Foreign food firms keen to bite into huge marketTOP
Foreign food companies are making a beeline to China hoping to tap the huge potential in the imported food industry as they cash in on people's rising disposable income and easing of import tariffs.
A record 800 companies from 35 countries and regions yesterday promoted their food specialities and beverages at FHC China 2007 in Shanghai for the first time.
One of the largest international food, wine and hospitality equipment and supply exhibitions, it opened yesterday and will end tomorrow at Shanghai New International Expo Center in Pudong New Area.
A wide variety of imported products will be displayed, from fresh and preserved foods, beverages, wine and spirits, bakery ingredients to confectionery, suggesting foreign companies are really eager to tap the emerging market.
Seven Austrian companies are showcasing food specialities like Julius Meinl Coffee, Darbo jams and Pfaffl wines at their pavilions.
"China's entry to the World Trade Organization has lowered tariffs and brought economic liberalization that yielded gains for US food exports," said Wayne Batwin, an official from the Agricultural Trade Office at the US Consulate Shanghai.
"Continued economic growth boosted the demand for high-quality foods and improvements in retail, distribution and transport system also increased competitiveness of imported food and beverages in the local market," Batwin added.
Metro Cash & Carry China is one foreign food and beverage company which is benefiting from Chinese people's interest in imported food.
Revenue of imported food now makes up 10 percent of Metro China's total food sales and the retailer plans to set up an imported food area in all its 34 stores nationwide to meet consumers' demand, Philippe Bacac, general manager of Metro Cash & Carry China East China Business unit, said.
Besides wine, snack foods such as ice creams and frozen foods are also becoming popular.
"The competition in the snack foods sector is quite demanding amid people's growing disposable income and willingness to try new things," said Zhong Wei, marketing manager of Gourmedis (China) Shanghai Office. He also added that sales were also boosted as consumers trusted imported food meets international safety standard.
Gourmedis, which added Alberto Pizza, Cellini Coffee and Maina cakes into its existing 1,000 items under 15 brands this year, is expected to double its turnover next year, Zhong said.(source:Shanghai Daily)
China: ConversationTOP
Before your visit, it will be a good idea to prepare yourself by studying aspects of Chinese culture, history, and geography. Your hosts will appreciate your initiative.
Negative replies are considered impolite. Instead of saying 'no', answer 'maybe', 'I'll think about it', or 'We'll see' and get into specifics later. You'll find that the Chinese will do the same. When your Chinese counterparts smilingly and politely or even enthusiastically say 'No big problem' or 'the problem is not serious', they usually mean 'There are still problems.'
You may be asked intrusive questions concerning your age, income, and marital status. If you don't want to reveal this information, remain polite and give an unspecific answer. Don't express irritation with the questioner, since 'losing face' has such negative implications in this culture. On the other hand, unless you are a very familiar personal friend, do not ask your Chinese hosts about their family although, typically, you can ask 'How old is your child?', 'How long have you been in the work force?' or 'Where is your child studying?' as a means of determining their marital status and age.
In Chinese culture, the question 'Have you eaten?' or 'Where have you been?' is the equivalent to 'How are you?' in North America; it's just a superficial inquiry that does not require a literal-minded, detailed answer. Simply answer, 'yes', even if you haven't actually eaten or simply smile and say 'thank you.'
Make an effort to learn and use at least a few words in Chinese; your initiative will be noticed and appreciated. Make sure you know the meaning and appropriate occasions for what you say.
You may make general inquiries about the health of another's family, such as 'are all in your family well?'
During a meal, expressing enthusiasm about the food you are eating is a welcome, and usually expected, topic of conversation.
There is no need to avoid mentioning Taiwan. If the subject comes up, never refer to this island as 'The Republic of China' or 'Nationalist China.' The correct term is 'Taiwan Province', or just 'Taiwan.'
'Small talk' is considered especially important at the beginning of a meeting; any of the topics suggested in the next set of points will be appropriate for this occasion.
Welcome Topics of Conversation
Chinese scenery, landmarks weather, climate, and geography in China
Your travels in other countries
Your positive experiences traveling in China
Chinese art
Topics to Avoid
Refrain from using the terms such as 'Red China', 'Mainland China,' and 'Communist China.' Just say 'China.'
Investment environment of ChengduTOP
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, is a famous cultural city with long history as well as a modern city full of energetic and vital force. Chengdu has been set up to the center of science and technology, trade and finance and the pivot of telecommunication and traffic in the southwest region of our country.
Chengdu is one of 24 famous cities of historical cultural reservation which is approved by State Council earliest and it is also an excellent tourism city with a rich tourism resource and great developing potential. This city is old and young, peaceful and flourishing, cream of culture and high in business consciousness. With the pace of reform and opening up and modernization of China, the old Chengdu is changing with each passing day and has taken place a profound transformation.
Chengdu attaches equal importance on heavy and light industry. An industrial system with various categories such as machine, electron, medicine, metallurgy, chemical industry, cotton textile and food has formed. With the industrial restructure, electron information, medicine, food (including tobacco) and machine have become the four leading industries in Chengdu.
Chengdu has a high opening consciousness. To date, Chengdu has established friendship relationship with 9 foreign cities. There are 2 national development zones have been built up here. A remarkable outcome has been gained in the field of opening to the outside world.
Policies on Encouraging Foreign Investment in Service Trades in Chengdu
To adjust to the new situation of further opening up on investment fields after China entry into WTO and attract more foreign investments, and to rapidly develop Chengdu economy, the following recommendations are made on encouraging more foreign investments to Chengdu service trades:
Opening Trades
The service trades in Chengdu to be open for foreign investment fall into two categories:
(1)Banks, insurance services, travel agents, retail and wholesale businesses, educational institutions (except for 9-year compulsory education), medical institutions, law offices, and accounting offices may be set up after applications are forwarded by relevant municipal departments to corresponding provincial or state departments and are examined and approved;
(2) Five-star hotels, businesses for planning, design, construction, advertising, gas stations, physical distribution centers, and Internet ICP and ISP services may be set up after examination and approval by relevant municipal departments.
Know a Chinese from His NameTOP
Chinese names contain a spectrum of cultural information. It is one of the favorite topics the Chinese enjoy talking about. The process of exploring the meaning probably leads you to a close friendship.
The most common family names in China are li (李), zhang (张), and wang (王). There are now nearly 100 million Chinese with the same family name李. In Mainland China, women don't take their husbands' family names after marriage.
Chinese given names always follow their family names. People believe that the given names contain invisible fate and visible meaning in the choice of characters. Therefore, when elders name a newborn, they usually take several factors into consideration: astrology, birth date, a fortune-teller's advice, and the form, pronunciation, and meaning of the characters.
Some given names indicate the parents' good wishes and high expectations for their babies, like喜 xi (happiness), 贵 gui (preciousness), 聪 cong (cleverness), 丽 li (beauty); while some others convey the love of nature, such as,峰 feng (peak), 花 hua (flower), and so on.
In "A Life in Two Worlds," 姚明(Yao Ming) explains his name this way:
"My first name, Ming (明), means "light". To write it, you use two Chinese characters. The left one (日) means "the sun," and the right one (月) means "the moon". The two characters together mean light all the time, day and night.
My last name Yao (姚) doesn't mean anything in itself. It's just a last name like Jones. But the two characters making up of it, when looked at separately do mean something. The left part (女) means "woman," and the right part (兆) means "many," many, and many, like a billion, only more. So that means more than Wilt Chamberlain, right?"（source: chinaculture）
China Import Network (INC)TOP
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