without stopping. Aggressive lane-changing is the norm. Traffic signs and lights are sometimes treated as mere suggestions. I have sometimes seen drivers (not ours) drive down the left side of the street if the right side was full and the left side was empty. Yet we have seen very few accidents; two that I can recall.
All the vehicles I have seen here are standard shift, even the vans. One of our Chinese hosts commented that the combination of standard shift and the driving conditions here make the driver stay alert, and become a better driver; with automatic shift, the driver becomes lazy, and a poorer driver. I had a standard shift car as a young man, and this comment brought back memories of when driving was fun. All of the drivers we have had, both van and taxi drivers, have been excellent drivers. I felt perfectly safe riding with them. And I think they are having fun.
Many of the taxis are new. On the trip to the clinic, I rode in a new Hyundai Elantra.
Drivers here at first seem crazy. Right-of-way is determined by the size of your vehicle, and pedestrians come last. Right turn on red is permitted without stopping. Aggressive lane-changing is the norm. Traffic signs and lights are sometimes treated as mere suggestions. I have sometimes seen drivers (not ours) drive down the left side of the street if the right side was full and the left side was empty. Yet we have seen very few accidents; two that I can recall.
All the vehicles I have seen here are standard shift, even the vans. One of our Chinese hosts commented that the combination of standard shift and the driving conditions here make the driver stay alert, and become a better driver; with automatic shift, the driver becomes lazy, and a poorer driver. I had a standard shift car as a young man, and this comment brought back memories of when driving was fun. All of the drivers we have had, both van and taxi drivers, have been excellent drivers. I felt perfectly safe riding with them. And I think they are having fun.
Clinic
After arriving in Beijing, I visited a part of China that was not on our schedule. I have come down with a minor infection, and thought it best to consult a doctor. Chris Barbieri, who has done an absolutely wonderful job organizing this trip, found a hospital for me with English speaking staff, and helped me make an appointment. While the rest of the delegation attended a meeting with the USDA's Agricultural Trade Office in Beijing, I took a taxi to the United Family Hospitals and Clinics.
The service was prompt, efficient and courteous. I was seen by Dr. Tony Lu of Seattle. (He attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the same medical school as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, MD.) Dr. Lu prescribed some antibiotics and sent me on my way. Total time in the clinic, including paperwork and filling the prescription, was 1.5 hours. I spent nearly that much time in the taxi. Cost for the visit was about $100 for the doctor's visit and about $40 for the medicine.
UPDATE: Someone asked what the taxi cost. About $4 each way.
The service was prompt, efficient and courteous. I was seen by Dr. Tony Lu of Seattle. (He attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the same medical school as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, MD.) Dr. Lu prescribed some antibiotics and sent me on my way. Total time in the clinic, including paperwork and filling the prescription, was 1.5 hours. I spent nearly that much time in the taxi. Cost for the visit was about $100 for the doctor's visit and about $40 for the medicine.
UPDATE: Someone asked what the taxi cost. About $4 each way.
Travel to Beijing
Today we flew from Harbin to Beijing. Again the airplane was a Boeing 737, this time on Hainan Airlines. All of the Boeing 737s that we have flown on domestically have been relatively new. Note that both domestic airlines we flew on have English language web sites comparable to Western airlines.
Several things were new on this flight. Flight instructions were given by a line of stewardesses in the aisle in perfect unison, like a choreographed dance. The stewardesses were introduced, and bowed. Mid-flight a lottery was held with scratch tickets. This plane was nearly full. The stewardesses made the two hour flight pass quickly and pleasantly.
We flew over first cropland and then mountains. The view was hazy the entire way.
Unlike the Jinan airport, the Beijing airport was not empty; it was the opposite of empty! Mingruo left us at the airport, and we were met by hotel staff. Here is a view of the city on the way to the hotel. Building construction is even more ubiquitous here than in the other cities we have visited.
This is the view from my hotel room. (Actually from a reception area a couple of windows down from my room; my room does not have a balcony.)
Attached to the hotel is an office of the Agricultural Bank of China. The two buildings are nicely lit up at night.
Several things were new on this flight. Flight instructions were given by a line of stewardesses in the aisle in perfect unison, like a choreographed dance. The stewardesses were introduced, and bowed. Mid-flight a lottery was held with scratch tickets. This plane was nearly full. The stewardesses made the two hour flight pass quickly and pleasantly.
We flew over first cropland and then mountains. The view was hazy the entire way.
Unlike the Jinan airport, the Beijing airport was not empty; it was the opposite of empty! Mingruo left us at the airport, and we were met by hotel staff. Here is a view of the city on the way to the hotel. Building construction is even more ubiquitous here than in the other cities we have visited.
This is the view from my hotel room. (Actually from a reception area a couple of windows down from my room; my room does not have a balcony.)
Attached to the hotel is an office of the Agricultural Bank of China. The two buildings are nicely lit up at night.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Return to Harbin
Daqing is a wealthy oil town. We saw many oil rigs.
As in the other cities we have visited, we saw construction everywhere.
Buildings are most often constructed out of concrete. This apartment building under construction is located in Anda, near Daqing. We drove through Anda on the way back to Harbin.
Anda is the dairy capital of China. The city has 1,000 concrete statues of cows lining the streets and several dairy processing plants. At the entrance to the city is this statue of charging cows (this is the back side):
We stopped again at a rest area on the toll road back to Harbin. These farmers are harvesting corn just at sunset.
As in the other cities we have visited, we saw construction everywhere.
Buildings are most often constructed out of concrete. This apartment building under construction is located in Anda, near Daqing. We drove through Anda on the way back to Harbin.
Anda is the dairy capital of China. The city has 1,000 concrete statues of cows lining the streets and several dairy processing plants. At the entrance to the city is this statue of charging cows (this is the back side):
We stopped again at a rest area on the toll road back to Harbin. These farmers are harvesting corn just at sunset.
Daqing Buddhist Temple
After lunch we visited a Buddhist Temple in Daqing. This beautiful temple has just been built, and in fact is still receiving the finishing touches now. There were many more buildings than just the main temple shown here.
UPDATE: Dr. Guo says the name of the temple is Jingle Temple.
UPDATE: Dr. Guo says the name of the temple is Jingle Temple.
Yinluo Dairy Farm
We drove through the Yinluo Dairy Farm on the outskirts of Daqing. This farm has 6,000 cows in this location, and two other facilities of similar size in other locations. It is owned by the Liu family. They have plans to add another 10,000 cows.
We stopped briefly to see the AI (artificial insemination) facility, where they collect and sex the semen from 200 bulls.
From the farm, we drove to a milk processing plant under construction in a nearby industrial park. This facility, also owned by the Liu family, will cost $25M and will process mostly fluid products. This processing room is awaiting the installation of equipment.
Mr. Liu Hailong, Chief Executive Officer of China Milk Products and the son of the head of the Liu family, hosted lunch for us. Lunch featured many dishes that we had not seen before, such as sea cucumber. I think the answer to the question "got milk?" is yes!
We stopped briefly to see the AI (artificial insemination) facility, where they collect and sex the semen from 200 bulls.
From the farm, we drove to a milk processing plant under construction in a nearby industrial park. This facility, also owned by the Liu family, will cost $25M and will process mostly fluid products. This processing room is awaiting the installation of equipment.
Mr. Liu Hailong, Chief Executive Officer of China Milk Products and the son of the head of the Liu family, hosted lunch for us. Lunch featured many dishes that we had not seen before, such as sea cucumber. I think the answer to the question "got milk?" is yes!
Travel to Daqing
Today we went on a day trip to Daqing, a city about 120 miles north of Harbin. It was a beautiful fall day, and we saw much countryside. Roger, Mingruo, Mike and Joe traveled in cars. The rest of us rode in the van. We did not have a guide or interpreter in the van. We stopped once on the way to Daqing, at a rest area. Most of my photos were from the moving van, and so quality is affected.
The road was a 4-lane limited access toll road. The road was in excellent shape, better than many of our interstate highways, except that whenever we went over a bridge the transitions between road and bridge were a little rough. Bridges were typically over country roads; we did not cross many railroads or waterways. Traffic was light once in the countryside. We drove at 100 kph, which was faster than the cargo trucks, but we were regularly passed by black sedans and SUVs traveling much faster.
We saw people sweeping the sides of the road by hand.
We saw a lot of corn. I mean a lot of corn--mile after mile after mile--all being harvested by hand.
Trees have been planted along the roads and in other places. We have seen this elsewhere in our travels, too. It appears to be a massive program to establish tree belts throughout the countryside.
After corn, the next most common crop was hay. This was raked by hand into large piles and left in the field.
We saw only a few livestock, including beef and dairy cows, sheep and ducks.
The land was very flat all the way. There were none of the hills that we saw in Jinan. We were told that it has been unusually dry recently, and it looked it. We were told that the soil was a fine alkaline soil.
The road was a 4-lane limited access toll road. The road was in excellent shape, better than many of our interstate highways, except that whenever we went over a bridge the transitions between road and bridge were a little rough. Bridges were typically over country roads; we did not cross many railroads or waterways. Traffic was light once in the countryside. We drove at 100 kph, which was faster than the cargo trucks, but we were regularly passed by black sedans and SUVs traveling much faster.
We saw people sweeping the sides of the road by hand.We saw a lot of corn. I mean a lot of corn--mile after mile after mile--all being harvested by hand.
Trees have been planted along the roads and in other places. We have seen this elsewhere in our travels, too. It appears to be a massive program to establish tree belts throughout the countryside.After corn, the next most common crop was hay. This was raked by hand into large piles and left in the field.
We saw only a few livestock, including beef and dairy cows, sheep and ducks.The land was very flat all the way. There were none of the hills that we saw in Jinan. We were told that it has been unusually dry recently, and it looked it. We were told that the soil was a fine alkaline soil.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Dinner 10/15
The sponsors of the China International Dairy Development Summit Seminar hosted us for dinner. This was a large group, with five round tables. It was the first time we were not all at one table.
Toasting is de rigeur at these dinners, and for the first time I ventured to make a toast. I forget exactly what I said, but somewhere in there I mumbled something about appreciating this opportunity to learn about Chinese culture. I was helpfully informed that if I wanted to learn about Chinese culture, I needed to learn that the Chinese do not feel that they are good hosts unless their guests are comfortably drunk.
It was a most enjoyable evening!
Toasting is de rigeur at these dinners, and for the first time I ventured to make a toast. I forget exactly what I said, but somewhere in there I mumbled something about appreciating this opportunity to learn about Chinese culture. I was helpfully informed that if I wanted to learn about Chinese culture, I needed to learn that the Chinese do not feel that they are good hosts unless their guests are comfortably drunk.
It was a most enjoyable evening!
Dairy Seminar Redux
We rejoined the China International Dairy Development Summit Seminar, and Dr. Mike Vayda presented an overview of Vermont agriculture. His Powerpoint presentation included both English and Chinese captions, and his talk was translated.
Following Mike's presentation, seminar attendees asked questions of our delegation on various dairy industry matters. The questions showed a strong knowledge of U.S. dairy markets, and I was surprised at how many attendees had an excellent command of English. The question and answer session--including follow-up questions--was almost entirely in English.
Following Mike's presentation, seminar attendees asked questions of our delegation on various dairy industry matters. The questions showed a strong knowledge of U.S. dairy markets, and I was surprised at how many attendees had an excellent command of English. The question and answer session--including follow-up questions--was almost entirely in English.
China Post
We had just enough time after returning to the hotel after lunch to walk to the nearest office of China Post. (Laura and Camila--hope you get your postcards soon. UPDATE: One postcard arrived 10/25 and one arrived 10/26.)
Whenever we go out, we see large bundles being carried by various means. Only once have I been able to see what was in one of these bundles, and it was recyclable plastic. There is no formal recycling system, but people will collect recyclable materials to sell.
Whenever we go out, we see large bundles being carried by various means. Only once have I been able to see what was in one of these bundles, and it was recyclable plastic. There is no formal recycling system, but people will collect recyclable materials to sell.
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