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CHINA BUSINESS
FDI to China doubles Foreign direct investment (FDI) to China more than doubled in December 2009, marking the fifth consecutive month that FDI has increased. Total FDI in 2009 amounted to US$90 billion, down 2.6% year-on-year due to sharp declines early last year that were instigated by the global financial crisis. The city of Shanghai attracted US$10.5 billion, up 4.5% from the previous year. The quick and rapid increase in FDI marks a return of corporate confidence in and hopes for the China market. After becoming the world’s largest exporter and largest auto market last year, China is predicted to become the largest consumer market (overtaking the U.S.) by 2020, according to Credit Suisse.
High hopes for the wine industry While major wine producers Italy and Spain saw slumps in 2009 production, China’s production over the first 11 months of 2009 grew 21.8% year-on-year. Wang Yancai, president of China Alcoholic Drink Industry Association, noted that China’s wine industry has an opportunity to gain market share at a time when consumers are demonstrating a preference for cheaper wines. China’s wine exports remains small in scale, but the country’s largest wineproducing city, Yantai, is actively courting international interest and will be hosting its fourth International Wine Festival in September. Yantai is currently the only Asian city recognized by the International Office of Vine and Wine (OIV) and expects a total of 50,000 people to attend the festival, including 2,500 attendees from foreign wineries.
Baseball’s new Field of Dreams Baseball players from the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) New York Yankees
Secretary Clinton prioritizes Internet freedom Shortly after Google announced its intentions in January to end censorship of search results on its Chinese-language search engine Google.cn, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech detailing U.S. support for Internet freedom around the world. “The Internet has already been a source of tremendous progress in China, and it is fabulous…but countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century,” said Clinton. She also called on China to conduct a thorough and transparent review of the cyber attacks that led to Google’s announcement. Later, Clinton met with network service providers to discuss business-government cooperation on the issue. More funding for Internet freedom will be distributed, including State Department grants to develop technological tools that reduce censorship barriers. visited Beijing in February, posing for photos and handing out Yankee memorabilia at a shopping mall. The visit was part of a weeklong trip to China, Japan and Hong Kong to promote interest in the sport of baseball and in the New York Yankees franchise, which won the 2009 World Series. MLB has tried to develop the Chinese market for baseball since 2003, when former major league players Jim Lefebvre and Bruce Hurst were sent to coach China’s national team. Only four million people play baseball for recreation in China versus an estimated 300 million who enjoy basketball. Over the past seven years, MLB has spent millions of dollars on
promoting the sport in China, including Play Ball, a program in cooperation with China’s Ministry of Education that organizes tournaments in five cities for 120 schools. Since 2001, only five Chinese players have been signed by major league clubs, although none have made any real impact. A new player-development center opened in the fall of 2009 in Wuxi, with the hopes of finding baseball’s version of basketball star Yao Ming. CORPORATE NEWS
Google threatens China pullout In early January, Google threatened to
MARCH 2010
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