Following the recent earthquake in southwestern China, many AmCham-China member companies have made significant efforts to the relief effort. Read the list of companies, the amount of their contribution and the agency where they directed their funds.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA — the government agency responsible for disaster relief) is offering to publicize the donations made by AmCham member companies, should that be of interest. Each day MOCA compiles a press release, including a list of contributions, and issues it to Xinhua and CCTV.

If you represent an AmCham member company and would like to add your name to the list, please e-mail Julie Leng  - Julie@amcham-china.org.cn

Please post information about your contribution on this site as well.

Posted by Laura

The American Chamber of Commerce in China expresses its deep concern and sympathy to the people of China affected by the devastating loss of life and property damage resulting from the earthquake in Sichuan Province.  In response, AmCham-China pledges the sum of  RMB 1 million to aid the relief efforts.  These funds will be made available after consulting with Chinese disaster-relief officials to determine where they can be used most effectively and immediately.

“Our members live and work in China, and our hearts go out to the families of the victims of this disaster,” said AmCham-China chairman James Zimmerman. “Many of our member companies have already stepped forward to offer support and aid.”

AmCham will continue to work with the Chinese Government to make information available to members about where and how they can offer further support as new information becomes available.

If you represent an AmCham-China member company and would like to share what your firm has done to provide earthquake relief, please post your story here, or send an e-mail to Julie Leng  Julie@amcham-china.org.cn .

Posted by Laura

In an effort to assist those companies and individuals helping people affected by the recent earthquakes, Xinhua PR Newswire is offering AmCham members the free use of its press release distribution service within the country.  Organizations offering aid to the victims of the earthquakes can distribute their messages through XPRN’s network in China that covers over 9,000 journalists from over 3,000 newspapers, magazines and online media from across China. These press releases can include both a text announcement about their aid efforts and an accompanying photo or image.

For more information please contact:

Tailei Zhang of Xinhua PR Newswire in

Beijing at 10-58645288; 10-58645299
 

Jack Ni of Xinhua PR Newswire in

Shanghai at 21-61135934.

About Xinhua PR Newswire
Xinhua PR Newswire (XPRN), an alliance created between Xinhua Finance and PR Newswire, assists companies and organizations in delivering their news releases to the media, individual and institutional investors, and the general public worldwide, with clipping, monitoring, measurement and media intelligence services. Utilizing PR Newswire’s global news distribution network, Xinhua PR Newswire can send clients’ press releases to 170 countries and regions in 40 languages.

Posted by Laura

The International Federation Red Cross (Federation) is planning to launch a multi-million dollar appeal to support the Chinese Red Cross Society’s Earthquake response for victims of the Chengdu disaster.
Those interested to support this effort can either make contributions directly to the Chinese Red Cross Society, or to the Federation’s Beijing office (contact Carl Naucler: +86-10-6532-7162).  For corporations wishing to make contributions from their home offices in the U.S. to a registered 501C charity, the American Red Cross will be facilitating collection of donations which will be provided towards this International Appeal, in support of the Chinese Red Cross efforts.  For more information on how to contribute directly via the American Red Cross HQ in Washington D.C., please contact their Regional Representative for Asia at +91-99-7180-0406, or e-mail rayyis@gmail.com. 

Thanks to Ramsey A. Rayyis, senior field representative at the American Red Cross for passing along this valuable information.
If your firm is contributing to the relief effort, please let us know by posting about here.

The embassy has issued a travel alert for all US residents and visitors in China. The e-mail, sent out to people on the amcitbeijing@state.gov e-mail list, cautions Americans about the threat of terrorist activity by unspecified groups. From the e-mail:

There is a heightened risk that extremist groups will conduct terrorist acts within China in the near future. In light of these security concerns, citizens traveling in China are advised to use caution and to be alert to their surroundings at all times, including at hotels, in restaurants, on public transportation and where there are demonstrations and other large-scale public gatherings. Consistent with our standard advice, American citizens are urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations.

For those who have been in other cities during the Olympics, is this kind of warning standard or is does there appear to be a different approach by the State Dept. to security this year?

There’s more information about travel safety and specifics about the 2008 summer Games on the State Dept. website.

The Chinese government earlier this week outlined its remaining plans to clear the air for the summer Games.  The International Herald Tribune reports on the details.

The measures announced Monday include a two-month halt in construction, beginning July 20, and government directives that will force coal-burning power plants to reduce their emissions by 30 percent throughout most of the summer. Officials said that 19 heavy-polluting enterprises, including steel mills, coke plants and refineries, would be either temporarily mothballed or forced to reduce production. Gas stations that do not meet environmental standards will closed, as will all cement production, and the use toxic solvents outdoors will be forbidden.
Read the whole article.

The article goes on to quote Du Shaozhong, deputy director of Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau urging reporters to “just tell everybody they don’t have to worry.”

In late August of last year AmCham-China members met with a US International Trade Commission (ITC) delegation visiting China.  The group was in Beijing gathering information from business leaders for use in a report about China’s economic policy. AmCham members offered insights about the current business climate and shared their assessments of Chinese policies governing innovation and R&D, as well as their analysis of the current state of standards development  in various industry sectors.

The the first report generated by the ITC delegation, “China: Description of selected Government Practices and Policies Affecting Decision- Making in the Economy”  is now available as a pdf. This exhaustive document, delivered to the US House and Ways Committee, examines industrial development, rationalization and privatization in the state and non-state sectors and in domestic and foreign invested enterprises. It also provides information about banking and finance, infrastructure development, price coordination, utility rates and taxation.

The Associated Press is reporting that, according to travel agents, Chinese authorities are no longer issuing multiple-entry visas to foreigners. Additionally, visa processing in Hong Kong has been slowed down.  While this might not be a big problem for visitors only coming to China for the Olympics, it could be a massive headache for those who need to travel for business in the region. Read the full story on the IHT site.  Have you been affected by the changes in visa policy? How do you anticipate handling the situation?

Chinese inflation might be causing bigger problems than costing you more to eat huiguo rou  and beer at dinner time in Beijing. Economists are starting to re-evaluate whether America’s historic streak of low inflation is rooted as much in the low cost of imports as the “genius of Greenspan.” The NY Times has a front page article on the issue today:

“Inflation is the major threat to Asian countries,” said Jong-Wha Lee, the head of the Asian Development Bank’s office of regional economic integration.

It is also a threat to Western consumers because Asian exporters, even in very poor countries, are passing their rising costs on to customers.

Developing countries have had bouts of inflation before. Indeed, some are famous for them, like Brazil, which experienced triple-digit inflation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But two things make this time different, and together promise to send prices higher at Wal-Mart and supermarkets alike in the United States, just as the possibility of recession looms.

If China begins (continues?) exporting inflation to the US, it’s just possible that politicians in America might begin longing for the days of “currency manipulation.”

While it has not received extensive media coverage, the below announcement via Xinhua is an important one. Please keep checking AmCham Daily for other relevant Olympics transportation and logistical updates.

Beijing subways will try to run round-the-clock on the opening and closing days of the Olympic Games.

The move was aimed at relieving heavy traffic on the two days, Aug. 8 and Aug. 24, while the operating hours would be extended on other days of the Games, Tuesday’s Beijing Daily quoted an official with the Beijing metro operation company as saying, without giving further details.

The subway is expected to carry the bulk of passengers to the National Stadium, also known as the “bird’s nest”, on the opening day when about 100,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony, he said.

The No. 10 route linking the stadium with the downtown area was expected to have intervals between trains shortened from four minutes to three minutes during the ceremonies, said the official.

Subway stations would have “green channels” for ticket holders, Games staff and volunteers, who will be exempted from paying the 2-yuan fare during the Olympics.