Market Information

New Zealand remains on track to complete a “high quality and comprehensive” free trade deal with China by April next year, Prime Minister Helen Clark says.

Source: NZ Herald:       NZ-China trade deal on track - Clark

“The challenge of learning to speak Chinese fluently, the complexities of the Chinese way of doing business, and a strong sense of national pride mean that a foreigner will only extremely rarely be accepted by Chinese interlocutors on equal terms. The solution is to find a reliable Chinese ally to work with you. An effective Chinese colleague will often be able to analyse body language at meetings, work out who in the other negotiating team holds real power - not always the boss - and help smooth out any inadvertent wrinkles. Conversely, the presence of a Westerner should be exploited to the full. Chinese interlocutors will often see a visit by a foreigner as an indication of sincerity and commitment by the Western company. Perversely, they often do not accord mainland Chinese or Hong Kong representatives the same status as a foreigner. The ideal sales team, therefore, is often a Chinese to take care of the working level contacts, and a foreigner to do honour to the higher echelons” (British embassy, 2006).

Taken from:   Golden hints for doing business in China

Unicon can be an in-market ally for New Zealand companies in China. We give our clients  both kiwi and Chinese in-market representation. 

 photo by: Joe, Beijing markets 2007

NZ$2.00 bottle of Chinese beer at a standard restaurant.
NZ$40.00 Pair of very high quality hand made leather shoes
NZ$0.40 Roses per piece, all colors available
NZ$1.20 Chicken burger at local McDonalds
NZ$2.00 BigMac hamburger
NZ$1.20 Door to door delivery, letter/package within Beijing
NZ$3.70 Cable-TV subscription, 50 channels for one month

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 wholesaler 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 has 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.

via Shanghai Daily: Business by Jin Jing on 11/15/07 Foreign food firms keen to bite into huge market

CUSTOMS authorities uncovered 1,914 cases of intellectual property rights infringement in the first three quarters of 2007. Goods involved in these cases were worth 230 million yuan (US$30.95 million), said the General Administration of Customs in a report on its Website. The GAC has stepped up its efforts in IPR protection since it launched a five-month nationwide campaign named “Dragon Boat” on October 1. The campaign mainly targets IPR-infringing exports to the United States, the European Union, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates by shipment and mail. Last month, customs authorities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, uncovered 23 infringement cases and seized 32,800 fake Louis Vuitton, Nokia and Adidas products. On November 5, a man was caught at Beijing Capital International Airport carrying nearly 2,000 counterfeit watches bearing Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Rolex trademarks. “Since its entry into the World Trade Organization, China has made tremendous progress in IPR protection,” said Zhang Hanlin, president of the WTO Research Institute under the University of International Business and Economics. “If China wants to make headway in upgrading its industry, it has to rely on its own core technologies and brands. “China is attaching greater importance to IPR protection not only because of pressure from foreign countries, but also from the need to protect its (own domestic) products,” said Zhang.

Via: Shanghai Daily Customs detects 1,900 IPR cases

Interesting comments from Philip Gibson the newly appointed New Zealand’s Commissioner-General for the expo. 

• “The re-emergence of China and what it means to the world, the Asian region and New Zealand is one of the most important issues for the next several decades.
• “China is increasingly critical to New Zealand’s well being.”

via NZ Herald: Success in China ‘critical’ for New Zealand’s future

While China may be getting most of the attention - and the blame - for a rash of recent toy recalls, the majority of problematic toys in fact come from other countries, according to a new Canadian study.

via New Zealand Herald 11/14/07 China not to blame for most toy recalls

China’s retail sales expanded by 18.1 percent year-on-year to 826.3 billion yuan (111.2 billion U.S. dollars) in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday.

via China Business on 11/14/07 China retail sales rise 18.1% in October

We have been watching the FTA negotiations with China very closely. This article in today’s NZ Herald takes a closer look at how negotiations are progressing.

Source: NZ Herald. Chinese wall on free trade by Fran O’Sullivan

Here is a useful article from the guys at Idealog with information about brand protection in China

Idealog