Bringing the past, present and future together

Fifteen AmCham-China members attended a seminar exploring how to preserve Beijing’s remaining hutongs. The event was held at the American Club on September 18.

Matthew Hu, managing director of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, provided an overview of the history and status of the remaining hutong areas in Beijing. He also discussed the efforts the government, NGOs and local communities are making to preserve these culturally significant areas.

After the presentation, He Shuzhong, founder and chairman of the center, answered questions from the audience.

Beijing Forum chair and Board of Governors member John Holden was the moderator.

Lessons on fighting Internet piracy

Members gathered at the Kerry Center on September 18 to hear Eric Priest, CEO of Noank Media subsidiary Fei Liu Holdings, discuss the range of solutions available for combating Internet copyright piracy in China.

Priest outlined the state of play in digital media piracy and intellectual property rights management in China, exploring the pros and cons of IPR management solutions available. He also spoke about Noank’s solution, which is currently deployed on Chinese university campuses.

The event was moderated by Greg Shea, president and managing director of USITO. IT/Telecom Forum Co-chair Ted Dean of BDA China made the closing remarks.

The event was the second in a new series of monthly breakfast briefings the IT/Telecom Forum and USITO are hosting on the information and communications technology industry in China. The IT/Telecom chapter of the 2007 AmCham White Paper is available here.

An inside look at insurance

On September 19, Insurance Forum members met to discuss industry issues with USTR’s new Senior Director of China Affairs Ann Main, as well as Patrick Chow and Erica Thomas of the U.S. Embassy.

Main is responsible for insurance at USTR, after the departure of Eric Altbach. The members briefed her on key industry issues such as regulatory structure, internal branching, transparency, enterprise annuity trustee licenses and the position of China Post. Main provided an update on U.S. government’s concerns and plans for future negotiations with the Chinese government.

Lester Ross and Malone Ma co-chair the Insurance Forum. The insurance chapter of the AmCham 2007 White Paper is available here.

AmCham-China Chair James Zimmerman has joined a contest sponsored by Lenovo and China Daily whereby eight foreigners will be chosen to carry the Olympic torch. In his profile at China Daily, he writes:

Beijing is where I have lived and worked for almost 10 years. Beijing is home! As Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce China, it has been a pleasure over the years to be both a witness and participant in Beijing’s rise as a world class city. I want to carry the torch to share the joy and vision of the Olympics with my Chinese friends. Many thanks for the opportunity!

The eight torchbearers will be selected via a combination of online voting and selection by a panel of judges. To vote for Jim, visit here. To register for the contest, visit here. Vice Chair Dan Brody is also participating in the contest.

Out and about in China.

Cross-examining issues over cocktails

American Bar Association President William H. Neukom addressed a crowd of nearly 40 Legal Committee members over dinner at the Kerry Center Hotel on September 18.

Neukom managed Microsoft’s legal, government and philanthropic activities for 17 years as executive vice president for law and corporate affairs. He shared his insights with the crowd and gave updates on the ABA’s international programs and efforts to promote the rule of law in China.

Summarizing the event, Legal Committee Co-chair Nathan Bush said, “It was a tremendous opportunity for AmCham members to learn more about the ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s efforts to strengthen legal institutions and the legal profession in China and about the ABA’s new World Justice Project to promote the rule of law worldwide.”

Bush moderated the event on behalf of the chamber.

Getting a Doha Round round-up

Two dozen Chinese Government Affairs Committee (CGAC) members gathered at the American Club on September 13 for a lunch meeting with Wang Xiaodong, a counselor of the Director General Office of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Wang briefed all present on the WTO’s Doha Round, including China’s role, and then answered questions. CGAC Chair Yuan Haiying moderated the event.

AmCham-China Vice Chairman Dan Brody has thrown his hit into the ring - or, as this is the Olympics, should we say rings - in a contest sponsored by Lenovo and China Daily whereby eight foreigners will be chosen to carry the Olympic torch. According to a China Daily article:

Fellow hopeful and Google executive Dan Brody is an American who has lived in China for over 10 years, first as a student and teacher before moving into the corporate world.

Brody, vice-chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, counts among his favorite places: “Cosmopolitan areas of Beijing where even the old ladies doing fan dances are not surprised to hear you speak Chinese, and Xinjiang where people think I’m a local.

The eight torchbearers will be selected via a combination of online voting and selection by a panel of judges. To vote for Dan, visit here. To register for the contest, visit here.

Brody on the move…

The AmCham-China team poses with Vice Minister Ma.

Continuing the White Paper follow-up process, AmCham-China Chairman James Zimmerman led a small delegation to meet Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Vice Minister Ma Xiuhong on September 12.

The two sides discussed issues important to AmCham-China members, including food and product safety, market access, foreign investment, and direct selling. The chamber members talked about the results of the Washington door knock and AmCham-China’s recommendations to the U.S. government to allocate more resources for export assistance for SMEs, improve visa processing, and implement improved export control policies.

One of seven panels experts providing a full day of HR expertise.

More than 140 AmCham-China members and guests attended the sold-out Eighth Annual Human Resources Conference at China World Hotel on September 14. The day-long conference focused on helping companies to learn from other professionals’ experiences and integrate a human resources perspective into their strategy.

The seven panels of expert speakers addressed a broad range of current HR issues in China, including employee mobility and cross-border employment issues. A Q&A session followed each panel and the audience asked many questions on the interaction between CEOs and employees, the looming talent gap and cultural differences in management styles. The speakers also examined the HR difficulties individual companies face and how they can be resolved.

AmCham-China thanks HR Forum Co-chair Robin Adams of Yi Ming Consulting for putting the conference together.

More than 90 AmCham-China members and guests gathered at The Renaissance Beijing yesterday to hear two panels of experts discuss China’s online scene, celebrate the launch of the chamber’s new webpage and attend a networking party.

Matt Roberts of About.com moderated the first panel - Decoding China’s Internet Scene - and asked what trends will shape the Internet in China. Siliconhutong.com’s David Wolf, CEO of Wolf Group Asia, cited growing access to wireless and the ensuing mobility this provides as the guiding trend for the next five to ten years. Andrew Lih, a new media academic who is authoring a book about online collaboration, stressed the importance of avoiding situations where content might get your site shut down. “Anyone who can stay ahead of ICP issues will win out in the end,” he said. Micah Truman, CEO of Wanmo Performance Advertising, said e-commerce is the trend to watch: “It’s about to go absolutely nuts.”

Jeremy Goldkorn of The Standards Group and danwei.org moderated the second panel on the business of blogging, kicking off the discussion by asking the speakers why they blog.

China-briefing.com’s Chris Devonshire-Ellis, senior partner of Dezan Shira & Associates, said his blogs serve as marketing and research tools that fit in with a media mix that includes magazines and books.

On the risks involved in blogging, Will Moss of PR site imagethief.com said he worries about offending current and potential clients, even though he never writes about the former. Despite this, he said the benefits of blogging - an increased profile and potential to attract clients - outweighed the risks. Chinalawblog.com’s Dan Harris, founding member of law firm Harris & Moure, answered that his company is small enough that even if his blog offended half the world, there would still be another half full of potential clients. “The greatest risk is to my marriage because I spend so much time online,” he joked.

Both panels included lively 30-minute Q&A sessions. The event wrapped up with the launch of the new AmCham-China Daily page. The chamber’s Website Coordinator Christine Baker cut the ribbon as attendees toasted the site with sparkling wine. All present then enjoyed appetizers, beverages and fellowship for several hours. Check out the gallery of photos from the event.

Thanks go to the event’s wine sponsor, ASC Fine Wines