December, 2011 | CIE SOURCING

Archive for December, 2011

The Secret of sending gifts in China

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Xixi in Culture, Sending Gifts Comments Off

The Secret of sending gifts in China

Specific circumstances should be considered when giving gifts. Generally speaking, when going to a private dinner, the guest should bring some small gifts, such as flowers, fruits, local specialties and products for the hostess and some toys and candy for the children. When attending weddings, artworks can be great gifts, bouquet and practical items are also appropriate for the occasion. For New Year and Christmas, one can send gifts such as calendar, wine, tea, candy, and tobacco, etc.

1. The Timing and Manner of Gift-Giving

In general, gifts should be present in person. But sometimes when attending a wedding, the gifts can be sent in advance. The gifts for festivals and for the New Year can be sent or mail to the house of the receiver. Attached on top of the gift packaging is the gift giver’s card or hand-written message in an envelope, on which the gift receiver’s name shall be written. It is inappropriate to give gift only to one person out of a group, for it will not only give the person the impression of being bribed or fooled, but also make the rest of the group feel being neglected or looked down upon. Besides, it is also inappropriate to give gifts in pubic to people who are close to you, for others may therefore regard your close friendship as something shallow, something propped up solely by materials. Only gifts of not a high price yet a very profound significance, for example a souvenir with special meanings, can be presented to the receiver in public, when the public will bear witness to the true friendship between the two parties.

2. Be Friendly and Be Discreet with What You Say

One needs to mend his or her attitude, behavior and language when giving gifts. Calm and friendly manners accompanied by polite words are the key to make the receiver at ease. Whereas the behavior of secretly placing the gift under the receiver’s desk or in certain corner of the house would not be appreciated, and sometimes it even seems to have had the opposite effect. Generally in China when giving gifts to others, one displays an excess amount of modesty by saying “this is a really, really humble gift. It is nothing…”this approach should better be avoided. Of course, it is also not appropriate to say in an almost proud tone that “it is a very precious/expensive gift!” when present the gift, one should stress the goodwill and brotherhood conveyed by this gift rather than the actual value of the gift. Otherwise, it will make the receiver feel being bribed.

3. Take the Etiquette and Local Customs into Account

One norm of social etiquette is to conduct the courtesy according to the status of the person, the nature of the event and the circumstances. The same is true for choosing gifts. One should choose different gift for different people. Generally speaking, practical gifts should be given to poor families and refined delicacies are more suited to the rich. Souvenirs are best gifts for lovers and curious and fun items are popular gift among friends. Practical gifts are for the elder people, toys for the children and local specialty for the foreign friend—one should always avoid the taboos in gift-giving.

For example, the Chinese generally believe that good things often come in pairs. Therefore on Red-Letter Days in China, the gift items should always be in pairs—never in odd numbers. But for Cantonese, the number 4 is extremely ominous because in Cantonese it sounds like “death”. Another example is the color white. Although it symbolizes purity and brightness, in China it is a color of mourning and poverty. The same is true with the color black. But the color red, being a symbol of happiness, peace and good luck, is widely loved by the people. Besides, Chinese people are particular cautious about not giving old people clocks as gifts for in Chinese “giving clock” is of the similar sound of “arranging for the burial of a deceased relative”. And couples should never give pears to each other because “pear” in Chinese is the homophone of “leave”. Also, one should not give medicines to healthy persons and should never give personal items to friends of opposite sex.

The China-Africa Trade Volume Is Expected to exceed 150 billion US Dollars in 2011

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Xixi in China Export News, Export to China, Headline Comments Off

It is know that from the 2^nd session of 2011 China Africa Industrial Forum that this year the china-africa trade volume is expected to exceed 150 billion us dollars.

According to the 2^nd session of the 2011 China Africa Industrial Forum was opened in Beijing, this year the China-Africa trade volume is expected to exceed 150 billion us dollars.

According to Cheng Zhigang, secretary-general of the China Africa Industrial Forum, in recent years China-Africa Trade experienced a rapid development. The Inexpensive yet high-quality Chinese products are well suited to the consumption level on the African market , while the crude oil, timber, iron ore and other energy and mineral products imports from Africa meet the demand in the related Chinese industries. Besides, coffee , diamonds, unique handicrafts and other products with Africa characteristic are also welcomed by Chinese consumers.

Wang Chengan, Executive Vice President of Chinese Society of African Affairs said that in 2000 China-Africa trade volume reached $ 10.6 billion and in 2010 reached $ 126.9 billion. From January to September this year, China-Africa trade volume reached $ 120 billion, and the whole years’ total trade volume is expected to reach150-160billion US dollars. In the coming 3-5 years, China-Africa trade volume is expected to exceed $ 300 billion.

According to Cheng Zhigang, at present the total volume of the China-Africa trade remains relatively small. The China-Africa trade takes up a fairly low percentage in China’s foreign trade. In 2010, China’s exports to Africa accounted for only 3.79% of the total exports volume, similarly, China’s imports from Africa accounts for only 4.56% of the total. In the first half of 2011, the export and import with Africa took up 3.72% and 4.69% of the total respectively, with little difference between the proportions in 2010. In the time to come, China should further economic and trade cooperation with African countries, expanding the overall size of China-Africa trade.

Cheng Zhigang said that Africa boasts a vast territory, abundant resources, nearly one billion populations with a high proportion of young people, and the number is growing rapidly. In addition to further the cooperation in energy and mineral industries, China and Africa should strive to expand bilateral cooperation, such as cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing industry, financial and human resources.

Cheng suggest that China should endeavor to improve and the trade contacts and maintain trade balance with African countries, increase the categories of import products and expand the total scale of trade, open the Chinese market wider to accommodate the African products and give duty-free treatment to products of the LDS in Africa that have established diplomatic relations with China, and gradually expand the beneficiary countries and commodities varieties. Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises should be encouraged to invest in Africa, cultivate African customs, religion, history, and foster more enterprise and talents that know Africa inside out.

It is understood that during the forum a Sino-African cooperation projects enterprises matchmaking conference will be held, where More than more than 150 investment projects from over 40 African countries and more than 200 trade purchase orders will seek cooperators, and the trade volume is expected to reach $ 5 billion.

2^nd session of 2011 China Africa Industrial Forum is jointly held by the Organizing Committee of the China Africa Industrial Forum and China -Africa Cooperation Association. More than 500 officials of relevant international organizations, representatives of foreign institutions within China, representatives of African and Chinese entrepreneurs, and Africa experts have attended the forum.

Why Choose Arbitration Over Litigation when dealing with Chinese supplier?

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Xixi in Arbitration, Legal Comments Off

Arbitration has always been preferred choice when resolving the commercial disputes. And compared with other dispute settlements, arbitration enjoys the following advantages:

There are a great variety of measures for commercial contracting parties to resolve their disputes, however, among them only litigation judgments and arbitral awards possess binding powers and are enforceable. Arbitration award is different from the court decisions for it can not be appealed. Once made, the arbitration award shall be final and binding on the parties. Although the arbitration award may be revoked, not recognized or not implemented by the court at the place where the arbitral award is made, the reasons for those court rulings are very limited. Therefore, in generally the arbitration concerning foreign affairs is limited only by procedural issues.

The Principle of Autonomy of Will

In arbitration, the parties have the right to choose arbitrators, places of arbitration, the language of the arbitration and the applicable law. The parties may also make terms on issues concerning trial, the submission of evidence and statement so as to design arbitration procedures to meet their own special needs. In case when there is no agreement between the parties, then the arbitration court shall prevail to decide. Thus, compared with the rigorous and time-consuming court proceedings, arbitration process are more flexible.

Confidentiality

Arbitration case shall not be heard in public, which can effectively protect the party ‘s trade secrets and business reputation .

The Arbitration Award Can Be Recognized and Enforced Internationally

According to the latest data, by February 28, 2005, altogether 135 countries has become the member of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (i.e. 1958 New York Convention). Under the Convention, arbitral awards can be recognized and enforced in these countries. In addition, the arbitral award can also be enforced according to other international convention and provisions concerning arbitration. In 1987, China joined the New York Convention. Upon the accession China made certain commercial reservation and reciprocity reservation.

How To Apply For Arbitration In China

Posted on December 05, 2011 by Xixi in Arbitration, Legal 7 Comments »

To cite China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and the China Maritime Arbitration Commission as examples

1 , to apply for arbitration in our commission will generally require that there are arbitration clause included in the contract between you / your company and the other party, or there are written arbitration agreement.

2 , Meanwhile, please submit the following documents :

(1 ) the application for arbitration (including the evidence, contracts including an arbitration agreement or written arbitration agreement contract )

(2 ) Letter of Authority , if an agent is entrusted to act on behalf of the people/company.

(3 ) If you need to apply for property preservation and / preservation of evidence , please (1 ) submit 2 original copies of application for property preservation/ evidence preservation application (2 ) submit an application for arbitration , (3 ) a written instruction to inform the commission of the court to which the arbitration will be transferred , and provide the court ‘s address , zip code and / phones .

(4) the photocopy of the applicant’s licenses, certification of the identity of the legal person and other documents.

(5)Besides, please note that:

a. the application for arbitration, Letter of Authority, and certification of the identity of the legal representatives needs to be provided in the original text. And as for evidence documents, photocopy alone would suffice. But the original copies are still needed during the hearing to serve as proof.

b. The simple procedure shall be carried out if the amount of money involved in the arbitration is no more than 500,000 RMB, which requires the application for arbitration and the evidence (Both) in triplication. And a general procedure shall be carried out if the amount exceeds 500,000 RMB or the amount in dispute is unclear, which requires the application for arbitration and the evidence (Both) in quintuplicate. If there is more than one applicant, then for each additional applicant, an additional application for arbitration and the evidence shall be needed.

3, Meanwhile, please pay an arbitration fee in advance according to the Arbitration Fee Schedule attached to these Arbitration Rules. In principle, the losing party will bear the arbitration fee. If the case is dismissed out of court settlement or tribunal mediation, certain amount of the arbitration fee shall be returned depending on the circumstances.

Foreign Trade in ZheJiang and Guangdong Province Enters Off-Season As the Container Freight Rate of the European Route Plummets

Posted on December 01, 2011 by Xixi in Shipping, Shipping News Comments Off

According to the statistics from Alphaliner Research, in October the decline in China’s container freight rate persisted and aggravated, hitting a new low point in this year. Ministry of Transport, the latest data of the Ministry of Transport show that the in first three quarters the overall China’s foreign trade container transportation maintained a rapid growth, but now it is experiencing a rapid slowdown.

According to the latest trade data released by Hangzhou Customs Office that compared with the September monthly export value in October of Zhejiang Province fell dramatically. Among them, export value amounts to $ 16.69 billion, down by 16.1%, and that of imports, $ 7.31 billion, down by 13.5%.

This is not a phenomenon unique to Zhejiang Province. On the 14^th this month, the acting governor of Guangdong Province, Zhu Xiaodan said that at present Guangdong ‘s foreign trade has been demonstrating a significant downward trend. The current global economic downturn exerts a direct impact on the import and export of Guangdong, the country’s largest trading province.

“From January to June the overall situation was good, when the province’s total foreign trade volume grew by 26%. From January to October the total trade volume experienced a drastic slowdown. The exports in October increased by only 7.8% year on year, its double-digit growth rate reduced to a single digital one and compared with the September, monthly export in October dropped by 8.7%. The Challenge facing our export will be as grave as that in2008. “said Zhu Xiaodan.

Influenced by the European debt crisis and other external factors, the two provinces’ foreign trades are subject to heavy losses to varying extends. Xia Hong, the Director General of Foreign Trade Department of the Wenzhou Municipal Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said that the direct result of the European sovereign debt crisis is that the consumer demand is declining and the dealers purchase inventory will be reduced, which directly impairs the foreign trade in Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.

At the same time, as the global economy slows and trade demand drops, many international shipping companies have already begun to withdraw its shipping route narrow their business scope, and reduce their transportation capacity.

Container Freight Rate of the European Route Plummets

Customs statistics show that in October exports volume was 157.49 billion U.S. dollars, up by 15.9 %, but last month’s statistics was $ 169.7 billion, down by 7.3 %, which is marked decline.

According to the statistics of Alphaliner Research, a French shipping consultancy, in October the Container Freight Rate continued to decline, hitting a new bottom of the year. In addition to China’s export container routes in Southeast Asia increased slightly, the other routes appear to decline to varying degrees, of which the rote of South Korea and Europe have demonstrated the largest decline.

The minimum price of some shipping line of the European routes has dropped to $ 500 / TEU, a record low since August 2009. Compared with the $ 2,100 during the peak season, it is a steep drop of 76%. It is learned that since the beginning of the year the shipping price between Asia and Northern Europe freight routes has dropped 54% and that between Asia to the U.S. freight lines also decreased by 24%. The slump of the two largest global trade route freights has begun to spread to emerging markets routes.

Chen Yi, a senior shipping expert said that as the traditional off-season is around the corner, the market has experienced a further downward trend and the container shipping freight market had not really hit the bottom.

On October 11^th, the PORT OF SHANGHAI released the first three quarters’ Performance Overview, in September Container volume showed a sluggish growth. Compared with the double-digit growth in previous years, the growth container throughput this year demonstrates a steady trend.

According to the statistics from Shanghai International Port?Group?Co.?Ltd, in September this year, the Group completed the container volume of 2.755 million TEUs. The cargo throughput was 40.344 million tons, decreased by 1.8% and increased by 0.03% respectively as compared with those in the August.

Officers from the Port of Shanghai told reporters that this year shipping companies subjected more negative influences than those port enterprises. Some ships getting in and out of the Port of Shanghai were not even fully loaded.

According to Alphaliner Research, a French shipping advisory agency, some shipping companies have started or are planning to withdraw from a number of main Europe and the U.S. routes. From the April and September, 7 routes had been cancelled on the east and west coasts of America. Coupled with 4 routes cancelled before the end of last year, altogether there are 11 lines. This new batch of canceled routes amounts to 6% of the total shipping route of the U.S. east and west coasts.

This will inevitably affect China’s export market , the Ministry of Transport released the latest data , the first three quarters of the country ‘s foreign trade container throughput of the overall transport maintained rapid growth, but growth down significantly.

On October 9^th, the Ministry of Transportation announced on the regular conference that in the first quarter this year the freight transport of highways, waterways, and air routes in general maintained a rapid growth. The coal transport from the port is in its full swing even in its off-season. But there have been fluctuations in metal ore transportation. The growth of large foreign trade container transportation dropped significantly, the overall downturn in the shipping market and capacity oversupply are very conspicuous.

In this meeting the Ministry of Transport has declared that it will study and solve the shipping market downturn, the supply of excess capacity and other issues. Ministry of Transport promised that the government would continue to take decisive measures to speed up the capacity restructuring. And the reasonable regulation of the market capacity will help shipping companies to deal with and overcome difficulties.

EU Exports Experience the Sluggish Growth

According to a textile business owner in Zhejiang Shaoxing, after the third quarter, many customers in Europe spontaneously cut orders and delayed delivery time as if they had arranged to do so.

Ge Yibo, the Director of the Hangzhou Customs Statistics Division said that the currently the foreign trade in Zhejiang Province faces many challenges such as a grave global economic slowdown, weak economic recovery in European and other developed economies, , rising raw materials costs, and small and medium private enterprises financing difficulties.

Zhejiang province’s export to Japan, ASEAN, Korea and other neighboring markets maintain a rapid growth in imports and exports, but its export to the U.S. and European markets experience a further slowdown. In the first 10 months this year, Zhejiang Province’s total export and import volume to EU and the U.S. was $ 55.83 billion, a considerable increase over the last year. But the growth rate further slowed down, 1 and 0.8 percentage points lower than the previous 3 quarters respectively.

China’s General Administration of Customs recently announced the trade in September also showed that the year on year growth of China’s exports to the EU has dropped from 22% in August to 9.7% in September. The European debt crisis has indeed generated a great influence over the Chinese economy.

Zhu Xiaodan, the acting governor of Guangdong Province, said that the EU is one of Guangdong ‘s largest export market . The European debt crisis has a very significant impact on the export of Guangdong Province. From the third quarter of this year, Guangdong ‘s exports to the EU has shown a marked trend. Since 2011, each month all the EU’s export growth is less than or significantly lower than the province’s total exports.

From January to October this year, Guangdong Province’s exports to the EU amount to $ 60.3 billion, an increase of 11.3%, lower than the province’s export growth by 9.2 percentage points. “If the debt crisis continues for some time in Europe, one of our major export markets, then in the foreseeable future, our exports will be facing greater pressure.” said Zhu Xiaodan.

Reports has it that at present the Guangdong provincial government has considered arranging for the deputy governor to go on a tour around major emerging market to expand its share in those countries’ export market and endeavors to build a diversified export structure.